Formatting emails:I am using UTL_SMTP package foe sending them.

Question

Hi
I created a PL/SQL job to schedule email sending. The code looks like:
DECLARE
l_mailhost VARCHAR2(64) := 'qiudubcorrel001.qa.local';
l_from VARCHAR2(64) := '[email protected]';
l_to VARCHAR2(64) := '[email protected]';
l_mail_conn UTL_SMTP.connection;
BEGIN
l_mail_conn := UTL_SMTP.open_connection(('10.253.14.240'), 25);
UTL_SMTP.helo(l_mail_conn, '10.253.14.240');
UTL_SMTP.mail(l_mail_conn, l_from);
UTL_SMTP.rcpt(l_mail_conn, l_to);
UTL_SMTP.data(l_mail_conn, 'Single string message.' || Chr(13));
UTL_SMTP.quit(l_mail_conn);
END;
The code works fine, but now I want to add colour to my email, or introduce other formatting as well. How can I do that here?
Thanks,
Kamal

Answer 1

Here you can find HTML formatting
* PROCEDURE NAME : XX_EMAIL_FILES
* DESCRIPTION:
* ==========
* Sends e-mail (text and/or html, either as a string or from a file)
* to one or more recipients (including cc and/or bcc recipients), along with
* up to 3 file attachments (text and/or binary; default is text/plain), using
* the UTL_SMTP package to send the e-mail, the DBMS_LOB package to read
* binary file attachments, and the UTL_ENCODE package to convert the binary
* attachments to BASE64 for character string (non-binary) transmission.
* BE AWARE THAT A COMMIT MAY BE DONE BY THIS ROUTINE.
* PARAMETERS:
* ==========
* The complete parameter list for the xx_email_files procedure is shown below:
* NAME TYPE DESCRIPTION
* from_name IN Name and e-mail address to put in the From field
* to_names IN Names and e-mail addresses for the To field (separated by
* commas or semicolons)
* subject IN Text string for Subject field
* message IN Text string or text file name for Message, if any
* html_message IN Html string or html file name for Message, if any
* cc_names IN Names and e-mail addresses for the Cc field, if any
* (separated by commas or semicolons)
* bcc_names IN Names and e-mail addresses for the Bcc field, if any
* (separated by commas or semicolons)
* filename1 IN First unix file pathname to attach, if any
* filetype1 IN Mime type of first file (defaults to 'text/plain')
* filename2 IN Second unix file pathname to attach, if any
* filetype2 IN Mime type of second file (defaults to 'text/plain')
* filename3 IN Third unix file pathname to attach, if any
* filetype3 IN Mime type of third file (defaults to 'text/plain')
* Sample names and e-mail addresses are: arun (attaches @),
* [email protected], , xxx , and
* "xxx"
* A sample call in PL/SQL is shown below, which sends a text and html message,
* plus a text file and two binary files (note: the slash after "end;" must be
* the first character on it's line):
* begin
* xx_email_files(from_name => '[email protected]' ,
* to_names => '[email protected]',
* subject => 'A test',
* message => 'A TEST MESSAGE',
* html_message => '
A test message
* filename1 => '/ora_appl/oracle/11.5.0/data/xxx.pdf',
* filename2 => '/usr/tmp/115apug.pdf',
* filetype2 => 'application/pdf',
* filename3 => '',
* filetype3 => 'image/jpeg'
* end
* If the message or html_message string has a file name in it (starting with
* a forward slash), the text or html file is copied into the e-mail as the
* message or html message; otherwise, the message or html_message is copied
* into the e-mail as-is.
* Attachment file types (mime types) that I've tested include:
* text/plain,
* text/html,
* image/jpeg,
* image/gif,
* application/pdf,
* application/msword
* A list of mime types can be seen at:
* http://www.webmaster-toolkit.com/mime-types.shtml
* If the mime type does not begin with "text", it is assumed to be a binary
* file that will be encoded as base64 before transmission.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE xx_email_files (
from_name VARCHAR2,
to_names VARCHAR2,
subject VARCHAR2,
MESSAGE VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
html_message VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
cc_names VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
bcc_names VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
filename1 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
filetype1 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
filename2 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
filetype2 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain',
filename3 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
filetype3 VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'text/plain'
IS
-- Change the SMTP host name and port number below to your own values,
-- if not localhost on port 25:
smtp_host VARCHAR2 (256) := 'localhost';
smtp_port NUMBER := 25;
-- Change the boundary string, if needed, which demarcates boundaries of
-- parts in a multi-part email, and should not appear inside the body of
-- any part of the e-mail:
boundary CONSTANT VARCHAR2 (256) := 'CES.Boundary.DACA587499938898';
recipients VARCHAR2 (32767);
directory_path VARCHAR2 (256);
file_name VARCHAR2 (256);
crlf VARCHAR2 (2) := CHR (13) || CHR (10);
mesg VARCHAR2 (32767);
conn UTL_SMTP.connection;
l_length NUMBER;
l_sub VARCHAR2 (32767);
TYPE varchar2_table IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2 (256)
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
file_array varchar2_table;
type_array varchar2_table;
i BINARY_INTEGER;
-- Function to return the next email address in the list of email addresses,
-- separated by either a "," or a ";". From Oracle's demo_mail. The format
-- of mailbox may be in one of these:
-- someone@some-domain
-- "Someone at some domain"
-- Someone at 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
IS
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;
<>
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;
-- Procedure to split a file pathname into its directory path and file name
-- components.
