How to hide the Group Email icon from the page

How to hide the Group Email icon from the page

GroupEmail.jpgUsers who are not in the selected SharePoint group authorized send email from the web part will see the icon only displayed on the page as shown here. When that unauthorized user clicks on it, nothing happens due to security trimming.

To prevent users from clicking and experiencing nothing happening, you can set the web part for Audience Targeting. This is the optimal way to set web parts in SharePoint so that only those in the authorized group will be the only ones who actually see the web part on the page.

Audience.jpgEdit the web part and expand the Advanced section. When you scroll to the bottom of this section of the web part tool pane, you see the item for “Target Audiences” where you can pick the SharePoint group which can see the web part. Choose the group that you wish to have access. Once you see the group name appear in the Target Audience box, click Apply and click OK to save the web part.

You can test that you have chosen the right group by contacting someone who is part of the SharePoint group to see if they can see the web part on the page; to further verify your audience targeting is accurate, contact someone else who is not in the group and validate that person cannot see the web part on the page.

Highlights of Group Email

Highlights of Group Email

groupemail.pngToday, many organizations use SharePoint lists to maintain information such as contacts, leads, and user information. With this user information readily available in SharePoint, organizations naturally want to use it for basic communication such as an email message to the user community designated in a specific list or site. Our Group Email allows project managers or site administrators to send a group email to a SharePoint list, site, or Active Directory group.

Group Email Configuration Troubleshooting

Group Email Configuration Troubleshooting

Before you can configure the web part, you need to add it to a page in your site. If, when attempting to add the web part to a page, you get this error:

Unable to add selected web part(s). Assemblies that implement ASP.NET Web Parts and are installed into a partially trusted location, such as the bin directory, must be compiled with the AllowPartiallyTrustedCallersAttribute set for import to succeed.

You, or your site admin if you are not the site collection administrator, need to activate Group Email web part in your site settings. Follow these steps and then you will be able to add the web part to your page and start configuring it.

Step Action Result
1. Open Site Settings SiteSettings.png2010SiteActions.png2007SiteActions.jpg
2. Locate the web part by name: Bamboo Group Email Activate.png
Click the Activate button to the right of the web part.
3. After you click the Activate button, you will see the Active button light up in the Status column. Activated.png
The Active button is lit up signifying the web part is active and ready to configure.

See Also:

Group Email Complementary Products

Group Email Complementary Products

sharepointsolutions.pngYou will find many of our products complement each other quite nicely saving you the time and trouble to write custom code. With Bamboo at the heart of your SharePoint investment, you gain access to a huge catalog of enhancements, components, and accessories that add the critical functionality your business requires.

The same components can be easily used in future applications and they all come from a single, trusted vendor, ensuring an easy purchase process and support you can count on. That’s the Bamboo Way!


Configuring the Group Email mail service

Configuring the Group Email mail service

Overview of Group Email configuration toolpane

You have two options when determining the mail service that will be used by the Group Email web part: Use Mail Client or Use SMTP.

Use Mail Client

When you select the Use Mail Client option, no additional configuration is required in the web part. Group Email will utilize your existing mail client for message delivery.

Use SMTP

The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) service is used by SharePoint to send user alerts on items, etc.

Step Action Result
1. From the Group Email configuration tool pane scroll to find the Use Mail Client and Use SMTP radio buttons By default Use SMTP is selected
HW14_Mail_Client.png
2. Remove the default text and enter the SMTP Server Name and the Notification email that will be used for sending the outbound notifications.

Keep in Mind:
Information on the SMTP server name can be found on Central Administrations Outgoing email settings page
Image of Central Administration

Image of fields exposed when Use SMTP is selected
3. If the server has been configured to use SMTP Authentication, check the Use SMTP Secure Authenticated Connection box Additional fields will be displayed in the form
Image of Additional fields shown when use secure SMTP is selected: User ID, Password, Port

Configuring the Group Email Web Part

Configuring the Group Email Web Part

To configure the Group Email Web Part:

  1. Select Modify Shared Web Part from the menu accessed at the upper right corner of the Web Part. This menu is only accessible by users with authority to modify the page.
  2. The configuration page for the Group Email Web Part is displayed on the right side of the screen (see Figure 3). See the Configuration section to configure the following properties:

  3. Select a Site Group than can Email. Select site group(s), including custom and default SharePoint site groups that can send email by clicking on the mail icon of the Web Part. If a user does not belong to the selected groups in the property setting, the mail icon is disabled.

  4. Enter a domain account that has read permission to Active Directory. An Active Directory domain, account, and password are required to ensure that the currently logged in user belongs to the applicable AD security group.
  5. Read Email addresses from. Select whether you want to read email addresses from SharePoint Site users or Active Directory users.
  6. Select e-mail address from list. Select this check box to activate the Select List source, Select View and Select E-mail column selection boxes below. If this check box is left un-checked, the Web Part will send email to all users in the current site, by using the email addresses in their user profile.
  7. Select List Source. Select a SharePoint list in the current site that has an email address column.
  8. Select View: Select a list view which includes the Email address column.
  9. Select E-mail column. Select a column which contains user email address.
  10. Enter E-mail subject. Enter the outgoing email subject.
  11. Select E-mail template. Select a content editor Web Part installed on the site which contains the email body text.
  12. Enter icon’s popup message text. This is the text that will appear when user does a mouse over the icon.
  13. Use SMTP. Select this option to specify the SMTP server name and the email address that will appear in the “From” field. Contact your IT system administrator for the proper use of SMTP server. (Note: SMTP Secure Authenticated Connection option is available. It is optional. Click the checkbox if you want to use this option.)
  14. Use Mail Client. Select this option if you want to use your default mail client to send out email.

    hw14012.jpg

  15. To use a Distribution List in Active Directory, do the following:

hw14013.jpg

  • Select the Active Directory option.
  • Select a Security group or a Distribution group in AD to send email. The web part will send the email for the group.
  • You must enter an access account that has the correct permission to read the AD store and the distribution or security group objects.
  • Save your configuration settings by clicking Apply and then OK.

