Setting email sending options

You must enable email and configure email server settings before users or the Helix ALM Server can send email.

1. Click Server Options. You can also choose View > Server Options.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. Select Sending from the Email category.

3. Select Enable sending emails to enable sending email from Helix ALM.

4. Select a Protocol to use to send email.

Note:  When using the Exchange Online protocol, emails sent from Helix ALM can only show inline images that are 3 MB or less. Larger images are attached to the email instead of displayed inline.

5. Enter the information for the selected protocol.

  • Host — Host used to send outgoing mail. Enter an IP address (e.g., 123.34.5.26) or your mail server’s fully qualified domain name (e.g., mail.yourcompany.com).
  • SSL — SSL protocol to use to encrypt communication between the mail server and Helix ALM Server. You can use the Negotiate, STARTTLS 1.0, or TLS 1.2 protocols. Select <not set> if you do not want to use a secure protocol.
  • Port — Port number to use to send email. The default port is 465 if you select an SSL protocol and 25 if you do not.
  • Username and Password — Credentials if the SMTP host requires an authenticated login. Leave these fields empty if the host does not require authenticated login.
  • Tenant ID — Tenant ID for the Azure Active Directory that Helix ALM is registered in.
  • Application ID — ID that Azure Active Directory assigned to the Helix ALM app registration.
  • Client secret — Client secret generated in Azure Active Directory for the Helix ALM app registration.
  • Email address —Email account in Exchange Online that Helix ALM use to send email that cannot be sent for some reason. For example, it may be used for forwarding replied to tracked emails if the reply originates from an external address. This is also known as the User Principal Name in Azure Active Directory.

6. Click Test Connection to validate the connection to the email server.

The Connection Test Results dialog box opens. If the test connection fails, you can copy and paste the text into an email or text file and send it to your system administrator for help.

7. If you are experiencing problems, select the following options to help with troubleshooting.

  • Only send one message per SMTP connection sends one message per connection. Enable this option if the Helix ALM error log contains entries stating 'The SMTP host’s reply code to the MAIL command was 503' or an entry stating 'only one MAIL per message'. This option is only available if you are using the SMTP protocol to send email.
  • Pause sending stops sending email. Make sure you clear this option as soon as the problem is resolved because outgoing mail will back up in the queue.

8. Click OK to save the changes.

Note:  Most mail servers have strong security, which may affect sending email from Helix ALM. Many servers require advanced authentication to execute a send mail command. Some servers may restrict some send mail types, such as multiple recipient sends and multiple send requests per SMTP connection. In some cases, virus scanners may add wrappers to an email, which can change the email to a point where the send mail commands it initiates are no longer recognizable by SMTP standards.

If you experience problems sending email, check the Helix ALM Server log. See Working with the server log. If you know the specific SMTP error code, search the knowledgebase using the code for troubleshooting information.