17 Managing the Mail Service

17.1.1 Configuring Send Mail Notifications for the Spaces Application

Administrators assign the mail client for the "Send Mail" feature. This feature allows application resources to send mail directly from them with the Send Mail icon. The Send Mail feature does not require the Mail service. That is, even if the Mail service has not been configured in your application, users can send mail notifications with the local mail client.

For example, from an announcement, users can click the Send Mail icon to open a mail window prepopulated with information including the announcement text, author, date created, and location. They can edit and add to the mail, as necessary. The way the mail window is prepopulated depends on the resource sending it. For example, from a wiki, Send Mail opens a mail window prepopulated with the name of the wiki, the size, who created it and when, who modified it and when, and a URL link to the wiki.

Within a space, the mail can be addressed to all members of the space. Space moderators (and anyone granted the Manage Configuration permission on the Space) set this through the Services page in the administration settings.

If the number of recipients is so large that the mail cannot be prepopulated with the addresses, then user must either enter the addresses manually or set up a distribution list for the space. Alternatively, administrators could create an account on the mail server for each space (for example, called "space <name> moderator”) for sending mail to all space members.

For all Send Mail notifications throughout the Spaces application, you can choose to use the local mail client, such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird, or WebCenter Portal's own Mail service. The local mail client is the default.

As administrator, you also can specify whether users may override the default mail client setting.

For more information on using the Send Mail notifications, see the section "What You Should Know About the Send Mail Feature" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

17.3.1 Mail Server - Installation

See your mail server documentation for installation information.

17.3.2 Mail Server - Configuration

You can allow WebCenter Portal to create and manage space distribution lists in Spaces (or in Framework applications leveraging WebCenter Portal: Spaces space management). This feature is supported only with Microsoft Exchange.

The space distribution list is created automatically whenever a space is created. Users added or removed from the space are implicitly added or removed from the corresponding space distribution list, provided that the LDAP Base DN does not change (only one LDAP Base DN is supported) and that users created on Microsoft Exchange Active Directory correspond with users created in the identity store used by the WebCenter Portal application. To disable this feature, do not enter the LDAP (Active Directory) server details in the mail connection.

For more information, see step 7 of Section 17.4.1, "Registering Mail Servers Using Fusion Middleware Control."

For information about adding users on a mail server, see the mail server's product documentation. For information about adding users to the WebCenter Portal application's identity store, see Section 30.3, "Adding Users to the Embedded LDAP Identity Store."

Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 are the only mail servers for which there are configuration prerequisites. If you are working with a different mail server (including Microsoft Exchange 2003), then you can skip the rest of this section.

17.3.3 Mail Server - Security Considerations

For more information, see Section 34.8, "Securing the Spaces Connection to IMAP and SMTP with SSL."

17.3.4 Mail Server - Limitations

In WebCenter Portal: Spaces, the Mail service requires a Microsoft Exchange mail server connection to enable automatic space distribution list management.

17.4.1 Registering Mail Servers Using Fusion Middleware Control

To register a mail server with WebCenter Portal applications:

1. Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for the WebCenter Portal application. For more information, see:

   • Section 6.2, "Navigating to the Home Page for the Spaces Application"

   • Section 6.3, "Navigating to the Home Page for Framework Applications"

2. Do one of the following:

   • For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, select Settings > Service Configuration.

   • For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, select WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.

3. From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Service Configuration page, select Mail Server.

4. To connect to a new mail server, click Add (Figure 17-3).

   Figure 17-3 Configuring Mail Servers

   
   

5. Enter a unique name for this connection, and indicate whether this connection is the active (or default) connection for the application (Table 17-3).

   Table 17-3 Mail Server Connection - Name

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter a unique name for the connection. The name must be unique (across all connection types) within the WebCenter Portal application.
   Active Connection	Select to indicate whether this connection is the default (or active) connection for the Mail service. You can register multiple mail server connections: WebCenter Portal: Spaces applications support multiple mail connections. The mail connection marked active is the default connection for mail services in Spaces. All additional connections are offered as alternatives; Spaces users can choose which one they want to use through user preferences. WebCenter Portal: Framework applications only use one mail connection—the connection marked active. Any additional connections are ignored.

