How to send Email with attachments

Question

Hi im Trying to send a file as attachment using EMail Activity operator.
Can we do it using Email activity? If yes, then how can we do it? If no, then please tell me about any other method using which i can send a email with attachments.
Regards
Vibhuti

Answer 1

Better late than never, a comprehensive demo on the topic:
REM
REM maildemo.sql - A PL/SQL package to demonstrate how to use the UTL_SMTP
REM package to send emails in ASCII and non-ASCII character sets, emails
REM with text or binary attachments.
REM
REM Note: this package relies on the UTL_ENCODE PL/SQL package in Oracle 9i.
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE demo_mail IS
  ----------------------- Customizable Section -----------------------
  -- Customize the SMTP host, port and your domain name below.
  smtp_host   VARCHAR2(256) := 'smtp-server.some-company.com';
  smtp_port   PLS_INTEGER   := 25;
  smtp_domain VARCHAR2(256) := 'some-company.com';
  -- Customize the signature that will appear in the email's MIME header.
  -- Useful for versioning.
  MAILER_ID   CONSTANT VARCHAR2(256) := 'Mailer by Oracle UTL_SMTP';
  --------------------- End Customizable Section ---------------------
  -- A unique string that demarcates boundaries of parts in a multi-part email
  -- The string should not appear inside the body of any part of the email.
  -- Customize this if needed or generate this randomly dynamically.
  BOUNDARY        CONSTANT VARCHAR2(256) := '-----7D81B75CCC90D2974F7A1CBD';
  FIRST_BOUNDARY  CONSTANT VARCHAR2(256) := '--' || BOUNDARY || utl_tcp.CRLF;
  LAST_BOUNDARY   CONSTANT VARCHAR2(256) := '--' || BOUNDARY || '--' ||
                                              utl_tcp.CRLF;
  -- A MIME type that denotes multi-part email (MIME) messages.
  MULTIPART_MIME_TYPE CONSTANT VARCHAR2(256) := 'multipart/mixed; boundary="'||
                                                  BOUNDARY || '"';
  MAX_BASE64_LINE_WIDTH CONSTANT PLS_INTEGER   := 76 / 4 * 3;
  -- A simple email API for sending email in plain text in a single call.
  -- The format of an email address is one of these:
  --   someone@some-domain
  --   "Someone at some domain" <someone@some-domain>
  --   Someone at some domain <someone@some-domain>
  -- The recipients is a list of email addresses  separated by
  -- either a "," or a ";"
  PROCEDURE mail(sender     IN VARCHAR2,
           recipients IN VARCHAR2,
           subject    IN VARCHAR2,
           message    IN VARCHAR2);
  -- Extended email API to send email in HTML or plain text with no size limit.
  -- First, begin the email by begin_mail(). Then, call write_text() repeatedly
  -- to send email in ASCII piece-by-piece. Or, call write_mb_text() to send
  -- email in non-ASCII or multi-byte character set. End the email with
  -- end_mail().
  FUNCTION begin_mail(sender     IN VARCHAR2,
                recipients IN VARCHAR2,
                subject    IN VARCHAR2,
                mime_type  IN VARCHAR2    DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                priority   IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL)
                RETURN utl_smtp.connection;
  -- Write email body in ASCII
  PROCEDURE write_text(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 message IN VARCHAR2);
  -- Write email body in non-ASCII (including multi-byte). The email body
  -- will be sent in the database character set.
  PROCEDURE write_mb_text(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 message IN            VARCHAR2);
  -- Write email body in binary
  PROCEDURE write_raw(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                message IN RAW);
  -- APIs to send email with attachments. Attachments are sent by sending
  -- emails in "multipart/mixed" MIME format. Specify that MIME format when
  -- beginning an email with begin_mail().
  -- Send a single text attachment.
  PROCEDURE attach_text(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
               data         IN VARCHAR2,
               mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
               inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
               filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                  last         IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT FALSE);
  -- Send a binary attachment. The attachment will be encoded in Base-64
  -- encoding format.
  PROCEDURE attach_base64(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 data         IN RAW,
                 mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'application/octet',
                 inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
                 filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                 last         IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT FALSE);
  -- Send an attachment with no size limit. First, begin the attachment
  -- with begin_attachment(). Then, call write_text repeatedly to send
  -- the attachment piece-by-piece. If the attachment is text-based but
  -- in non-ASCII or multi-byte character set, use write_mb_text() instead.
  -- To send binary attachment, the binary content should first be
  -- encoded in Base-64 encoding format using the demo package for 8i,
  -- or the native one in 9i. End the attachment with end_attachment.
  PROCEDURE begin_attachment(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                    mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                    inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
                    filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                    transfer_enc IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);
  -- End the attachment.
  PROCEDURE end_attachment(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                  last IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE);
  -- End the email.
