In this article I will explain with an example, how to attach files to email without storing on disk in ASP.Net.
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 equal to Gmail Username specified in credentials.
<system.net>
<mailSettings>
<smtp deliveryMethod="Network">
<network
host="smtp.gmail.com"
port="587"
enableSsl="true"
defaultCredentials="true" />
</smtp>
</mailSettings>
</system.net>
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> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Subject:</td>
<td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtSubject"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </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> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>File Attachment:</td>
<td><asp:FileUpload runat="server" ID="fuAttachment" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gmail Email:</td>
<td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtEmail"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gmail Password:</td>
<td><asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtPassword" TextMode="Password"></asp:TextBox></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td><asp:Button runat="server" ID="btnSend" Text="Send" OnClick="SendEmail" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
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 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 sever (Gmail: 587)
Sending email using Gmail SMTP Account
When SendEmail 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.
Attaching File
If the FileUpload control has attachment then, the attachment is added to the Attachments List of the MailMessage Object.
Sending Email
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 SMTP 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.
Finally, the email is being sent using Send method of the SmtpClient class object and the success 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
![Attach files to email without storing on disk using ASP.Net FileUpload Control]()
Received Email
![Attach files to email without storing on disk using ASP.Net FileUpload Control]()
Downloads
