In this article I will explain with an example, how to send email using Gmail SMTP Mail Server in ASP.Net.
To send email through Google Gmail SMTP Mail Server, you will need to use an email address and password of a valid Gmail account and along with that you will need the Gmail SMTP Mail Server settings.
 
 
HTML Markup
The HTML Markup consists of:
TextBox – For capturing the values of Recipient Email address, Subject, Body, Gmail account email address, Gmail account password.
FileUpload – For attaching file to the email.
Button – For sending email.
The Button has been assigned with an OnClick event handler.
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
    <tr>
        <td style="width: 80px">To:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtTo"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Subject:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtSubject"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td valign="top">Body:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtBody" TextMode="MultiLine" Height="150" Width="200"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>File Attachment:</td>
        <td><asp:FileUpload runat="server" ID="fuAttachment" /></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Gmail Email:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtEmail"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Gmail Password:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtPassword" TextMode="Password"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td></td>
        <td><asp:Button runat="server" ID="btnSend" Text="Send" OnClick="SendEmail" /></td>
    </tr>
</table>
 
 
Mail Server Settings in Web.Config file
The following Mail Server settings need to be saved in the Web.Config file.
<system.net>
    <mailSettings>
        <smtp deliveryMethod="Network">
            <network
                host="smtp.gmail.com"
                port="587"
                enableSsl="true"
                defaultCredentials="true/>
        </smtp>
    </mailSettings>
</system.net>
 
 
Namespaces
You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Mail;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Net.Configuration;
 
VB.Net
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Net
Imports System.Net.Mail
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Net.Configuration
 
 
Sending email with attachment using Gmail SMTP Account
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 SMTP 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 te Account used to send emails
Credentials – Valid login credentials for the SMTP server (Gmail: email address and password)
Port – Port Number of the SMTP sever (Gmail: 587)
 
When Send button is clicked, the Recipient email address (to), the Sender email address (from), Subject and Body values are fetched from their respective fields and are set into an object of the MailMessage class.
If the FileUpload control has attachment then, the attachment is added to the Attachments List of the MailMessage Object.
Then, object of the SmtpClient class is created and the settings of the Mail Server such has Host, Port, DefaultCredentials and EnableSsl are fetched from the mailSettings section of the Web.Config file and are set in respective properties of the SmtpClient class object.
And Username and Password values are passed as parameter to NetworkCredential class from their respective fields.
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 equal to Gmail Username specified in credentials.
 
Finally, the email is being sent and success the message is displayed in JavaScript Alert Message Box using RegisterStartupScript method.
C#
protected void SendEmail(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    //Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
    SmtpSection smtpSection = (SmtpSection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp");
 
    using (MailMessage mm = new MailMessage(txtEmail.Text, txtTo.Text))
    {
        mm.Subject = txtSubject.Text;
        mm.Body = txtBody.Text;
        if (fuAttachment.HasFile)
        {
            string FileName = Path.GetFileName(fuAttachment.PostedFile.FileName);
            mm.Attachments.Add(new Attachment(fuAttachment.PostedFile.InputStream, FileName));
        }
        mm.IsBodyHtml = false;
        using (SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient())
        {
            smtp.Host = smtpSection.Network.Host;
            smtp.EnableSsl = smtpSection.Network.EnableSsl;
            NetworkCredential networkCred = new NetworkCredential(txtEmail.Text, txtPassword.Text);
            smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = smtpSection.Network.DefaultCredentials;
            smtp.Credentials = networkCred;
            smtp.Port = smtpSection.Network.Port;
            smtp.Send(mm);
            ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "alert", "alert('Email sent.');", true);
        }
    }
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub SendEmail(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    'Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
    Dim smtpSection As SmtpSection = CType(ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp"), SmtpSection)
 
    Using mm As MailMessage = New MailMessage(txtEmail.Text, txtTo.Text)
        mm.Subject = txtSubject.Text
        mm.Body = txtBody.Text
        If fuAttachment.HasFile Then
            Dim FileName As String = Path.GetFileName(fuAttachment.PostedFile.FileName)
            mm.Attachments.Add(New Attachment(fuAttachment.PostedFile.InputStream, FileName))
        End If
        mm.IsBodyHtml = False
        Using smtp AsSmtpClient = New SmtpClient()
            smtp.Host = smtpSection.Network.Host
            smtp.EnableSsl = smtpSection.Network.EnableSsl
            Dim networkCred As NetworkCredential = New NetworkCredential(txtEmail.Text, txtPassword.Text)
            smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = smtpSection.Network.DefaultCredentials
            smtp.Credentials = networkCred
            smtp.Port = smtpSection.Network.Port
            smtp.Send(mm)
            ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(Me.GetType(), "alert", "alert('Email sent.');", True)
        End Using
    End Using
End Sub
 
 
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
Send email using Gmail SMTP Mail Server in ASP.Net
 
Received Email
Send email using Gmail SMTP Mail Server in ASP.Net
 
 
Downloads