Create custom mass-email script

[strelitzia]

I have a requirement to send out a custom email to customers, but it needs to be automated as it is going out to 15000 + clients.
I have written the sql query that collates all the customer details from the 400k rows of data we have for them, but i can't figure out how to hook it into the existing email system. I don't want to use the email page from admin, but create an entirely new option where admin can select number of days dormant to vary who this email is going to.

I know that email processing from orders etc is handled by includes/functions/functions_email.php and that the email template is selected based on $current_page_base but i'm unsure on how i get my admin file dormant_mail.php to connect to and trigger the email process.

Can anyone tell me the current process for handling a checkout confirmation email for instance as the email content is built in orders.php and then passed on, yet function_email knows current_page_base was checkout_confirmation.

So, if my "email variables" are collected in admin/dormant_mail.php, do they need to be passed elsewhere to build the content, and then passed onto includes/functions/functions_email.php??

Writing the required code isn't an issue as i'm proficient with php, java and mysql, but i just don't get the zc way of preparing and handling emails.

Any help at all greatly appreciated.

[kobra]

but it needs to be automated as it is going out to 15000 + clients.

With that many clients, you should be using a email service
Most hosts impose a limit on how many emails can be sent and this is considered advertisement and should be treated as such
Mail Chimp is one that can be integrated into Zencart

[strelitzia]

Try telling that to the large corporate client that the site is owned by!
Besides, it really isn't a simple option of using a mail client as the emails need to contain information held within a second database that it's connected to and that needs to be updated as each email is sent.
Clients receiving this email have already agreed to receive marketing emails by the way, they are not unsolicited.

[kobra]

Try telling that to the large corporate client that the site is owned by!

If it is on their own server then disregard my post - of not then My post stands

As a responsible individual, it is up to you to consul your clients as to the correct way to proceed

[strelitzia]

If it is on their own server

It is on their own server

[kobra]

Might post the contents of your custom dormant_mail.php file

[DrByte]

I have a requirement to send out a custom email to customers, but it needs to be automated as it is going out to 15000 + clients.
I have written the sql query that collates all the customer details from the 400k rows of data we have for them, but i can't figure out how to hook it into the existing email system. I don't want to use the email page from admin, but create an entirely new option where admin can select number of days dormant to vary who this email is going to.

I know that email processing from orders etc is handled by includes/functions/functions_email.php and that the email template is selected based on $current_page_base but i'm unsure on how i get my admin file dormant_mail.php to connect to and trigger the email process.

Can anyone tell me the current process for handling a checkout confirmation email for instance as the email content is built in orders.php and then passed on, yet function_email knows current_page_base was checkout_confirmation.

So, if my "email variables" are collected in admin/dormant_mail.php, do they need to be passed elsewhere to build the content, and then passed onto includes/functions/functions_email.php??

Writing the required code isn't an issue as i'm proficient with php, java and mysql, but i just don't get the zc way of preparing and handling emails.

Any help at all greatly appreciated.

I'm not sure I really understand what you're asking.
If you're sending emails from your admin, why are you making reference to checkout_confirmation which is a non-admin activity? Same with $current_page_base.

Sending emails is as simple as making a call to zen_mail() and passing the necessary parameters. You can find tons of examples of this already in the core code. The only "tip" you might not see so obviously in the examples is that the $module parameter can be set to whatever you want it to be, ideally to match a custom HTML email template file you've created by the same pattern. Again, if it's not clear by looking at the examples, if you pass 'dormant' as your $module parameter, then it will look for the /email/email_template_dormant.html file when processing variables for the HTML email it's generating. Also remember that text-only emails don't use the HTML template; they're just assembled by you directly in the code and passed as a string to zen_mail, unlike the $html_msg array of keys you build in the code to pass to zen_mail().