This article is for ASP.NET 1.x. For a 2.0 snippet read Sending Email in ASP.NET 2.0 (VB.NET).

By now we all know how to send server-side email using classic ASP. We either use Microsoft's CDONTS technology or a third-party component such as ServerObjects's ASPMail or Persist's ASPEmail. With ASP.NET server-side email is built-in and can be accessed using the System.Web.Mail namespace. In this article, I will demonstrate how to generate an email with form validation.

The Example

A lot of people post their resume on their web site. The advantage of having a resume available for recruiters and potential employers on a web site is valuable. The downside is you don't know who is reading your resume. A simple way to resolve that is to set up a form where the user requests that the resume be emailed to them. Then you can blind carbon copy yourself and you'll know exactly who showed interest. No more guessing if an employer pulled your resume, you'll have a receipt.

The Form

Elements we will want to capture are name, email, company, and the format of the resume they wish to receive. All fields will be required to successfully submit the form. Let's code the form using ASP.NET Web Form controls and attach validation controls.

<div id="requestResume" runat="server"> 
<!-- The values on this FORM will be posted back to the server. --> 
<!-- We will add the 'runat="server"' to the FORM and controls --> 
<form id="Form1" method="post" runat="server"> 
<table> 
<tr><td>Name</td>
<td><input type="text" id="txtName" 
value="" size="30" maxlength="50" 
runat="server" name="txtName"/> 
<!-- txtName is required. We will attach a 
RequiredFieldValidator by assigning 
txtName as the ControlToValidate --> 
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator id="valRequiredName" 
runat="server"     
ControlToValidate="txtName"     
ErrorMessage="* You must enter your Full Name."
     Display="dynamic".>
</td></tr> 
<tr><td>Email</td>
<td> <input type="text" id="txtEmail" 
value="" size="30" maxlength="50" 
runat="server" NAME="txtEmail"/> 
<!-- txtEmail is both required and must be a valid email address. -->
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator id="valRequiredEmail" 
runat="server"     
ControlToValidate="txtEmail"     
ErrorMessage="* You must enter your Email address."     
Display="dynamic"/>
<!-- txtEmail will be validated using Regular Expression. 
It is also attached to txtEmail via the ControlToValidate property. --> 
<asp:RegularExpressionValidator id="valValidEmail" 
runat="server"     
ControlToValidate="txtEmail"     
ValidationExpression="\w+([-+.']\w+)*@\w+([-.]\w+)*\.\w+([-.]\w+)*"     
ErrorMessage="* You must enter a valid Email address"     
Display="dynamic"/> 
</td></tr> 
<tr><td>Company</td>
<td> <!-- txtCompany works exactly like txtName. --> 
<input type="text" id="txtCompany" value="" size="30" 
maxlength="50" runat="server" 
NAME="txtCompany"/> 
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator id="valRequiredCompany" 
runat="server"     
ControlToValidate="txtCompany"     
ErrorMessage="* You must enter your Company name."     
Display="dynamic"/>
</td></tr> 
<tr><td>Resume Format</td>
<td> 
<!-- The dropdown list of resume formats 
will be assigned on the server --> 
<asp:DropDownList id="selResume" Runat="server"/>
</td></tr> 
<tr>
<td></td>
<td> 
<!-- When the FORM is submitted it will 
execute the "btnSubmit_OnClick" 
Subroutine on the server. --> 
<asp:button type="submit" name="btnSubmit" 
onclick="btnSubmit_OnClick" 
text="Request Resume" 
runat="server"/> </td></tr> 
</table> 
</form> 
</div>

Server-Side Code (VB.NET)

Regardless of what language you utilize, the above FORM will be coded the same way. To proceed on the server-side code, we need to pick a language. C# and Visual Basic are the two most popular at this time. Let's proceed in VB. The first line imports the ASP.NET code needed to perform sending email.

<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Mail" %> 
<script language="VB" runat="server">     
Sub Page_Load()         
'=== When the page first loads populate the Resume Format dropdown         
If NOT IsPostBack() Then            
   Call populateResumeFormats()            
   selResume.DataValueField = "Value"            
   selResume.DataTextField = "Key"            
   selResume.DataBind()         
End If     
End Sub     

Public Sub populateResumeFormats         
'=== create a HashTable to populate the dropdown.         
   Dim dropResume As New HashTable(4)         
   dropResume.Add("Word 97 (.RTF)", "resume.rtf")         
   dropResume.Add("HTML", "resume.htm")         
   dropResume.Add("Word 2002", "resume.doc")         
   dropResume.Add("Text", "resume.txt")         
   selResume.DataSource = dropResume     
End Sub     

Sub btnSubmit_OnClick(o as Object, e as EventArgs)         
'=== The Page.IsValid call checks all the validation controls. 
'=== If they all pass then the form is valid.         
If Page.IsValid Then             
'=== no longer display the FORM, display a status message. 
   requestResume.InnerHTML = "You will receive an email shortly with my resume.
 Thank you for your interest."             
   Call sendResume         
End If     
End Sub     

Sub sendResume        
'=== create a MailMessage         
  Dim resumeEmail as New MailMessage         
  Dim strResumeFilePath as String         
'=== To, CC, BCC, From, Subject are self-explainatory         
  resumeEmail.To = txtEmail.value
  resumeEmail.BCC = "larryking@cnn.com"         
  resumeEmail.From = "larryking@cnn.com"         
  resumeEmail.Subject = "Resume for Larry King"         
  resumeEmail.BodyFormat = MailFormat.text         
  resumeEmail.Body = txtName.value & ", attached is a copy of my resume. 
I look forward to working with you. - MAS "         
'=== for this example all versions of the resume reside in the 
/resume directory           
  strResumeFilePath = Server.MapPath("/") & "\resume\" & selResume.SelectedItem.value         
'=== create an attachment and add the file path to that attachment         
  Dim resumeAttachment as New MailAttachment(strResumeFilePath)            
  resumeEmail.Attachments.Add(resumeAttachment)         
'=== send the email         
  SmtpMail.Send(resumeEmail)     
End Sub </script>

Last Words

Pretty straightforward isn't it? Now you have a working resume mailer. The employer can specify the preferred format, and the potential employee gets to track who is viewing the resume.

This article was written in 2001 for ASP.NET 1.0. Forgive the non XHTML.

Labels: ASP.NET, Email, VB.NET