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.NET Development
.NET Framework 3.5
This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
MailDefinition Class

Updated: November 2007

Allows a control to create e-mail messages from text files or strings. This class cannot be inherited.

Namespace:  System.Web.UI.WebControls
Assembly:  System.Web (in System.Web.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<BindableAttribute(False)> _
<AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level := AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
Public NotInheritable Class MailDefinition _
    Implements IStateManager
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As MailDefinition
C#
[BindableAttribute(false)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
public sealed class MailDefinition : IStateManager
Visual C++
[BindableAttribute(false)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel::Minimal)]
public ref class MailDefinition sealed : IStateManager
J#
/** @attribute BindableAttribute(false) */
/** @attribute AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal) */
public final class MailDefinition implements IStateManager
JScript
public final class MailDefinition implements IStateManager

The MailDefinition class can be used by controls to create a MailMessage object from a text file or a string that contains the body of the e-mail message. Use the MailDefinition class to simplify creating predefined e-mail messages to be sent by a control. If you want to send e-mail not using a control, see the System.Net.Mail class.

You can make text substitutions in the body of the e-mail message by passing to the CreateMailMessage method an IDictionary instance that maps strings to their replacements.

The MailMessage object created by the MailDefinition class is sent using the Send method of the SmtpClient class. To be able to send e-mail, you must configure an SMTP mail server in your Web.config file. For more information, see the <smtp> Element (Network Settings).

Note:

The MailDefinition class does not support data binding. Properties of the MailDefinition class cannot be bound to data using the <%#   %> data-binding expression syntax.

The following code example creates an Internet e-mail message from a Web Forms page. You can either enter the text of the message in the form or enter the name of a text file to use as the body of the mail. The code defines two string replacements for the message: the recipient list from the form's To text box will replace the string "<%To%>", and the text specified in the From property will replace the string "<%From%>".

On the Web Forms page that this code generates, you can click Create e-mail and display only to create an e-mail message and display the properties of the MailMessage object in the Web page. Click Create e-mail and send to both display the e-mail message in the Web page and send the message to the recipients using Internet e-mail.

Security Note:

This control has a text box that accepts user input, which is a potential security threat. By default, ASP.NET Web pages validate that user input does not include script or HTML elements. For more information, see Script Exploits Overview.

Visual Basic
<%@ page language="VB"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Net.Mail"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Reflection"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Collections.Specialized"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">               
    Function ShowMessage(ByVal msg As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage) As HtmlTable
        Dim table As HtmlTable = New HtmlTable
        Dim topRow As HtmlTableRow = New HtmlTableRow
        Dim fieldHeaderCell As HtmlTableCell = New HtmlTableCell
        Dim valueHeaderCell As HtmlTableCell = New HtmlTableCell

        fieldHeaderCell.InnerText = "Field"
        topRow.Cells.Add(fieldHeaderCell)
        valueHeaderCell.InnerText = "Value"
        topRow.Cells.Add(valueHeaderCell)
        table.Rows.Add(topRow)

        Dim p As PropertyInfo
        For Each p In msg.GetType().GetProperties()
            Dim row As HtmlTableRow = New HtmlTableRow
            Dim labelCell As HtmlTableCell = New HtmlTableCell
            Dim valueCell As HtmlTableCell = New HtmlTableCell

            If (Not ((p.Name = "Headers") Or _
                   (p.Name = "Fields") Or _
                   (p.Name = "Attachments"))) Then
                labelCell.InnerText = String.Format("{0}", p.Name)
                row.Cells.Add(labelCell)

                valueCell.InnerText = String.Format("{0}", p.GetValue(msg, Nothing))
                row.Cells.Add(valueCell)
            End If
            table.Rows.Add(row)
        Next
        Return table
    End Function

    Function CreateMessage() As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage
        Dim md As MailDefinition = New MailDefinition

        md.BodyFileName = sourceMailFile.Text

        md.CC = sourceCC.Text

        md.From = sourceFrom.Text

        md.Subject = sourceSubject.Text

        If sourcePriority.SelectedValue = "Normal" Then
            md.Priority = MailPriority.Normal
        ElseIf sourcePriority.SelectedValue = "High" Then
            md.Priority = MailPriority.High
        ElseIf sourcePriority.SelectedValue = "Low" Then
            md.Priority = MailPriority.Low
        End If

        Dim replacements As ListDictionary = New ListDictionary
        replacements.Add("<%To%>", sourceTo.Text)
        replacements.Add("<%From%>", sourceFrom.Text)

        If useFile.Checked Then
            Dim fileMsg As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage
            fileMsg = md.CreateMailMessage(sourceTo.Text, replacements, Me)
            Return fileMsg
        Else
            Dim textMsg As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage
            textMsg = md.CreateMailMessage(sourceTo.Text, replacements, sourceBodyText.Text, Me)
            Return textMsg
        End If
    End Function

