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BwPostman comes with a couple of plugins. Currently these are:
- A plugin for enhanced personalization.
- A plugin for subscription to the newsletter while an account for the website is created.
- A Plugin to display mailing lists/user groups and number of recipients at footer of newsletter contained in package.
Enhanced personalization
Since version 2.0.0 there is beneath the former simple personalization a plugin for enhanced personalization for BwPostman. This plugin I s activated per default and needs no options.
While the simple personalization only enables the use of first and/or last name, You can use gender related personalization with the enhanced personalization plugin. There is not only a male text and a female text possible, You can also us a neutral text, if You want to address companies or subscribers without entered gender:
[bwpostman_personalize | "male text" | "female text" | "neutral text" ]
Example:
[bwpostman_personalize | "Dear Mr" | "Dear Mrs" | "Hello" ] [LASTNAME]
Important:
- Between the opening square bracket and the following bwpostman_personalize there must not be any character, also no space!
- The double quote must be entered. With this character the text to be inserted is determined. This allows to enter spaces before and after the text to insert. That implies further, that this character is not allowed in the text to insert.
- Is no text entered, then there will not raise an error, but also nothing is inserted.
User2Subscriber
Since version 2.0.0 there is another plugin for BwPostman to automatically subscribe to selectable mailing lists while a user registers at the website. The plugin is deactivated per default.
Plugin activated
If the plugin is activated and at least one mailing list is selected, then a notice (see below) and a select box for the newsletter is displayed at the registering form of Joomla!®. The select box is set to no by default to be in conformity with the law.
If no mailing list is selected, the plugin also shows nothing.
If the user clicks to yes, there will be displayed more input fields potentially. This depends on the settings of the component. There could appear all input fields, that are selected at the settings on BwPostman at registration. It will concern the fields for gender, first name, last name, additional field and mail format. Also the settings for obligation are taken from these settings.
Subscribers created this way first are unconfirmed. Only after confirmation of the account of the website they will be confirmed also for the mailing lists. With this Double-Opt-In is complied. Especially if You point out, that the user is automatically added to the newsletter. For this notification the input field message at the options is conceived.
Options
Here You first may enter a text, which will be displayed at the front-end in the registration form as introduction. This text is multi-language-capable.
Next You can set, if the disclaimer should be displayed. The settings for the disclaimer are made at the options of the component. Solely the setting, where the disclaimer shall be displayed, is not used at the plugin. The plugin displays the disclaimer always in a pop-up.
The options to this plugin also allows to set if the mail address of the subscriber will be changed if the mail address of the account is changed. You also can define whether a subscription will be deleted if an account will be deleted. Indeed, Joomla!® does not offer a possibility to delete an account to the user. This setting therefore only concerns user, which will be deleted at back-end.
The mailing lists the user shall get a subscription can be selected at the tab Select Mailinglist. The user/subscriber has the possibility to select the desired mailing list.
FooterUsedMailinglists
With this plugin You are able to display the mailing lists and/or the user groups at the footer of the newsletter, to which the newsletter was sent to.
You may set, if the number of recipients per mailing list or user group shall be listed. This naturally only works, if the listing of mailing lists/user groups is activated.
Finally You can set, if the total of all recipients shall be displayed.
This works for preview, for test sending and certainly for real sending. At the preview and test sending the plugin cannot know, whether the real sending shall also go to unconfirmed subscribers. Thus the summary of recipients only counts confirmed subscribers. Archived subscribers never are counted, to them the newsletter is never sent.
Newsletter Content
This plugin is available since version 4.2.0 of BwPostman. With this plugin BwPostman is able to use selected/tested content plugins of Joomla!® at the newsletter.
Because I don't know how the individual content plugins behave with BwPostman, I use whitelisting. Content plugins, which I have tested with BwPostman, are added to this list. If You use a content plugin in Your Joomla! articles, which You use in BwPostman, which are not supported by now, ask at the forum. I will see what I can do.
BwPostman Webservices
This plugin makes it possible, that for the plugin BwPostman TimeControl there is no need to use the password of the cron user to start the cron server, but the cron server now may start by using the API of BwPostman. For this it needs routes to the API of BwPostman, which are added by this plugin.
This plugin exists since version 4.3.0 of BwPostman and is needed by the plugin BwPostman TimeControl since version 2.0.0.
BwPostman TimeControl
This plugin is not provided by the package BwPostman. It can be acquired by purchase.
With this plugin it is possible to send newsletters at a specified point of time. The sending is processed at background.
Caution:
The plugin BwPostman TimeControl only works and only installs, if the module cURL for php is installed and activated at Your web server!
You can figure out, whether the module cURL is installed at the web server by search for curl at the back end at System → System Information → PHP-Information. Do You find it, You are able to use this plugin. If You can't find cURL, contact Your provider (or change the provider), to be able to use this plugin.