  PROCEDURE end_mail(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection);
  -- Extended email API to send multiple emails in a session for better
  -- performance. First, begin an email session with begin_session.
  -- Then, begin each email with a session by calling begin_mail_in_session
  -- instead of begin_mail. End the email with end_mail_in_session instead
  -- of end_mail. End the email session by end_session.
  FUNCTION begin_session RETURN utl_smtp.connection;
  -- Begin an email in a session.
  PROCEDURE begin_mail_in_session(conn       IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                      sender     IN VARCHAR2,
                      recipients IN VARCHAR2,
                      subject    IN VARCHAR2,
                      mime_type  IN VARCHAR2  DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                      priority   IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL);
  -- End an email in a session.
  PROCEDURE end_mail_in_session(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection);
  -- End an email session.
  PROCEDURE end_session(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection);
END;
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY demo_mail IS
  -- Return the next email address in the list of email addresses, separated
  -- by either a "," or a ";".  The format of mailbox may be in one of these:
  --   someone@some-domain
  --   "Someone at some domain" <someone@some-domain>
  --   Someone at some domain <someone@some-domain>
  FUNCTION get_address(addr_list IN OUT VARCHAR2) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
    addr VARCHAR2(256);
    i    pls_integer;
    FUNCTION lookup_unquoted_char(str  IN VARCHAR2,
                      chrs IN VARCHAR2) RETURN pls_integer AS
      c            VARCHAR2(5);
      i            pls_integer;
      len          pls_integer;
      inside_quote BOOLEAN;
    BEGIN
       inside_quote := false;
       i := 1;
       len := length(str);
       WHILE (i <= len) LOOP
      c := substr(str, i, 1);
      IF (inside_quote) THEN
        IF (c = '"') THEN
          inside_quote := false;
        ELSIF (c = '\') THEN
          i := i + 1; -- Skip the quote character
        END IF;
        GOTO next_char;
      END IF;
      IF (c = '"') THEN
        inside_quote := true;
        GOTO next_char;
      END IF;
      IF (instr(chrs, c) >= 1) THEN
         RETURN i;
      END IF;
      <<next_char>>
      i := i + 1;
       END LOOP;
       RETURN 0;
    END;
  BEGIN
    addr_list := ltrim(addr_list);
    i := lookup_unquoted_char(addr_list, ',;');
    IF (i >= 1) THEN
      addr      := substr(addr_list, 1, i - 1);
      addr_list := substr(addr_list, i + 1);
    ELSE
      addr := addr_list;
      addr_list := '';
    END IF;
    i := lookup_unquoted_char(addr, '<');
    IF (i >= 1) THEN
      addr := substr(addr, i + 1);
      i := instr(addr, '>');
      IF (i >= 1) THEN
     addr := substr(addr, 1, i - 1);
      END IF;
    END IF;
    RETURN addr;
  END;
  -- Write a MIME header
  PROCEDURE write_mime_header(conn  IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                     name  IN VARCHAR2,
                     value IN VARCHAR2) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.write_data(conn, name || ': ' || value || utl_tcp.CRLF);
  END;
  -- Mark a message-part boundary.  Set <last> to TRUE for the last boundary.
  PROCEDURE write_boundary(conn  IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                  last  IN            BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE) AS
  BEGIN
    IF (last) THEN
      utl_smtp.write_data(conn, LAST_BOUNDARY);
    ELSE
      utl_smtp.write_data(conn, FIRST_BOUNDARY);
    END IF;
  END;
  PROCEDURE mail(sender     IN VARCHAR2,
           recipients IN VARCHAR2,
           subject    IN VARCHAR2,
           message    IN VARCHAR2) IS
    conn utl_smtp.connection;
  BEGIN
    conn := begin_mail(sender, recipients, subject);
    write_text(conn, message);
    end_mail(conn);
  END;
  FUNCTION begin_mail(sender     IN VARCHAR2,
                recipients IN VARCHAR2,
                subject    IN VARCHAR2,
                mime_type  IN VARCHAR2    DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                priority   IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL)
                RETURN utl_smtp.connection IS
    conn utl_smtp.connection;
  BEGIN
    conn := begin_session;
    begin_mail_in_session(conn, sender, recipients, subject, mime_type,
      priority);
    RETURN conn;
  END;
  PROCEDURE write_text(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 message IN VARCHAR2) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.write_data(conn, message);
  END;
  PROCEDURE write_mb_text(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 message IN            VARCHAR2) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.write_raw_data(conn, utl_raw.cast_to_raw(message));
  END;
  PROCEDURE write_raw(conn    IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                message IN RAW) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.write_raw_data(conn, message);
  END;
  PROCEDURE attach_text(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
               data         IN VARCHAR2,
               mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
               inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
               filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                  last         IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT FALSE) IS
  BEGIN
    begin_attachment(conn, mime_type, inline, filename);
    write_text(conn, data);
    end_attachment(conn, last);
  END;
  PROCEDURE attach_base64(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                 data         IN RAW,
                 mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'application/octet',
                 inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
                 filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                 last         IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT FALSE) IS
    i   PLS_INTEGER;
    len PLS_INTEGER;
  BEGIN
    begin_attachment(conn, mime_type, inline, filename, 'base64');
    -- Split the Base64-encoded attachment into multiple lines
    i   := 1;
    len := utl_raw.length(data);
    WHILE (i < len) LOOP
       IF (i + MAX_BASE64_LINE_WIDTH < len) THEN
      utl_smtp.write_raw_data(conn,
         utl_encode.base64_encode(utl_raw.substr(data, i,
         MAX_BASE64_LINE_WIDTH)));
       ELSE
      utl_smtp.write_raw_data(conn,
        utl_encode.base64_encode(utl_raw.substr(data, i)));
       END IF;
       utl_smtp.write_data(conn, utl_tcp.CRLF);
       i := i + MAX_BASE64_LINE_WIDTH;
    END LOOP;
    end_attachment(conn, last);
  END;
  PROCEDURE begin_attachment(conn         IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                    mime_type    IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                    inline       IN BOOLEAN  DEFAULT TRUE,
                    filename     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                    transfer_enc IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL) IS
  BEGIN
    write_boundary(conn);
    write_mime_header(conn, 'Content-Type', mime_type);
    IF (filename IS NOT NULL) THEN
       IF (inline) THEN
       write_mime_header(conn, 'Content-Disposition',
         'inline; filename="'||filename||'"');
       ELSE
       write_mime_header(conn, 'Content-Disposition',
         'attachment; filename="'||filename||'"');
       END IF;
    END IF;
    IF (transfer_enc IS NOT NULL) THEN
      write_mime_header(conn, 'Content-Transfer-Encoding', transfer_enc);
    END IF;
    utl_smtp.write_data(conn, utl_tcp.CRLF);
  END;
  PROCEDURE end_attachment(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                  last IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.write_data(conn, utl_tcp.CRLF);
    IF (last) THEN
      write_boundary(conn, last);
    END IF;
  END;
  PROCEDURE end_mail(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection) IS
  BEGIN
    end_mail_in_session(conn);
    end_session(conn);
  END;
  FUNCTION begin_session RETURN utl_smtp.connection IS
    conn utl_smtp.connection;
  BEGIN
    -- open SMTP connection
    conn := utl_smtp.open_connection(smtp_host, smtp_port);
    utl_smtp.helo(conn, smtp_domain);
    RETURN conn;
  END;
  PROCEDURE begin_mail_in_session(conn       IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection,
                      sender     IN VARCHAR2,
                      recipients IN VARCHAR2,
                      subject    IN VARCHAR2,
                      mime_type  IN VARCHAR2  DEFAULT 'text/plain',
                      priority   IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL) IS
    my_recipients VARCHAR2(32767) := recipients;
    my_sender     VARCHAR2(32767) := sender;
  BEGIN
    -- Specify sender's address (our server allows bogus address
    -- as long as it is a full email address ([email protected]).
    utl_smtp.mail(conn, get_address(my_sender));
    -- Specify recipient(s) of the email.
    WHILE (my_recipients IS NOT NULL) LOOP
      utl_smtp.rcpt(conn, get_address(my_recipients));
    END LOOP;
    -- Start body of email
    utl_smtp.open_data(conn);
    -- Set "From" MIME header
    write_mime_header(conn, 'From', sender);
    -- Set "To" MIME header
    write_mime_header(conn, 'To', recipients);
    -- Set "Subject" MIME header
    write_mime_header(conn, 'Subject', subject);
    -- Set "Content-Type" MIME header
    write_mime_header(conn, 'Content-Type', mime_type);
    -- Set "X-Mailer" MIME header
    write_mime_header(conn, 'X-Mailer', MAILER_ID);
    -- Set priority:
    --   High      Normal       Low
    --   1     2     3     4     5
    IF (priority IS NOT NULL) THEN
      write_mime_header(conn, 'X-Priority', priority);
    END IF;
    -- Send an empty line to denotes end of MIME headers and
    -- beginning of message body.
    utl_smtp.write_data(conn, utl_tcp.CRLF);
    IF (mime_type LIKE 'multipart/mixed%') THEN
      write_text(conn, 'This is a multi-part message in MIME format.' ||
     utl_tcp.crlf);
    END IF;
  END;
  PROCEDURE end_mail_in_session(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.close_data(conn);
  END;
  PROCEDURE end_session(conn IN OUT NOCOPY utl_smtp.connection) IS
  BEGIN
    utl_smtp.quit(conn);
  END;
END;
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