PROCEDURE split_path_name (
file_path IN VARCHAR2,
directory_path OUT VARCHAR2,
file_name OUT VARCHAR2
IS
pos NUMBER;
BEGIN
-- Separate the filename from the directory name
pos := INSTR (file_path, '/', -1);
IF pos = 0
THEN
pos := INSTR (file_path, '\', -1);
END IF;
IF pos = 0
THEN
directory_path := NULL;
ELSE
directory_path := SUBSTR (file_path, 1, pos - 1);
END IF;
file_name := SUBSTR (file_path, pos + 1);
END;
-- Procedure to append a file's contents to the e-mail
PROCEDURE append_file (
directory_path IN VARCHAR2,
file_name IN VARCHAR2,
file_type IN VARCHAR2,
conn IN OUT UTL_SMTP.connection
IS
generated_name VARCHAR2 (30)
:= 'CESDIR' || TO_CHAR (SYSDATE, 'HH24MISS');
directory_name VARCHAR2 (30);
file_handle UTL_FILE.file_type;
bfile_handle BFILE;
bfile_len NUMBER;
pos NUMBER;
read_bytes NUMBER;
line VARCHAR2 (1000);
DATA RAW (200);
my_code NUMBER;
my_errm VARCHAR2 (32767);
BEGIN
BEGIN
-- Grant access to the directory, unless already defined, and open
-- the file (as a bfile for a binary file, otherwise as a text file).
BEGIN
line := directory_path;
SELECT dd.directory_name
INTO directory_name
FROM dba_directories dd
WHERE dd.directory_path = line AND ROWNUM = 1;
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND
THEN
directory_name := generated_name;
END;
IF directory_name = generated_name
THEN
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'create or replace directory '
|| directory_name
|| ' as '''
|| directory_path
|| '''';
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'grant read on directory '
|| directory_name
|| ' to public';
END IF;
IF SUBSTR (file_type, 1, 4) != 'text'
THEN
bfile_handle := BFILENAME (directory_name, file_name);
bfile_len := DBMS_LOB.getlength (bfile_handle);
pos := 1;
DBMS_LOB.OPEN (bfile_handle, DBMS_LOB.lob_readonly);
ELSE
file_handle := UTL_FILE.fopen (directory_name, file_name, 'r');
END IF;
-- Append the file contents to the end of the message
LOOP
-- If it is a binary file, process it 57 bytes at a time,
-- reading them in with a LOB read, encoding them in BASE64,
-- and writing out the encoded binary string as raw data
IF SUBSTR (file_type, 1, 4) != 'text'
THEN
IF pos + 57 - 1 > bfile_len
THEN
read_bytes := bfile_len - pos + 1;
ELSE
read_bytes := 57;
END IF;
DBMS_LOB.READ (bfile_handle, read_bytes, pos, DATA);
UTL_SMTP.write_raw_data (conn, UTL_ENCODE.base64_encode (DATA));
pos := pos + 57;
IF pos > bfile_len
THEN
EXIT;
END IF;
-- If it is a text file, get the next line of text, append a
-- carriage return / line feed to it, and write it out
ELSE
UTL_FILE.get_line (file_handle, line);
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, line || crlf);
END IF;
END LOOP;
-- Output any errors, except at end when no more data is found
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND
THEN
NULL;
WHEN OTHERS
THEN
my_code := SQLCODE;
my_errm := SQLERRM;
DBMS_OUTPUT.put_line ('Error code ' || my_code || ': ' || my_errm);
END;
-- Close the file (binary or text)
IF SUBSTR (file_type, 1, 4) != 'text'
THEN
DBMS_LOB.CLOSE (bfile_handle);
ELSE
UTL_FILE.fclose (file_handle);
END IF;
IF directory_name = generated_name
THEN
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'drop directory ' || directory_name;
END IF;
END;
BEGIN
-- Load the three filenames and file (mime) types into an array for
-- easier handling later
file_array (1) := filename1;
file_array (2) := filename2;
file_array (3) := filename3;
type_array (1) := filetype1;
type_array (2) := filetype2;
type_array (3) := filetype3;
-- Open the SMTP connection and set the From and To e-mail addresses
conn := UTL_SMTP.open_connection (smtp_host, smtp_port);
UTL_SMTP.helo (conn, smtp_host);
recipients := from_name;
UTL_SMTP.mail (conn, get_address (recipients));
recipients := to_names;
WHILE recipients IS NOT NULL
LOOP
UTL_SMTP.rcpt (conn, get_address (recipients));
END LOOP;
recipients := cc_names;
WHILE recipients IS NOT NULL
LOOP
UTL_SMTP.rcpt (conn, get_address (recipients));
END LOOP;
recipients := bcc_names;