   
   

6. Enter connection details for the mail server (Table 17-4).

   Table 17-4 Mail Server Connection Parameters

   Field	Description
   IMAP Host	Enter the host name of the computer where the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) service is running.
   IMAP Port	Enter the port on which the IMAP service listens.
   IMAP Secured	Indicate whether a secured connection (SSL) is required for incoming mail over IMAP.
   SMTP Host	Enter the host name of the computer where the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) service is running.
   SMTP Port	Enter the port on which the SMTP service listens.
   SMTP Secured	Indicate whether a secured connection (SSL) is required for outgoing mail over SMTP.
   Associated External Application	Associate the mail server with an external application. External application credential information is used to authenticate users against the IMAP and SMTP servers. The Mail service uses the same credentials to authenticate the user on both IMAP and SMTP. You can select an existing external application from the list, or click Create New to configure a new external application. For more information, see Chapter 26, "Managing External Applications." The external application for the Mail service must use Authentication Method=POST, and you can customize some mail header fields (with Display to User enabled): Property: mail.user.emailAddress (who the mail is from) Property: mail.user.displayName (display name from the mail) Property: mail.user.replyToAddress (address used to reply to the mail) These properties ensure that a specific mail address is the same in the external application and in the mail server. They are added to the Mail connection and are used by the Mail service for the From, Display Name and Reply To fields (Figure 17-4). If your WebCenter Portal application offers a self-registration page with the facility to mail user ID information on request, then you must ensure that public credentials are configured for the external application selected here. If public credentials are not defined, then mails cannot be sent to users on their request. The Spaces application, for example, offers this feature on its default self-registration page.

   
   

   Figure 17-4 Additional Properties for Mail Connection

   
   Description of "Figure 17-4 Additional Properties for Mail Connection"
   
   

7. Specify LDAP connection details for the Active Directory server managing space distribution lists (Table 17-5).

   This section applies to Spaces (or Framework applications leveraging the space management feature). WebCenter Portal applications support Microsoft Exchange where distribution lists are managed on an Active Directory server.

   Note:

   Active Directory server details must be provided as part of the mail connection for distribution lists to work in Spaces.

   Table 17-5 LDAP Directory Server Configuration Parameters

   Field	Description
   LDAP Host	Enter the host name of the computer where the LDAP directory server (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is running.
   LDAP Port	Enter the port on which the LDAP directory server listens.
   LDAP Base DN	Enter the base distinguished name for the LDAP schema. For example, CN=Users,DC=oracle,DC=com.
   LDAP Domain	Enter the domain appended to distribution list names. In Spaces, for example, if the domain value is set to example.com, then a space named Finance Project maintains a distribution list named [email protected].
   LDAP Admin User	Enter the user name of the LDAP directory server administrator. A valid user with privileges to make entries into the LDAP schema.
   LDAP Admin Password	Enter the password for the LDAP directory server administrator. The password is stored in a secured store.
   LDAP Default User	Enter a comma-delimited list of user names to whom you want to grant moderation capabilities. These users become members of every space distribution list that is created. The users specified must exist in the base LDAP schema (specified in the LDAP Base DN field).
   LDAP Secured	Indicate whether a secured connection (SSL) is required between the WebCenter Portal application and the LDAP directory server.

   
   

8. Configure advanced options for the mail server connection (Table 17-6).

   Table 17-6 Mail Server Connection - Advanced Configuration

   Field	Description
   Connection Timeout (in Seconds)	Specify a suitable timeout for the connection. This is the length of time (in seconds) the WebCenter Portal application waits for a response from the mail server before issuing a connection timeout message. The default is -1, which means that the service default is used. The service default is 10 seconds.

   
   

9. Optionally, you can add more parameters to the mail server connection (Table 17-7).

   Table 17-7 Additional Mail Connection Properties

   Additional Connection Property	Description
   charset	Characterset used on the connection. The default charset is UTF-8. To use a different characterset, such as ISO-8859-1, set the charset connection property.
   Various IMAP properties	Any valid IMAP connection property. For example, mail.imap.connectionpoolsize. For a list of valid protocol properties, see your mail server documentation. For a list of standard IMAP properties, see the Java Mail APIs: http://java.sun.com/products/javamail/javadocs/com/sun/mail/imap/package-summary.html
   Various SMTP properties	Any valid SMTP connection property. For example, mail.smtp.timeout. For a list of valid protocol properties, see your mail server documentation. For a list of standard SMTP properties, see the Java Mail APIs: http://java.sun.com/products/javamail/javadocs/com/sun/mail/smtp/package-summary.html

   
   

   If additional parameters are required to connect to the mail server, expand Additional Properties and enter details as required (see Table 17-8, "Mail Connection - Additional Properties").

