Question

I installed MailerContrib for my Cairo installation and now receive the following error messages when I run the /bin/mailnotify script from a Cygwin command line (no change notification e-mail is sent):

- Changed topics since 02 Mar 2006 - 18:42: WebNotify WebChanges
- Sending mail notification to: name@email.com
Use of unitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Net.pm line 156.
* ERROR: Can't send mail, missing 'From:'
- End TWiki.Main
Checking TWiki.Manuals
- Note: No topics changed since 02 Mar 2006 - 15:19

(where name@email.com is my actual e-mail address)

Notes:

• From a Cygwin /twiki/bin/ prompt, the command line I run is: c:/cygwin/bin/perl.exe -T mailnotify
• I'm using SMTPMAILHOST to send e-mail.
• The standard WebNotify function worked just fine prior to my installing MailerContrib.
• I downloaded the installation file for MailerContrib from here http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/MailerContrib, but followed the installation instructions from here: http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/MailerContrib?rev=1.17 since I'm not running TWiki 4.0 (I'm running Cairo).
• The error appears for each web in which changes are detected.
• I installed MailerContrib because we want to generate per topic changes e-mail notification. I understand this add-on is standard with Dakar, but due to potential stability and compatibility issues between Dakar and the other plugins/add-ons that we want to use we're just not ready to upgrade - yet.

Thoughts?

Environment

-- JasonVensel - 06 Mar 2006

Answer

The bin/mailnotify script is the standard WebNotify. The version of MailerContrib you installed uses bin/mailnotifier.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 12 Mar 2006

I don't have a /bin/mailnotifier/ file anywhere on my system. Moreover, I don't know where to find one - the plugin zip file attached to the TWiki.org MailerContrib topic does NOT include such a file. Note that it DOES include a /tools/mailnotify file.

Am I supposed to rename /tools/mailnotify to mailnotifier and then move it to /twiki/bin?

-- JasonVensel - 13 Mar 2006

In addition, if I attempt to open or extract any version of the zip file OTHER THAN 1.11 (e.g., version 1.10, 1.9, 1.8) I receive the following WinZip error: "Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid archive. If you downloaded this file, try downloading the file again."

-- JasonVensel - 13 Mar 2006

Jason, there is confusing since the zip attached to MailerContrib is packaged for Dakar only and the link provided to earlier versions points to the latest Dakar zip. Please get the latest Cairo version from http://twiki.org//cgi-bin/viewfile/Plugins/MailerContrib?rev=1.11&filename=MailerContrib.zip, it contains the mailnotifier script.

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Mar 2006

Peter, using the link you provided, I downloaded the MailerContrib.zip file. However, when I attempt to unzip the file, I receive the WinZip error: "Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid archive. If you downloaded this file, try downloading the file again."

If I attempt to unzip the file from a command line, I receive the following error: "End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not a zipfile, or it constitutes one disk of a multi-part archive. In the latter case the central directory and zipfile comment will be found on the last disk(s) of this archive."

Please advise.

-- JasonVensel - 13 Mar 2006

Not sure what is wrong. Try the one I downloaded. I am able to unpack it (on Windows XP)

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Mar 2006

Not sure either. I'm able to unzip the one you attached below, though. I'll try to get this working and post my results later. Thanks!!

-- JasonVensel - 13 Mar 2006

Possibly a mime type issue if file delivered by viewfile script instead of static content.

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Mar 2006

Update: I unzipped and installed the Cairo version of MailerContrib without any problems. The problem now is that when I run the mailnotifier script from a command line, I receive the same error I get when I run the mailnotify script from a command line:

Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Net.pm line 156.
**** ERROR :Mail send failed: ERROR: Can't send mail, missing 'From:'

Line 156 in my Net.pm file is:

        $theText = "$header\n\n$body";   # rebuild message

To provide a little context, line 156 appears among the following lines in my Net.pm file:

    # Send the email.  Use Net::SMTP if it's installed, otherwise use a
    # sendmail type program.
    if( $useNetSmtp ) {
        my ( $header, $body ) = split( "\n\n", $theText, 2 );
        my @headerlines = split( /\n/, $header );
        $header =~ s/\nBCC\:[^\n]*//os;  #remove BCC line from header
        $header =~ s/([\n\r])(From|To|CC|BCC)(\:\s*)([^\n\r]*)/$1 . $2 . $3 . _fixLineLength( $4 )/geois;
        $theText = "$header\n\n$body";   # rebuild message

        # extract 'From:'
        my $from = "";
        my @arr = grep( /^From: /i, @headerlines );
        if( scalar( @arr ) ) {
            $from = $arr[0];
            $from =~ s/^From:\s*//io;
            $from =~ s/.*<(.*?)>.*/$1/o; # extract "user@host" out of "Name <user@host>"
        }
        if( ! ( $from ) ) {
            return "ERROR: Can't send mail, missing 'From:'";
        }

Based on the output that appears in the Cygwin command line UI, both the mailnotify and mailnotifier scripts process the changes. The problem seems to lie with Net.pm and SMTP mail handling.