    Sub createEMail_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        Dim msg As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage = CreateMessage()
        PlaceHolder1.Controls.Add(ShowMessage(msg))
    End Sub

    Sub sendEMail_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        Dim msg As System.Net.Mail.MailMessage = CreateMessage()
        PlaceHolder1.Controls.Add(ShowMessage(msg))

        Try
            Dim sc As SmtpClient
            sc = New SmtpClient()
            sc.Send(msg)
        Catch ex As Exception
            errorMsg.Text = ex.ToString()
        End Try
    End Sub

</script>
<html  >
    <head runat="server">
    <title>Create an e-mail message</title>
</head>
<body>
        <form id="Form1" runat="server">
            <table id="Table1" cellspacing="1" 
                style="padding:1; width:450px; text-align:center">
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <h3>Create an e-mail message</h3>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">To:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceTo" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;<asp:requiredfieldvalidator 
                            id="RequiredFieldValidator1" runat="server" errormessage="*"
                            controltovalidate="sourceTo">
                        </asp:requiredfieldvalidator>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Cc:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceCC" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">From:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceFrom" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;<asp:requiredfieldvalidator 
                            id="RequiredFieldValidator2" runat="server" errormessage="*"
                            controltovalidate="sourceFrom">
                        </asp:requiredfieldvalidator>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">
                    Priority</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:dropdownlist id="sourcePriority" runat="server">
                            <asp:listitem value="Low">Low</asp:listitem>
                            <asp:listitem value="Normal" selected="true">Normal</asp:listitem>
                            <asp:listitem value="High">High</asp:listitem>
                        </asp:dropdownlist>&nbsp;</td>
                    <td>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Subject:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceSubject" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Source:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <table id="Table2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="100%">
                            <tr>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 100px">
                                    <asp:radiobutton id="useFile" runat="server" 
                                        text="Use file" width="80px" groupname="textSource"
                                        checked="True">
                                    </asp:radiobutton>&nbsp;</td>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 11px">
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                    <p style="text-align:right">File name:</p>
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                    <asp:textbox id="sourceMailFile" runat="server" columns="22">
                                    mail.txt</asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                            </tr>
                            <tr>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 100px">
                                    <asp:radiobutton id="useText" runat="server" 
                                        text="Enter text" width="80px" height="22px"
                                        groupname="textSource">
                                    </asp:radiobutton>&nbsp;</td>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 11px">
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                </td>
                            </tr>
                        </table>
                    </td>
                    <td>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceBodyText" runat="server" columns="51" 
                            textmode="MultiLine" rows="15">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <asp:button id="createEMail" runat="server" 
                            text="Create e-mail and display only" onclick="createEMail_Click">
                        </asp:button>
                        <asp:button id="sendEMail" runat="server" text="Create e-mail and send">
                        </asp:button></td>
                </tr>
            </table>
            <p>&nbsp;</p>
            <p>
                <asp:placeholder id="PlaceHolder1" runat="server">
                </asp:placeholder>&nbsp;</p>
            <p>
                <asp:literal id="errorMsg" runat="server">
                </asp:literal></p>
        </form>
    </body>
</html>

C#
<%@ page language="C#"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Net.Mail"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Reflection"%>
<%@ import namespace="System.Collections.Specialized"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<script runat="server">

    HtmlTable ShowMessage(System.Net.Mail.MailMessage msg)
    {
        HtmlTable table = new HtmlTable();
        HtmlTableRow topRow = new HtmlTableRow();
        HtmlTableCell fieldHeaderCell = new HtmlTableCell();
        HtmlTableCell valueHeaderCell = new HtmlTableCell();
        fieldHeaderCell.InnerText = "Field";
        topRow.Cells.Add(fieldHeaderCell);
        valueHeaderCell.InnerText = "Value";
        topRow.Cells.Add(valueHeaderCell);
        table.Rows.Add(topRow);

        foreach(PropertyInfo p in msg.GetType().GetProperties())
        {
            HtmlTableRow row = new HtmlTableRow();

            HtmlTableCell labelCell = new HtmlTableCell();