Configuration
Tab Plugin
The plugin needs an user, with which the automated sending will be processed. It is advisable to create a new user for this plugin. Also see advanced information below.
This user has to be able to log in at back end and he must be able to send newsletters. The sample user group BwPostmanNewsletterPublisher is appropriate by default. The permissions for Create and Edit newsletters and the permission to View newsletter are indeed not needed. You also could create a new user group on basis of the user group BwPostmanNewsletterPublisher and withdraw the superfluous permissions.
It is highly recommended to use an active mail address for this user, because success and error messages are sent to this user by mail.
Caution!
This user may not be used otherwise. You never should login into backend by this user, nor to create a scheduled newsletter! For this You use the users previously used.
Update for version 2.0.0
With this version of BwPostman TimeControl starting the cron server has switched to API. That means, that the password of the cron user has not to be entered at the options of the plugin, the respective field no longer exists. The authentication now happens by a Joomla API Token. However, Joomla!® only enables authentication by token only for the user group Super Users. Because of this You have to add the set up user to this user group!
The token is generated, when You login at the back end of Joomla!® as the user for the cron server. Go to User → Manage and edit this user. To create the token it only needs to save the user. The generated token You find at the tab Joomla API Token.
If the tab Joomla API Token does not exists, You have to activate the plugin API Authentication - Web Services Joomla Token.
The plugin BwPostman Webservices Plugin has to be activated to be able to start the cron server. This is done by the update of BwPostman TimeControl to version 2.0.0 automatically. But it doesn't hurt to check the state of this plugin.
The plugin BwPostman Webservices Plugin is delivered by BwPostman since version 4.3.0. Before the update of BwPostman TimeControl it is mandatory to update BwPostman to version 4.3.0.
Cron Interval sets the interval in minutes the cron server looks for newsletters which are due. The newsletter will be sent, if the scheduled time is reached or has overtaken. The newsletter to send is entered at the queue known by the component and will be processed there. Manual and automated sending will be processed separately.
Tab Update Options
Licence code is used to get updates for the plugin BwPostman TimeControl.
Tab Curl Settings
While establishing the connection curl checks the certificate of the peer. To get this work curl have to know about the certification authority of this certificate. If the website doesn't run with HTTPS but only HTTP, then there is no certificate. If You use a self-signed certificate, curl does not Know about the certification authority. Both cases actually should occur, if You use a local installation of Joomla. And at both cases it helps to switch the option Verify peer? to no.
This setting is only meant for testing purpose and should be switched to Yes at productive websites!
Normally the certificate and the certification authority are installed system wide. If You have Your own certification authority, which signed the certificate, and this certificate is not installed system wide, i.e. at a local installation, You can enter the path to the certificate of the certification authority at Certificate path. i.e. this could be /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/my-cert.pem for linux or C://certs/ca-certificates/my-cert.pem for windows.
This setting takes no effect, if Verify peer? Is set to no.
Activate the automation
The automated sending runs by a sort of cron server by the above-mentioned user.
This cron server has to be started explicitly at the maintenance. At the maintenance You are also able to stop the cron server. To do so there are two further buttons at the maintenance, if the plugin is activated.
Der state of the cron server (started or stopped) is displayed at the maintenance as info box.
Set sending time
Is the plugin activated, there are two new input fields at editing a newsletter:
The first one is a calendar field, with which You set sending date and time.
The second one is a selection of yes/no. Here You set, if the newsletter is ready to send. This field is set to no by default. As long as this field is set to no, the automation doesn't regards this newsletter. With this You are able to set the sending date without having finished editing this newsletter. With this no unfinished newsletter will be sent, if the editing takes more time than then expected.
Advanced Information
Also the sending by automation considers the settings of the component for
- Number of newsletters per step
- Time Delay While Sending
- Unit Of Time Delay
These values are read at start of the cron server and holds until the cron server is stopped and started anew, even if these values have changed meanwhile.
If You stop the cron server while it is busy by sending, the current sending will be finished, only then the cron server stops. It is not possible to interrupt the automated sending that is currently processed!
While manual sending a newsletter the one, which starts sending, cannot do something else at Joomla!® until the newsletter is sent completely. This is no more a problem with the plugin BwPostman TimeControl! Because the timed sending is handed over to the cron server immediately, which runs under the user, that is specified at the options, this is the user, which sends the newsletter and this is another one than the currently logged in user. You are able to work along immediately, You can log out and close the browser also, the newsletter will be sent nevertheless.
If You have some guidelines by Your mail provider concerning maximum number of mails per time unit, You should prevent to send another newsletter manually, while the automated newsletter is sending. While the automated newsletter isn't due, manual sending should not be a problem.
