In this article I will explain with an example, how to send email with attachment in Windows Forms (WinForms) Application using C# and VB.Net.
This article will illustrate, how to send email in Windows Application (Windows Forms) using GMAIL SMTP server, C# and VB.Net.
Form Design
The following Form consists of:
TextBox – For capturing the values of Recipient Email address, Subject, Body, Gmail account email address, Gmail account password.
OpenFileDialog – For attaching file as attachment to the email.
LinkLabel – For opening OpenFileDialog.
The LinkLabel has been assigned with the following event:
LinkClicked – This event is triggered when LinkLabel is clicked.
![Send email with attachment in Windows Application (Windows Forms) in C# and VB.Net]()
Button – For sending email.
The Button has been assigned with the Click event handler.
![Send email with attachment in Windows Application (Windows Forms) in C# and VB.Net]()
Mail Server Settings in App.Config file
The following Mail Server settings need to be saved in the App.Config file.
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="Host" value="smtp.gmail.com" />
<add key="Port" value="587" />
<add key="EnableSsl" value="True" />
<add key="DefaultCredentials" value="True" />
</appSettings>
</configuration>
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.ComponentModel;
VB.Net
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Net
Imports System.Net.Mail
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.ComponentModel
Attaching File as attachment to the email
When the LinkLabel is clicked, the OpenFileDialog control will be opened for selecting file to be attached.
Once the file is selected and OK Button of the Dialog is clicked, the name of the selected file is displayed in the Label control.
C#
private void lnkAttachment_LinkClicked(object sender, LinkLabelLinkClickedEventArgs e)
{
openFileDialog1.ShowDialog();
}
private void openFileDialog1_FileOk(object sender, CancelEventArgs e)
{
string filePath = openFileDialog1.FileName;
if (File.Exists(filePath))
{
string fileName = Path.GetFileName(filePath);
lblAttachment.Text = fileName;
}
}
VB.Net
Private Sub lnkAttachment_LinkClicked(sender As Object, e As LinkLabelLinkClickedEventArgs) Handles lnkAttachment.LinkClicked
openFileDialog1.ShowDialog()
End Sub
Private Sub openFileDialog1_FileOk(sender As Object, e As CancelEventArgs) Handles openFileDialog1.FileOk
Dim filePath As String = openFileDialog1.FileName
If File.Exists(filePath) Then
Dim fileName As String = Path.GetFileName(filePath)
lblAttachment.Text = fileName
End If
End Sub
Sending Email with attachment using Gmail SMTP
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.
SmptClient Class Properties
Following are the properties of the SmtpClient 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 server (Gmail: 587).
When the 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.
If the file is selected then, the file is added as attachment to the Attachments list of the MailMessage Object.
Then, an object of SmtpClient class is created and the settings of the GMAIL SMTP server i.e. Host, Port, EnableSsl and DefaultCredentials are fetched from the AppSettings section of the App.Config file are set.
Finally, the email is sent using the Send function of the SmtpClient class object and a success message is displayed using MessageBox class.
C#
private void btnSend_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string host = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Host"];
int port = Convert.ToInt32(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["port"]);
bool enableSsl = Convert.ToBoolean(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["EnableSsl"]);
bool defaultCredentials = Convert.ToBoolean(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DefaultCredentials"]);
using (MailMessage mm = new MailMessage(txtEmail.Text, txtTo.Text))
{
mm.Subject = txtSubject.Text;
mm.Body = txtBody.Text;
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(openFileDialog1.FileName))
{
mm.Attachments.Add(new Attachment(openFileDialog1.FileName));
}
mm.IsBodyHtml = false;
using (SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient())
{
smtp.Host = host;
smtp.EnableSsl = enableSsl;
NetworkCredential networkCred = new NetworkCredential(txtEmail.Text, txtPassword.Text);
smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = defaultCredentials;
smtp.Credentials = networkCred;
smtp.Port = port;
smtp.Send(mm);
MessageBox.Show("Email sent.", "Message");
}
}
}
VB.Net
Private Sub btnSend_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles btnSend.Click
Dim host As String = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("Host")
Dim port As Integer = Convert.ToInt32(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("port"))
Dim enableSsl As Boolean = Convert.ToBoolean(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("EnableSsl"))
Dim defaultCredentials As Boolean = Convert.ToBoolean(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("DefaultCredentials"))
Using mm As New MailMessage(txtEmail.Text, txtTo.Text)
mm.Subject = txtSubject.Text
mm.Body = txtBody.Text
If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(openFileDialog1.FileName) Then
mm.Attachments.Add(New Attachment(openFileDialog1.FileName))
End If
mm.IsBodyHtml = False
Using smtp As SmtpClient = New SmtpClient()
smtp.Host = host
smtp.EnableSsl = enableSsl
Dim networkCred As NetworkCredential = New NetworkCredential(txtEmail.Text, txtPassword.Text)
smtp.UseDefaultCredentials = defaultCredentials
smtp.Credentials = networkCred
smtp.Port = port
smtp.Send(mm)
MessageBox.Show("Email sent.", "Message")
End Using
End Using
End Sub
Screenshots
Email Form
![Send email with attachment in Windows Application (Windows Forms) in C# and VB.Net]()
The received email
![Send email with attachment in Windows Application (Windows Forms) in C# and VB.Net]()
Downloads