See Also: Configuring Content Editor Web Part for Email Template

Configuring Group Email to use Active Directory recipients

Configuring Group Email to use Active Directory recipients

Overview of Group Email configuration toolpane

When configuring Group Email you will be able to choose where recipient information will be obtained. Will email information come from SharePoint or Active Directory?

Active Directory

To send email to a set of users whose email information is found in an Active Directory Security or Distribution group:

Step Action Result
1. Enter your Fully Qualified Domain Name Image of fields shown in the Group Email configuraiton tool pane when Active Directory radio button selected
2. Enter the login credentials of a domain account that has read permissions to Active Directory and the distribution or security group objects
3.. Enter the group name(s) separated by a semicolon

Configuring Content Editor Web Part for Email Template

Configuring Content Editor Web Part for Email Template

To save time writing an email every time you need to send it out, you can create a template within a SharePoint Content Editor Web Part (CEWP) and re-use that again and again. This will save you time if you want to simply inform your team of status updates so you don’t need to make changes with every email.

Get started first by opening a page where you can add the CEWP; it does not have to be the same page where you added the Bamboo Group Email Web Part but it might be helpful to keep them together.

To set up an email template:

  1. Add a Content Editor Web Part to a page. How?

Once the web part is on the page, you will need to edit it . Once the tool pane appears on the right side of your window, you can get started creating the template message. You can insert images, hyperlinks, and format wording to emphasize your message.

  1. Click Modify (or Edit) SharePoint Web Part.

    hw14017.jpg

    Figure 1: Content Editor Web Part Properties
  2. Click Rich Text Editor button to bring up the text editor dialog box. (On SharePoint 2013, click in the ribbon.)

    hw14019.jpg

    Figure 2: Content Editor Web Part Rich Text Editor
  3. Enter the message that you want to appear in the body of the outgoing email.
  4. Click Save.

    hw14021.jpg

    Figure 3: Content Editor Web Part Lay Out Properties

Apply and save your changes to the CEWP; you may want to hide the web part on your page to avoid confusing users as to what it is.

  1. Click the plus sign and expand Layout section.
  2. Depending on which version of SharePoint you are using, you either select or deselect the check mark. In SharePoint 2007, the check mark means the web part is visible on the page while in SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013, the check mark hides the web part on the page.
    HW14_Compare.jpg

Apply and save your changes. Go back to the tool pane of the Bamboo Group Email web part to make the connection to this CEWP.

When you first configured the Bamboo Group Email web part, there was no CEWP on the page, you may recall the drop down menu on the “Select Email template” section of the tool pane was empty. Now that you have added a CEWP to the page, you have a choice in that drop down menu which makes the connection to your email message content. Refer to Configuring the Group Email Web Part.

Configuring Group Email to use SharePoint recipients

Configuring Group Email to use SharePoint recipients

Overview of Group Email configuration toolpane

When configuring Group Email you will be able to choose where recipient information will be obtained. Will email information come from SharePoint or Active Directory?

When using SharePoint, two configuration options are available:

  • Send email to all users of the site

  • Send eamil to a set of users whose email information is maintained in a SharePoint list on the current site.

SharePoint Site

Group Email can be configured to send messages to ALL users who have permission to access the SharePoint site where the web part resides

Step Action Display
1. Maintain the default configuration with the SharePoint Site radio button selected
Image of Group Email configuraition tool pane set to use SharePoint Site by defalt
2.

Keep the Select email address from list box unchecked.

NOTE: When this box is unchecked the web part will send email to all users in the current site using the email addresses in their user profile

SharePoint List

Send email to a set of users whose email information is found in a list on the site

Step Action Display
1. Keep the default configuration with the SharePoint Site radio button selected
Image of Group Email configured to use a SharePoint list as the source of emails
2. Check the Select email address from list: check box
3. Select a list on the current site from the drop down
4. Select the pre-defined view from the drop down
5. Select the column in the view that contains email addresses

Overview of Group Email configuration toolpane

Automatically Subscribe Authors to Email Alerts

Automatically Subscribe Authors to Email Alerts

Return to Post Settings

EnableAutoEmail.pngEnabling Automatically Subscribe Authors to Email Alerts allows users to receive email notifications each time there is activity in a discussion thread. Users can also request that notifications are sent immediately after new posts, or in a scheduled summary email.

To enable this option, you must perform two steps: enable the feature in the forum settings and configure the outgoing email settings.

1. Enable the Auto Subscribe Feature in Forum Settings

  1. Click the Forum Settings icon on the List tab of the ribbon.

  2. Select the checkbox to enable “Automatically subscribe authors to email alerts on their topics” to send email alerts to the associated author address.

2. Configuring Outgoing Email Settings

From the Central Administration > Site Settings > Configure email settings page, enter the required email settings:

  • Outbound SMTP server
  • From address
  • Reply-to address
  • Character set

NOTE: For detailed instructions on configuring email settings go to this Microsoft TechNet article.