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Okay, so I'm new to php, and so I searched this site to find out how to send an e-mail to myself after a user fills out a contact form. I found this answer.

Send email with PHP from html form on submit with the same script

I'm using the code from the selected answer. I tried the top answer, by combining both sections into a single php page, and the second, using an html and php page, but I get the following errors:

Warning: mail() [function.mail]: Failed to connect to mailserver at "localhost" port 25, verify your "SMTP" and "smtp_port" setting in php.ini or use ini_set() in (MY WEBSITE) on line 14

Warning: mail() [function.mail]: Failed to connect to mailserver at "localhost" port 25, verify your "SMTP" and "smtp_port" setting in php.ini or use ini_set() in (MY WEBSITE) on line 15

"MY WEBSITE" was put there by me.

Lines 14 and 15 are these:

mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);

mail($from,$subject2,$message2,$headers2);

Why am I getting this issue? I'm doing exactly what the poster said to do.

Community
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Jordan Carter
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2 Answers2

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You are running PHP on Windows. On Unix-like systems, PHP is able to use the built-in sendmail command to send emails, and so needs no further configuration. On Windows, however, that command doesn't exist, so PHP sends email via an external SMTP server.

In order to send emails, as the error messages explain, you will need to configure your php.ini file or use ini_set() to set the SMTP and smtp_port ini settings. You'll want to specify a SMTP server and smtp_port (usually 25) that you can send email from. If you are running php from your home computer, this would probably be whatever mail server your ISP gave you. If you are are on a third-party hosting provider, you would have to get email server information from them (and they may not actually allow sending email, or may put tight controls on how much you can send, to prevent spam).

The location of the ini file is set by both configuration and convention. PHP's configuration file documentation. On Windows, a long list of registry keys is checked, before eventually falling back to C:\windows or C:\winnt, so that is where you should look for your ini file. (Running php --ini will also show where it's actually trying to read the ini file from.)

There is a sample configuration file shown in the configuration file documentation. If you don't already have a php.ini that was installed when you installed PHP, you can use that format to guide you in creating a new file.

jbafford
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  • How do I do that? Am I supposed to be using a software like Xampp or something? I just created a mail_handler.php file using notepad++ and stuck the code in there. Can I make php.ini file in the same fashion? If so, what do I put in it, and how do I link my html and php files to it? – Jordan Carter Jan 09 '16 at 07:36
  • @JordanCarter I expanded the answer; that and the links to the documentation I added should tell you what you need. As far as Xampp, that is certainly an option, but also outside the scope of your original question. – jbafford Jan 09 '16 at 15:12
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I would bet you are on a Linux server or the host server has the mail function built in turned off. You are not with out options though.

First consider your server. If your server is a shared server and you are likely to have your mail sent to spam if it is delivered at all. Most websites will out source their message systems to keep the load off the server and to ensure delivery.

If you are not in the market for outsourcing your mail services you will need to use a library that will do most of the heavy lifting for you. I would recommend phpMailer it even has an autoset up build in with great examples on how to configure your server.

Next before you install php mailer read your host servers fine print most of them have strict rules about mail (meaning you have to keep a confirmation they wanted the email) if they let you send mail at all. They do this to keep their servers off of spam list.

Good Luck

jmodine
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