I noticed the following lines in Net.pm and wondered if I needed to set them to 1 to activate them, but it didn't seem to have any effect:

BEGIN {
    $useNetSmtp = 0;
    $mailInitialized = 0;

Note: The mailnotify script was working at one point. I'm not sure what changed. I may have installed or updated the CPAN Net::SMTP module (if I'm looking in the right place, I appear to have version 2.29 installed - based on the $VERSION value that appears inside my c:/cygwin/lib/perl5/5.8/net/SMTP.pm file), but I don't know that this would be an issue because I believe I'm using SMTP (not sendmail). I am confident that my TWikiPreferences topic and WebNotify topics are configured correctly.

Note: No errors appear in my Apache error log when I run the mail scripts.

Thoughts?

-- JasonVensel - 14 Mar 2006

Okay, my problem here occurs when I run either c:/twiki/bin/mailnotify OR c:/twiki/bin/mailnotifier. So the problem doesn't likely originate with those files. That means the problem likely exists in one of the other configuration files, for example:

• c:/twiki/bin/setlib.cfg
• c:/twiki/data/TWiki/TWikiPreferences.txt
• c:/twiki/data/*/WebNotify.txt
• c:/twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg
• c:/twiki/lib/TWiki.pm
• c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Net.pm
• c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Prefs.pm

I don't think the problem originates from the TWikiPreferences topic or any of the WebNotify topics.

In addition, because the error also appears for the standard mailnotify script, the problem likely doesn't originate from any of the files located under c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Contrib.

-- JasonVensel - 15 Mar 2006

Important Note: E-mail notification of new registered users works. So it's just the change notifications that aren't working. Odd.

-- JasonVensel - 15 Mar 2006

I'm confident the issue is not related to the Net.pm file. The basis for this belief is the result of two tests I performed:

• First, I replaced my existing Net.pm file with the one included in the standard Cairo install files. I ran mailnotify against the standard Net.pm file and still got the same error.
• Second, I ran a similar test using the Net.pm file from Bejing. I got the same concatenation error for the exact same line; it isn't line #156 in the Bejing version of the file, but the content of the line to which the error refers - $theText = "$header\n\n$body"; # rebuild message - is exactly the same.

Conclusion: My Net.pm file is fine.

-- JasonVensel - 15 Mar 2006

jason, the addition of a simple bit of debugging may help to clarify the problem. In the code above, on a new line before the line with "# rebuild message", add:

print STDERR $theText;

that should print the text of the mail message to STDERR. Given that your server is Windies, and I have never tested on a Windies server, I am supicious of the old \r\n problem.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 16 Mar 2006

I tested this for both the mailnotify and mailnotifier scripts:

mailnotify

1. I opened c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/Net.pm.
2. I inserted print STDERR $theText; at line 156 (this of course moved all subsequent lines - beginning with $theText = "$header\n\n$body"; # rebuild message - down one line).
3. Saved the changes.
4. From the Cygwin Bash Shell, typed cd /twiki/bin.
5. Pressed Enter. The Cygwin Bash Shell changed to a /twiki/bin prompt.
6. Typed perl -T mailnotify.
7. Pressed Enter. The following output was generated:

TWiki mail notification
- to suppress all normal output: mailnotify -q
Checking TWiki.Bulletins
- Changed topics since 10 Mar 2006 - 19:57: DVRCameraSetup SQLStatementToAddL
eadingZerosToBarcodes BarcodePriceImporter TipsForLocatingInstallationDocumen
ts AutoTendering
- Sending mail notification to: jdvensel@mycompany.com
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 14:37:08 GMT
%{
     Templates for the parts of the mails sent out by mailnotify. The HTML
     and PLAIN templates are in three parts; header, body (which is repeated
     for each change), and footer. The result is embedded in MailNotifyBody
}%
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/
Net.pm line 157.
* ERROR: Can't send mail, missing 'From:'
- End TWiki.Bulletins
Checking TWiki.CustomerTraining

The above output is generated for each web with only the web name and list of changed topics differing; the message about the templates and the seven "dashed" lines that follow are repeated for each web check.

mailnotifier

1. From the Cygwin Bash Shell /twiki/bin prompt, typed perl mailnotifier.
2. Pressed Enter. The following output was generated:

Processing Bulletins
     Last notification was at 10 Mar 2006 - 19:57
     Found change to DVRCameraSetup
     Found change to SQLStatementToAddLeadingZerosToBarcodes 
     Found change to BarcodePriceImporter 
     Found change to TipsForLocatingInstallationDocuments 
     Found change to AutoTendering
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:03:11 GMT
%{
     Templates for the parts of the mails sent out by mailnotify. The HTML
     and PLAIN templates are in three parts; header, body (which is repeated
     for each change), and footer. The result is embedded in MailNotifyBody
}%
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/
Net.pm line 157.
**** ERROR :Mail send failed: ERROR: Can't send mail, missing 'From:'
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:03:12 GMT
%{
     Templates for the parts of the mails sent out by mailnotify. The HTML
     and PLAIN templates are in three parts; header, body (which is repeated
     for each change), and footer. The result is embedded in MailNotifyBody
}%
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
Use of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at c:/twiki/lib/TWiki/
Net.pm line 157.
Retry 4 in 1 secs...**** ERROR :Mail send failed: ERROR: Can't send mail, missin
g 'From:'
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:03:15 GMT

The above output is generated and then "retried" four times (Retry 4, Retry 3, Retry 2, and finally Retry 1). After the final retry, a message appears stating Too many failures; aborting send. The script then proceeds to process each of the remaining webs in the same manner If there are any changes to topics in other webs, then the same messages, lines, and retry behavior shown above is generated for that web.

