Mail Transmission Class
The Mail class is a high-level wrapper around the PHPMailer library. It simplifies the process of sending complex, multi-part emails (HTML and Plain Text) by abstracting the underlying transport mechanism — allowing your application to switch seamlessly between standard PHP mail() and authenticated SMTP relay.
⚡ Core Transmission Method
Mail::send(array $vars)
This is the primary way to dispatch communications from your modules or themes.
| Parameter |
Type |
Required |
Description |
to |
string |
Yes |
The recipient's email address. |
to_name |
string |
No |
Display name for the recipient. |
subject |
string |
Yes |
The header subject line of the email. |
message |
string |
Yes |
The body content (HTML or Plain Text). |
msgtype |
string |
No |
Content format: 'html' (default) or 'text'. |
Returns: true on success, or a string containing the detailed error message from the mailer engine on failure.
$vars = [
'to' => '[email protected]',
'to_name' => 'Clark Kent',
'subject' => 'System Notification',
'message' => '<h1>Update!</h1><p>Your content has been published.</p>',
'msgtype' => 'html'
];
$result = Mail::send($vars);
if ($result !== true) {
Log::error("Mail failed: " . $result);
}
⚙️ Configuration Schema
The behavior of the Mail engine is governed by the settings defined in Settings > E-Mail.
mailtype: Toggle between 0 (Local PHP Mail) and 1 (External SMTP Relay).smtphost: The address of your SMTP provider (e.g., smtp.gmail.com).smtpport: The connection port (usually 465 for SSL or 587 for TLS).smtpuser: Your authentication username/email.smtppass: Your authentication password.
🏗️ Internal Workflow
The Mail class performs several automated steps during transmission:
- Configuration Fetch: Retrieves all SMTP and Site parameters from the
Options table.
- Engine Boot: Instantiates the
PHPMailer object with the appropriate encryption (SSL/TLS).
- Sender Identification: Automatically uses the site's default name and email as the "From" identity.
- Error Handling: Wraps the transmission in an exception block, returning the raw error if the server rejects the request.
priority_highImportantSMTP Delivery: For high-volume or critical transactional emails (like password resets), it is strongly recommended to use a dedicated SMTP service (SendGrid, Mailgun, or Gmail) rather than the local PHP mail() function to avoid being flagged as spam.
See Also
