How to send an email from my site?

PHP on a Windows box?

[garann]

Hi,

My host offers PHP on their Windows server. I found a PHP script to send me email from my site, but it doesn't work because they don't have sendmail. I have no experience with PHP, so I don't know what to change so that I can send an email. Can anyone tell me where to begin?

Here's a little bit of the script:

<?php  
 $mail_path = "/usr/sbin/sendmail -i -t";
 $mail_to = "[e-mail]";
 ...
 ini_set("sendmail_path", $mail_path); 
 if ($_POST)
 {
  if($_POST['userEmail'])
  {
   if( mail($mail_to,$mail_subject,"\t From: ".$_POST['userName']."\n \t Email: ".$_POST['userEmail']. "\n\n\n\n".stripslashes($_POST['userMessage']),"From: $_POST[userEmail]\r\n"."Reply-To: $_POST[userEmail]\r\n") )   
   {
    $html = '<p>Thank you We will respond to your message shortly.</p>';
   }
  }    
 }?>

tia,
g.

[Timotheos]

they don't have sendmail.

What do they use?

[wruk999]

just use PHP's own mail function as it doesn't require external mail server software.

I don't think sendmail is available for windows (although I could be wrong) which would mean that the script you have would only work on a Unix platform with sendmail installed.

PHP's mail function: [php.net...]

wruk999

[carneddau]

PHP's mail function uses sendmail as the default mailer if it is installed on the box. You can configure it to use one of the other MTAs if you so wish.

The easiest way to fix your problem is to use ini_set to change the SMTP values to that of a unix host running sendmail, you can then send mail via this box providing you have authorisation.

[wruk999]

From php.net:

For the Mail functions to be available, PHP must have access to the sendmail binary on your system during compile time.

Really ought to read bit more careful next time. Sorry.

[Timotheos]

Hmmm... I thought you knew something I didn't but I did find this simple instruction for using mail() on windows.
h**p://php.weblogs.com/stories/storyReader$67

Don't know if it really works especially if you cannot change php.ini but you'll have to talk to your host to get your options.