-- JasonVensel - 16 Mar 2006

UPDATE

I figured out what broke e-mail notification. The problem was (still is) with the c:/twiki/templates/mailnotify.tmpl file. Specifically, the problem is with the version of that file that is included with the MailerContrib zip file. As I mentioned before, after I first installed TWiki Cairo, e-mail notification worked just fine. At some point after I installed MailerContrib, it stopped working. The reason it stopped working is because there is something in Net.pm (I think this is the file that has the problem) that doesn't work with the version of mailnotify.tmpl that is copied into the templates directory when you install MailerContrib. I restored the basic e-mail notification functionality in Cairo by replacing my existing mailnotify.tmpl file with the one that is included in the TWiki Cairo distribution. I still don't have MailerContrib (that is, per topic notification) working, but at least I have a better idea of what to look at.

I will attempt to get MailerContrib working. When I do, I'll post my results here and mark this answered.

-- JasonVensel - 21 Mar 2006

Okay, that didn't take long. MailerContrib is working. I just run the /bin/mailnotifier script. I'm marking this answered.

-- JasonVensel - 21 Mar 2006

Glad it worked out!

AFter all, Can't send mail, missing 'From:' was an indication that the From was missing in the template topic. Please report that in the Dev topic in case this is not an file mixup issue during upgrade.

-- PeterThoeny - 21 Mar 2006

Here's a summary of what happened. I'm running Cairo and wanted to install MailerContrib so I could do per topic notification. The only version of the .zip file I could download and unzip from Plugins.MailerContribAddOn was the most current one (used in Dakar). So, I unzipped it and then followed the instructions for installing it on Cairo. It didn't work so I created this post. You (Peter) eventually attached the correct version of the .zip file (see this topic), which I was able to use. However, because it doesn't include a mailnotify.tmpl file (why would it!), my system was still using the mailnotify.tmpl file that comes with the Dakar version of the .zip file!

By chance, I happened to look at the contents of the "Dakar" MailerContrib.zip and noticed that it included a mailnotify.tmpl file. I then compared the code of that file with the mailnotify.tmpl file included in the Cairo installation distribution. When I noticed they were different, I copied in the installation version of that file, tested the mailnotify script and it worked again. I then went out and made changes to multiple topics to see if the mailnotifier script would only report changes for topics to which I had subscribed; it did.

The moral of the story is, if you run Cairo and want to install MailerContrib verify the mailnotify.tmpl file is the same one that comes with the Cairo installation distribution.

I will add this note to the Dev topic.

-- JasonVensel - 21 Mar 2006

Well done Jason! Note for the future: The installer scripts built with BuildContrib (like the ones for MailerContrib) all have an "uninstall" target. If you had

perl MailerContrib_installer uninstall

before unzipping the older zip, then you wouldn't have had the problem.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 22 Mar 2006

perl MailerContrib_installer

### MailerContrib Installer ###

This installer must be run from the root directory of your TWiki installation. * The script will not do anything without asking you for confirmation first (unless you used -a). * You can abort the script at any point and re-run it later * If you answer 'no' to any questions you can always re-run the script again later ########################################################## Checking dependency on URI.... ########################################################## Checking dependency on URI::Escape.... Fetching the archive for TWiki::Contrib::Mailer. An existing /var/www/html/twiki/MailerContrib.zip exists; would you like me to use it? [y/n] y Got a local archive from /var/www/html/twiki/MailerContrib.zip Archive::Zip is not installed; trying unzip on the command line Archive: /var/www/html/twiki/MailerContrib.zip

creating

data/

creating

data/TWiki/ inflating: data/TWiki/MailerContrib.txt

creating

lib/

creating

lib/TWiki/

creating

lib/TWiki/Contrib/

creating

lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/ inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/WebNotify.pm inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/Subscriber.pm inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/Subscription.pm inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/Change.pm inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/MailerContrib/UpData.pm inflating: lib/TWiki/Contrib/Mailer.pm inflating: MailerContrib_installer

creating

templates/ inflating: templates/mailnotify.tmpl inflating: templates/newsletter.tmpl

creating

tools/ inflating: tools/mailnotify

unzip failed: ·Ç·¨ seek ²Ù×÷ Failed to unpack archive /var/www/html/twiki/MailerContrib.zip Archive unpacked

-- FanLei - 27 Oct 2006