   Table 17-8 Mail Connection - Additional Properties

   Field	Description
   Add	Click Add to specify an additional connection parameter: Name -Enter the name of the connection property. Value - Enter the default value for the property. Is Property Secured - Indicate whether encryption is required. When selected, the property value is stored securely using encryption. For example, select this option to secure the admin.password property where the value is the actual password.
   Delete	Click Delete to remove a selected property. Select the correct row before clicking Delete. Note: Deleted rows appear disabled until you click OK.

   
   

10. Click OK to save this connection.

11. To start using the new (active) connection you must restart the managed server on which the WebCenter Portal application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."

17.4.2 Registering Mail Servers Using WLST

Use the WLST command createMailConnection to create a mail server connection. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "createMailConnection" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

Use the WLST command setMailConnectionProperty to add additional required properties through your external application. The external application for the Mail service must use Authentication Method=POST, and you can customize some mail header fields (with Display to User enabled). For example:

setMailConnectionProperty(appName='webcenter', name='NotificationSharedConn', key='mail.user.emailAddress', value='[email protected]')

setMailConnectionProperty(appName='webcenter', name='NotificationSharedConn', key='mail.user.displayName', value='John Doe')

setMailConnectionProperty(appName='webcenter', name='NotificationSharedConn', key='mail.user.replyToAddress', value='[email protected]')

where:

• mail.user.emailAddress = Email Address ('From' from the mail)

• mail.user.displayName = Your Name (display name from the mail)

• mail.user.replyToAddress = Reply-To Address (address when replying to the mail)

These properties ensure that a specific mail address is the same in the external application and in the mail server. These properties are added to the Mail connection and are used by the Mail service for the From, Display Name and Reply To fields.If your WebCenter Portal application offers a self-registration page with the facility to mail user ID information on request, then you must ensure that public credentials are configured for the external application selected here. If public credentials are not defined, then mails cannot be sent to users on their request. The Spaces application, for example, offers this feature on its default self-registration page.

For command syntax and examples, see the section, "setMailConnectionProperty" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

To configure the Mail service to use the new mail server connection as its default connection, set default=true. For more information, see Section 17.5.2, "Choosing the Active (or Default) Mail Server Connection Using WLST."

For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."

17.5.1 Choosing the Active (or Default) Mail Server Connection Using Fusion Middleware Control

To change the default connection:

1. Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for the WebCenter Portal application. For more information, see:

   • Section 6.2, "Navigating to the Home Page for the Spaces Application"

   • Section 6.3, "Navigating to the Home Page for Framework Applications"

2. Do one of the following:

   • For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, select Settings > Service Configuration.

   • For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, select WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.

3. From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Services Configuration page, select Mail Server.

   The Manage Mail Server Connections table indicates the current active connection (if any).

4. Select the connection you want to make the active (or default) connection, and then click Edit.

5. Select the Active Connection check box.

6. Click OK to update the connection.

7. To start using the new default connection you must restart the managed server on which the WebCenter Portal application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."

17.5.2 Choosing the Active (or Default) Mail Server Connection Using WLST

Use the WLST command setMailConnection with default=true to make an existing mail server connection the default connection for the Mail service. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "setMailConnection" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

A connection does not cease to be the default connection for the Mail service if you change the default argument from true to false.

To disable a mail connection, either delete it, make another connection the 'active connection', or use the removeMailServiceProperty command:

removeMailServiceProperty(appName='webcenter', property='selected.connection')

Using this command, connection details are retained but the connection is no longer named as an active connection. For more information, see the section, "removeMailServiceProperty" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."

17.6.1 Modifying Mail Server Connection Details Using Fusion Middleware Control

To update mail server connection details:

1. Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for the WebCenter Portal application. For more information, see:

   • Section 6.2, "Navigating to the Home Page for the Spaces Application"

   • Section 6.3, "Navigating to the Home Page for Framework Applications"

2. Do one of the following:

   • For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, select Settings > Service Configuration.

   • For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, select WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.

3. From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Service Configuration page, select Mail Server

4. Select the connection name, and click Edit.

5. Edit connection details, as required. For detailed parameter information, see Table 17-4, "Mail Server Connection Parameters".

6. Click OK to save your changes.

7. To start using updated connection details you must restart the managed server on which the WebCenter Portal application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."

17.6.2 Modifying Mail Server Connection Details Using WLST

Use the WLST command setMailConnection to edit existing mail server connection details. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "setMailConnection" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

If additional parameters are required to connect to your mail server, use the setMailConnectionProperty command. For more information, see the section, "setMailConnectionProperty" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."

