Microsoft Access Email FAQ - Third Party Controls

(Last updated 09/27/2010)

Given that I have little control of my clients software and what other products they have installed on them I like using controls which do the dialing (if required) and the uploading/downloading of email directly.

The user configures Win 95/98/NT in the normal fashion for ISP connections. In the Access software they enter their ID, password, mail server POP and SMTP name and ISP phone number, choose the modem dialer profile previously defined to Win 95/98/NT, and the Mabry controls do the dialing, uploading/downloading of email and your software does the rest.

You aren't dependent in any way on how the system is configured. You don't have to have all the various versions of Exchange and Outlook on your system to support the clients. So long as they've configured Win 95/98/NT networking to connect to their ISP. You control everything. You can also log, in your application, exactly when email was received or sent.

As one programmer put it: "Users tend to tweak their profiles, so one day your application works great, and the next day it crashes or sends out unreadable attachments. Way too much tech support for me!"

I've had good success with the Mabry mail and RAS controls. Click here for my sample code using the Mabry controls, DAO and a recordset to send the same email to many email addresses. I did have to go looking in a non standard place at the Mabry website though.

There are other controls available which Access programmers have indicated work in Access.   As always your mileage may vary.  Try before you buy.  And do a search at groups.google.com on "Microsoft Access" and the name of the control to see what comments are out there.  Or "Visual Basic" or VB.

• IDSMail is a universal E-mail component, so it supports any mail systems based on MAPI, SMTP/POP3, VIM (Lotus), MHS (Novell), Banyan VINES, or Active Messaging. It also supports HTML message content and automatic attachment zipping.  Click here for sample code. [Note that this can be an expensive solution unless you need the capabilities in addition to SMTP/POP3.]
• Mabrys mail and RAS controls for email.
• SocketTools Visual Edition
• H&S Technology, Inc
• MarshallSoft Computing, Inc.
• Codestone
• ACG Soft E-mail and PDF class library for Access 97
• MailBuilderEmail toolkit for developers
• dbMail
• SVLoader email based data loading and SVQuery email based data retrieval.
• Mi'Mail for Windows: allows you to send email via DDE from MS-Access. Note: this may only be for Win 3.1
• Email Pump is a quick, easy way to send mass email as HTML or text messages. (If you're a spammer disregard this.)
• Dimac w3 JMail (and follow the links.  Note to Dimac.  Lose the frames.)
• All Code Solutions To MS Outlook
• AspEmail is a free active server component that enables your ASP application to send email messages via any external SMTP server. (Well free if you don't need a premium feature that is.)
• IPWorks Internet Connectivity OCX
• AspMail™
• FMS Inc'sTotal Access Emailer (Still in beta testing as of this update) Access add-in, includes an interactive, Wizard-like user interface, programmatic interface and royalty-free runtime distribution rights are included.
• Ostrosoft SMTP Component Free but not POP3.  Source code using Ostrosoft Winsock control also available.  (2003-10-11) 
• ExontrolExEMail and eXInbox ( 2003-10-30)
• Quiksoft SMTP Component COM Object (2004-01-25) 
• Distinct Visual Internet Toolkit   (2004-01-25) 
• Chilkat MAIL   (2004-05-24) 
• Dundas Mailer Free   (2004-07-06) 

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