In this article I will explain with an example, how to send email using MailKit library in ASP.Net WebForms using C# and VB.Net.
 
 

Installing MailKit package

You will need to install the MailKit package, for more details on installation, please refer my article Install MailKit from Nuget in Visual Studio.
 
 

Mail Server Settings in Web.Config file

The following Mail Server settings need to be saved in the Web.Config file.
<system.net>
    <mailSettings>
        <smtp deliveryMethod="Network">
            <network
                host="smtp.gmail.com"
                port="587" />
        </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.
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 ID="txtTo" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Subject:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox ID="txtSubject" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
    <tr>
        <td valign="top">Body:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox ID="txtBody" runat="server" TextMode="MultiLine" Height="150" Width="200"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Gmail Email:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox ID="txtEmail" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Gmail Password:</td>
        <td><asp:TextBox ID="txtPassword" runat="server" TextMode="Password"></asp:TextBox></td>
    </tr>
    <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
    <tr>
        <td></td>
        <td><asp:Button ID="btnSend" runat="server" Text="Send" OnClick="SendEmail" /></td>
    </tr>
</table>
 
 

Namespaces

You will need to import the following namespaces.
C#
using MimeKit;
using MailKit.Net.Smtp;
using MailKit.Security;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Net.Configuration;
 
VB.Net
Imports MimeKit
Imports MailKit.Net.Smtp
Imports MailKit.Security
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Net.Configuration
 
 

Sending email using MailKit

MimeMessage class properties

Following are the required properties of the MimeMessage 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.
Attachments – Attachments. (If any)
ReplyTo – ReplyTo Email address.
 

SmtpClient class methods

Following are the methods of the SMTP class.
Connect – The connection to the SMTP Server is established using the domain and the port number.
Authenticate – The username and password of the SMTP Server is authenticated.
Send – The MimeMessage object is passed to it and the email is sent
Disconnect – Disconnects the connection with SMTP Server.
 

Sending Email using MailKit

When the SendEmail Button is clicked, the Recipient email address (to), the Sender email address (from), Subject, Body and Password values are fetched from their respective fields and are set into the respective properties of the object of the MimeMessage class.

Setting Body of Email

For Body, an object of Builder class is created. The Body of the email is Text (Non HTML) hence it is set into the TextBody property of the Builder class object.

Sending Email

Then, an object of the SmtpClient class is created and the values of Host, Port are fetched from the SMTP section of the Web.Config file and are passed as parameter to Connect method along with the SecureSocketOptions set to Auto.
Note: Setting Auto allows MailKit service to decide which SSL or TLS option to use. Hence, enabling SSL is not required.
 
Also, the CheckCertificateRevocation is set to FALSE.
Note: This is optional and must be used only when Certificate errors are occurring.
 
Finally, the methods of the Mail Server such as Connect, Authenticate, Send and Disconnect are executed and a success message is displayed in JavaScript Alert MessageBox using RegisterStartupScript method.
C#
protected void SendEmail(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string to = txtTo.Text;
    string from = txtEmail.Text;
    string password = txtPassword.Text;
    string subject = txtSubject.Text;
    string body = txtBody.Text;
 
    //Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
    SmtpSection smtpSection = (SmtpSection)ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp");
    string host = smtpSection.Network.Host;
    int port = smtpSection.Network.Port;
 
    using (MimeMessage mm = new MimeMessage())
    {
        mm.From.Add(new MailboxAddress("Sender", from));
        mm.To.Add(new MailboxAddress("Recepient", to));
        mm.Subject = subject;
        BodyBuilder builder = new BodyBuilder()
        {
            TextBody = body
        };
        mm.Body = builder.ToMessageBody();
        using (SmtpClient smtp = new SmtpClient())
        {
            //Set to False to avoid Certificate verification.
            smtp.CheckCertificateRevocation = false;
            smtp.Connect(host, port, SecureSocketOptions.Auto);
            smtp.Authenticate(from, password);
            smtp.Send(mm);
            smtp.Disconnect(true);
        }
    }
    ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(this.GetType(), "alert", "alert('Email sent.');", true);
}
 
VB.Net
Protected Sub SendEmail(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles btnSend.Click
    Dim [to] As String = txtTo.Text
    Dim from As String = txtEmail.Text
    Dim password As String = txtPassword.Text
    Dim subject As String = txtSubject.Text
    Dim body As String = txtBody.Text
 
    'Read SMTP section from Web.Config.
    Dim smtpSection As SmtpSection = CType(ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.net/mailSettings/smtp"), SmtpSection)
    Dim host As String= smtpSection.Network.Host
    Dim port As Integer= smtpSection.Network.Port
 
    Using mm As MimeMessage = New MimeMessage()
        mm.From.Add(New MailboxAddress("Sender", from))
        mm.[To].Add(New MailboxAddress("Recepient", [to]))
        mm.Subject = subject
        Dim builder As BodyBuilder = New BodyBuilder() With {
            .TextBody = body
        }
        mm.Body = builder.ToMessageBody()
        Using smtp As SmtpClient = New SmtpClient()
            'Set to False to avoid Certificate verification.
            smtp.CheckCertificateRevocation = False
            smtp.Connect(host, port, SecureSocketOptions.Auto)
            smtp.Authenticate(from, password)
            smtp.Send(mm)
            smtp.Disconnect(True)
        End Using
    End Using
    ClientScript.RegisterStartupScript(Me.GetType(), "alert", "alert('Email sent.');", True)
End Sub
 
 

Possible Errors

The possible errors (exceptions) occurring while sending email with MailKit in .Net are covered in the following article.
Errors (Exceptions) while sending email with MailKit in .Net
 
 

Screenshots

Email Form

Send Email using MailKit in ASP.Net WebForms
 

Received Email

Send Email using MailKit in ASP.Net WebForms
 
 

Downloads

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