            HtmlTableCell valueCell = new HtmlTableCell();

            if (!((p.Name == "Headers") ||
                  (p.Name == "Fields")  ||
                  (p.Name == "Attachments")))
            {            
                labelCell.InnerText = String.Format("{0}",p.Name);
                row.Cells.Add(labelCell);

                valueCell.InnerText = String.Format("{0}",p.GetValue(msg,null));
                row.Cells.Add(valueCell);
            }

            table.Rows.Add(row);
        }

        return table;
    }

    System.Net.Mail.MailMessage CreateMessage()
    {
        MailDefinition md = new MailDefinition();
        md.BodyFileName = sourceMailFile.Text;
        md.CC = sourceCC.Text;
        md.From = sourceFrom.Text;
        md.Subject = sourceSubject.Text;
        if (sourcePriority.SelectedValue == "Normal")
        {
            md.Priority = MailPriority.Normal;
        }
        else if (sourcePriority.SelectedValue == "High")
        {
            md.Priority = MailPriority.High;
        }
        else if (sourcePriority.SelectedValue == "Low")
        {
            md.Priority = MailPriority.Low;
        }

        ListDictionary replacements = new ListDictionary();
        replacements.Add("<%To%>",sourceTo.Text);
        replacements.Add("<%From%>", md.From);
        if (true == useFile.Checked)
        { 
            System.Net.Mail.MailMessage fileMsg;
            fileMsg = md.CreateMailMessage(sourceTo.Text, replacements, this); 
            return fileMsg;
        } 
        else
        {
            System.Net.Mail.MailMessage textMsg;
            textMsg = md.CreateMailMessage(sourceTo.Text, replacements, sourceBodyText.Text, this);
            return textMsg;
        }
    }

    void createEMail_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
    {
        System.Net.Mail.MailMessage msg = CreateMessage();

        PlaceHolder1.Controls.Add(ShowMessage(msg));          
    }

    void sendEMail_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
    {
        System.Net.Mail.MailMessage msg = CreateMessage();

        PlaceHolder1.Controls.Add(ShowMessage(msg));          

        errorMsg.Text = String.Empty;
        try {
            SmtpClient sc = new SmtpClient();
            sc.Send(msg);
        }
        catch (HttpException ex) {
          errorMsg.Text = ex.ToString();
        }
    }

</script>
<html  >
    <head runat="server">
    <title>Create an e-mail message</title>
</head>
<body>
        <form id="Form1" runat="server">
            <table id="Table1" cellspacing="1" 
                style="padding:1; width:450px; text-align:center">
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <h3>Create an e-mail message</h3>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">To:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceTo" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;
                        <asp:requiredfieldvalidator id="RequiredFieldValidator1" 
                          runat="server" errormessage="*" controltovalidate="sourceTo">
                        </asp:requiredfieldvalidator>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Cc:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceCC" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">From:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceFrom" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;
                        <asp:requiredfieldvalidator id="RequiredFieldValidator2" 
                          runat="server" errormessage="*" controltovalidate="sourceFrom">
                        </asp:requiredfieldvalidator>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Subject:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceSubject" runat="server" columns="54">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">
                    Priority</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <asp:dropdownlist id="sourcePriority" runat="server">
                            <asp:listitem value="Low">Low</asp:listitem>
                            <asp:listitem value="Normal" selected="true">Normal
                            </asp:listitem>
                            <asp:listitem value="High">High</asp:listitem>
                        </asp:dropdownlist>&nbsp;</td>
                    <td>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="right">Source:</td>
                    <td style="WIDTH: 10px">
                    </td>
                    <td>
                        <table id="Table2" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="100%">
                            <tr>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 100px">
                                    <asp:radiobutton id="useFile" runat="server" text="Use file" 
                                      width="80px" groupname="textSource" checked="True">
                                    </asp:radiobutton>&nbsp;</td>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 11px">
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                    <p style="text-align:right">File name:</p>
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                    <asp:textbox id="sourceMailFile" runat="server" columns="22">
                                    mail.txt</asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                            </tr>
                            <tr>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 100px">
                                    <asp:radiobutton id="useText" runat="server" 
                                        text="Enter text" width="80px" height="22px" 
                                        groupname="textSource">
                                    </asp:radiobutton>&nbsp;</td>
                                <td style="WIDTH: 11px">
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                </td>
                                <td>
                                </td>
                            </tr>
                        </table>
                    </td>
                    <td>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <asp:textbox id="sourceBodyText" runat="server" columns="51" 
                            textmode="MultiLine" rows="15">
                        </asp:textbox>&nbsp;</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td align="center" colspan="3">
                        <asp:button id="createEMail" runat="server" 
                            text="Create e-mail and display only"
                            onclick="createEMail_Click">
                        </asp:button>
                        <asp:button id="sendEMail" runat="server" 
                            text="Create e-mail and send">
                        </asp:button></td>
                </tr>
            </table>
            <p>&nbsp;</p>
            <p>
                <asp:placeholder id="PlaceHolder1" runat="server">
                </asp:placeholder>&nbsp;
            </p>
            <p>
                <asp:literal id="errorMsg" runat="server">
                </asp:literal>
            </p>
        </form>
    </body>
</html>

System..::.Object
  System.Web.UI.WebControls..::.MailDefinition
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
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