In this article I will explain with an example, how to send email using JavaScript XmlHttpRequest (XHR) and AJAX in ASP.Net MVC.
The
JavaScript XmlHttpRequest (XHR) function will call a
Web API Action method which will send email using Gmail SMTP Mail Server in ASP.Net MVC.
Mail Server Settings in Web.Config file
The following Mail Server settings need to be saved in the Web.Config file.
Note: It is necessary to use the sender’s email address credentials while defining the Gmail SMTP Server Credentials as Gmail the sender’s email address must be same as the Gmail Username specified in credentials.
<system.net>
<mailSettings>
<smtp deliveryMethod= "Network" from= "sender@gmail.com">
<network
host="smtp.gmail.com"
port="587"
enableSsl="true"
userName="sender@gmail.com"
password="GMAILor2STEP-PASSWORD"
defaultCredentials= "true"/>
</smtp>
</mailSettings>
</system.net>
Sending Email using jQuery AJAX
MailMessage class properties
Following are the required properties of the MailMessage class.
From – Sender’s email address.
To – Recipient(s) Email Address.
CC – Carbon Copies (if any).
BCC – Blind Carbon Copies (if any).
Subject – Subject of the Email.
Body – Body of the Email.
IsBodyHtml – Specify whether body contains text or HTML mark up.
Attachments – Attachments (if any).
ReplyTo – ReplyTo Email address.
SMTP class properties
Following are the properties of the SmtpClient class.
Host – SMTP Server URL (Gmail: smtp.gmail.com).
EnableSsl – Specify whether your host accepts SSL Connections (Gmail: True).
UseDefaultCredentials – Set to True in order to allow authentication based on the Credentials of the Account used to send emails.
Credentials – Valid login credentials for the SMTP server (Gmail: email address and password).
Port – Port Number of the SMTP server (Gmail: 587).
Model
The Model class consists of following properties.
public class EmailModel
{
public string Email{ get;set; }
public string Subject{ get;set; }
public string Body{ get;set; }
}
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespaces.
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Mail;
using System.Net.Configuration;
using System.Configuration;
Controller
The Controller consists of following Action method.
Action method for handling GET operation
Inside this Action method, simply the View is returned.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
// GET: Home
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
}
Web API Controller
The
Web API Controller consists of following Action method.
Action method for Sending Email
This Action method handles the POST call made from the JavaScript XmlHttpRequest (XHR) function.
Inside this Action method, the Sender email address (from) is fetched from the SmtpSection of the Web.Config file and the values of Subject and Body are fetched from their respective properties of EmailModel class object.
Setting Body of Email
The IsBodyHtml property of MailMessage class is set to TRUE.
Then, object of the SmtpClient class is created and the settings of the Mail Server such as Host, Port, EnableSsl, Username and Password are fetched from the mailSettings section of the Web.Config file and are set in respective properties of the SmtpClient class object.
Finally, an email is sent using
Send method of the
SmtpClient class and a
Success Message displayed using
JavaScript Alert Message Box.
public class AjaxAPIController : ApiController
{
[Route("api/AjaxAPI/SendEmail")]
[HttpPost]
public string SendEmail(EmailModel email)
{
//Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
SmtpSection smtpSection = (SmtpSection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp");
using (MailMessage mm = new MailMessage(smtpSection.From,email.Email))
{
mm.Subject = email.Subject;
mm.Body = email.Body;
mm.IsBodyHtml = true;
using (SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient())
{
smtp.Host = smtpSection.Network.Host;
smtp.EnableSsl = smtpSection.Network.EnableSsl;
NetworkCredential networkCred = new NetworkCredential(smtpSection.Network.UserName, smtpSection.Network.Password);
smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = true;
smtp.Credentials = networkCred;
smtp.Port = smtpSection.Network.Port;
smtp.Send(mm);
}
}
return "Email sentsuccessfully.";
}
}
View
HTML Markup
The View consists of two TextBoxes, a TextArea and a Button.
The Button has been assigned with a
JavaScript click event handler.
Submitting the Form
When the
Send button is clicked, the TextBoxes and TextArea values are passed to the
SendEmail Action method of
Web API using
JavaScript XmlHttpRequest (XHR) function.
Finally, the received
Success Message is displayed using
JavaScript Alert Message Box.
@{
Layout = null;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width" />
<title>Index</title>
</head>
<body>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td>To:</td>
<td><input type="text" id="txtEmail" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Subject:</td>
<td><input type="text" id="txtSubject" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">Body:</td>
<td><textarea id="txtBody" rows="3" cols="20"></textarea></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><input type="button" id="btnSend" value="Send" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
<script type="text/javascript">
function SendEmail() {
var to = document.getElementById("txtEmail").value;
var subject = document.getElementById("txtSubject").value;
var body = document.getElementById("txtBody").value;
var email = '{Email: "' + to +'", Subject: "' + subject +'", Body: "' + body +'" }';
var request;
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
//New browsers.
request = new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else if (window.ActiveXObject) {
//Old IE Browsers.
request = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
if (request != null) {
var url = "/api/AjaxAPI/SendEmail";
request.open("POST", url, false);
var params = email;
request.setRequestHeader("Content-Type","application/json");
request.onreadystatechange = function () {
if (request.readyState == 4 &&request.status == 200) {
var response = JSON.parse(request.responseText);
alert(response);
}
};
request.send(params);
}
};
</script>
</body>
</html>
Possible Errors
The following error occurs when you try to send email using Gmail credentials in your application.
The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated. The server response was: 5.5.1 Authentication Required. Learn more at
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details:System.Net.Mail.SmtpException: The SMTP server requires a secure connection or the client was not authenticated. The server response was: 5.5.1 Authentication Required. Learn more at
Solution
Screenshots
Email Form
![ASP.Net MVC: Send Email using JavaScript]()
Received Email
![ASP.Net MVC: Send Email using JavaScript]()
Downloads