WHILE recipients IS NOT NULL
LOOP
UTL_SMTP.rcpt (conn, get_address (recipients));
END LOOP;
UTL_SMTP.open_data (conn);
-- Build the start of the mail message
mesg :=
'Date: '
|| TO_CHAR (SYSDATE, 'dd Mon yy hh24:mi:ss')
|| crlf
|| 'From: '
|| from_name
|| crlf
|| 'Subject: '
|| subject
|| crlf
|| 'To: '
|| to_names
|| crlf;
IF cc_names IS NOT NULL
THEN
mesg := mesg || 'Cc: ' || cc_names || crlf;
END IF;
IF bcc_names IS NOT NULL
THEN
mesg := mesg || 'Bcc: ' || bcc_names || crlf;
END IF;
mesg :=
mesg
|| 'Mime-Version: 1.0'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="'
|| boundary
|| '"'
|| crlf
|| crlf
|| 'This is a Mime message, which your current mail reader may not'
|| crlf
|| 'understand. Parts of the message will appear as text. If the remainder'
|| crlf
|| 'appears as random characters in the message body, instead of as'
|| crlf
|| 'attachments, then you''ll have to extract these parts and decode them'
|| crlf
|| 'manually.'
|| crlf
|| crlf;
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, mesg);
-- Write the text message or message file, if any
IF MESSAGE IS NOT NULL
THEN
mesg :=
|| boundary
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Type: text/plain; name="message.txt"; charset=US-ASCII'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Disposition: inline; filename="message.txt"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit'
|| crlf
|| crlf;
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, mesg);
IF SUBSTR (MESSAGE, 1, 1) = '/'
THEN
split_path_name (MESSAGE, directory_path, file_name);
append_file (directory_path, file_name, 'text', conn);
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, crlf);
ELSE
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, MESSAGE || crlf);
END IF;
END IF;
IF html_message IS NOT NULL
THEN
mesg :=
|| boundary
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Type: text/html; name="message.html"; charset=US-ASCII'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Disposition: inline; filename="message.html"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit'
|| crlf
|| crlf;
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, mesg);
IF SUBSTR (html_message, 1, 1) = '/'
THEN
split_path_name (html_message, directory_path, file_name);
append_file (directory_path, file_name, 'text', conn);
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, crlf);
ELSE
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, html_message || crlf);
END IF;
END IF;
-- Append the files
FOR i IN 1 .. 3
LOOP
-- If the filename has been supplied ...
IF file_array (i) IS NOT NULL
THEN
split_path_name (file_array (i), directory_path, file_name);
-- Generate the MIME boundary line according to the file (mime) type
-- specified.
mesg := crlf || '--' || boundary || crlf;
SELECT INSTR (file_name, '.')
INTO l_length
FROM DUAL;
SELECT SUBSTR (file_name, 1, l_length - 1) || '.pdf'
INTO l_sub
FROM DUAL;
IF SUBSTR (type_array (i), 1, 4) != 'text'
THEN
mesg :=
mesg
|| 'Content-Type: '
|| type_array (i)
|| '; name="'
|| file_name
|| '"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="'
|| file_name
|| '"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64'
|| crlf
|| crlf;
ELSE
mesg :=
mesg
|| 'Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name="'
|| file_name
|| '"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="'
|| file_name
|| '"'
|| crlf
|| 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit'
|| crlf
|| crlf;
END IF;
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, mesg);
-- Append the file contents to the end of the message
append_file (directory_path, file_name, type_array (i), conn);
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, crlf);
END IF;
END LOOP;
-- Append the final boundary line
mesg := crlf || '--' || boundary || '--' || crlf;
UTL_SMTP.write_data (conn, mesg);
-- Close the SMTP connection
UTL_SMTP.close_data (conn);
UTL_SMTP.quit (conn);
END;
Kamran Agayev A. (10g OCP)
http://kamranagayev.wordpress.com