This script solved a big problem my clients were having: finding a decent sendmail-type application for Windows that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. The freeware hacks that do exist are pretty bad. Solution: write a Perl script that's free and does not require any configuration whatsoever! Anyone on a machine that has Perl5 and allows Berkeley-style socket requests can use this script, which means most systems, not just Windows.
To get going, download the zip file via the link below. Unzip it. You'll get two files: tgmail.pl and tgmail.htm. Upload the script to the directory where you can run cgis. On Unix systems, do a 'chmod 755' on it. If the html file is not in the same directory as the script, change the action statement in the form to point to the script. You can also beautify the html to fit your site's style.
Take a look at the form items in tgmail.htm. You can enter values for the hidden variables, such as 'smtp_server', which should be the domain name of the smtp mail server. For me, for example, it's 'cgiware.com'. Note that many smtp servers will refuse to relay mail these days, thanks to abuse from spammers.
You can also put urls in the value fields for 'error_url' and 'okay_url'. The former is the page you want users to see when an error occurs, and the latter is the page you want them to see when the send is successful. If you don't assign values to those, the script will return its own versions created on the fly.
You can also set default values for these same variables, directly in the script itself. Use any text editor to view the script, read the comments, and assign values to the variables. Default values will always take priority over any form equivalent, so the script can even work without the form at all if you set all the necessary defaults.
Stay tuned to this site for upgrades to this script. Current version is 1.2 (June 18, 1997)