17.7.1 Deleting a Mail Connection Using Fusion Middleware Control

To delete a mail server connection:

1. Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for the WebCenter Portal application. For more information, see:

   • Section 6.2, "Navigating to the Home Page for the Spaces Application"

   • Section 6.3, "Navigating to the Home Page for Framework Applications"

2. Do one of the following:

   • For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, select Settings > Service Configuration.

   • For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, select WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.

3. From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Services Configuration page, select Mail Server.

4. Select the connection name, and click Delete.

5. To effect this change you must restart the managed server on which the WebCenter Portal application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."

   Note:

   Before restarting the managed server, mark another connection as active; otherwise, the service is disabled.

17.7.2 Deleting a Mail Connection Using WLST

Use the WLST command deleteConnection to remove a mail server connection. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "deleteConnection" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."

17.10.1 Mail Service is Not Accessible in Secure Mode

Problem

You configured the Mail service to function in secure mode, but the service is not accessible.

Solution

Ensure the following:

• IMAP and SMTP ports are specified correctly. See Section 17.4, "Registering Mail Servers."

• Properties are set to true in your mail server.

  • mail.imap.secured = true

  • mail.smtp.secured = true

17.10.2 Mail Service is Not Accessible in Non-Secure Mode

Problem

You configured the Mail service to function in non-secure mode, but the service is not accessible.

Solution

Ensure the following:

• IMAP and SMTP ports are specified correctly. See, Section 17.4, "Registering Mail Servers."

• Properties are set to false in your mail server.

  • mail.imap.secured = false

  • mail.smtp.secured = false

17.10.3 Unable to Create Distribution Lists in the Non-Secure Mode

Problem

You are unable to create space distribution lists in non-secure mode; that is, SSL is not configured on the LDAP server.

Solution

Check if the mail server has been reinstalled or the user has been deleted. Also ensure that the following parameters are configured accurately in non-secure mode, in the LDAP server:

• ldapHost

• defaultUser

• ldapAdminPassword

• ldapBaseDN

• ldapPort

See Section 17.4, "Registering Mail Servers."

17.10.4 Unable to Create Distribution Lists in the Secure Mode

Problem

You are unable to create space distribution lists in secure mode, that is, SSL is configured on the LDAP server.

Solution

Check if the mail server has been reinstalled or the user has been deleted. Also ensure that the following parameters are configured accurately in secure mode, in the LDAP server:

• ldapHost

• defaultUser

• ldapAdminPassword

• ldapBaseDN

• ldapPort

• ldap.connection.secure, 'true'

17.10.5 Unable to Configure the Number of Mails Downloaded

Problem

You cannot configure how many mails are downloaded to each user's Inbox.

Solution

Use the setMailServiceProperty WLST command. For example, to download 100 mails from the mail client, specify the mail.messages.fetch.size parameter as 100, as shown in the following example:

setMailServiceProperty(appName='webcenter',  property='mail.messages.fetch.size', value='100')

For command syntax and examples, see "setMailServiceProperty" in Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

17.10.6 Unable to Publish and Archive Space Mail

Problem

You are unable to archive Space mail.

Solution

If the archiving fails, check the following:

• In WebCenter Portal: Spaces, navigate to Administration, Configuration, Services, Discussions. Check whether the required configuration is accurate. See also, "Enabling Discussion Forums to Publish Space Mail" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

• Check whether the user account configured here is a member of the distribution list.

• For a particular space, check whether the forum configured is available in the discussions server. See "Publishing Space Mail in a Discussion Forum" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

• Check whether the user who sends mails to the distribution list is available in the discussions server and his mail address is the same.

17.10.7 Changing Passwords on Microsoft Exchange

Problem

If multiple users log on to Microsoft Exchange with the same user name and password, and then one user changes the password, the original password remains valid until all users log off.

For example, say the current password of the user monty is MyPassword1. Two users, A and B, log on from different clients using either WebCenter Portal or Microsoft Exchange. Both log on as monty/MyPassword1, and both are able to see the mails. Now user A changes the password in Microsoft Exchange to oracle1. Because there currently are clients using the passwords oracle1 and MyPassword1, both are valid passwords; that is, new users can log on as monty/MyPassword1 and still see the mails.

Solution

After all existing users with the original password log off, the new password takes effect. Until then, users can use both passwords to log on.

17.10.8 Mail Content Sent as Attachments

Problem

When users receive mail in Framework applications, message content is shown as an attachment (named content.html) rather than within the message body. This can occur if the mail server is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and the "Update Rollup 3 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007" is not yet installed.

Solution

Download and install "Update Rollup 3 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007" which fixes this issue. For more information, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930468.