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Managed C++/CLI - Send HTML email with embedded images

The following Managed C++/CLI example codes demonstrate how to send HTML email with embedded images.

To attach an embedded images to email, you should add an attachment to email at first. Then you should assign an unique identifier(contentid) to this attachment. Finally, you need to replace the <img src="your file name" /> to <img src="cid:yourcontentid" />.

Installation

Before you can use the following codes, please download EASendMail SMTP Component and install it on your machine at first. Full sample proejcts are included in this installer.

Install from NuGet

You can also install the run-time assembly by NuGet. Run the following command in the NuGet Package Manager Console:

Install-Package EASendMail

Note

If you install it by NuGet, no sample projects are installed, only .NET assembly is installed.

Add reference

To use EASendMail SMTP Component in your project, the first step is Add reference of EASendMail to your project. Please create or open your project with Visual Studio, then go to menu -> Project -> Add Reference -> .NET -> Browse..., and select Installation Path\Lib\net[version]\EASendMail.dll from your disk, click Open -> OK, the reference of EASendMail will be added to your project, and you can start to use it to send email in your project.

add reference in c#/vb.net/c++/cli/clr

.NET assembly

Because EASendMail has separate builds for .Net Framework, please refer to the following table and choose the correct dll.

Separate builds of run-time assembly for .NET Framework 2.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.6.1, 4.7.2, 4.8.1, .NET 5.0, .NET 6.0, .NET 7.0, .NET 8.0, .NET Standard 2.0 and .NET Compact Framework 2.0, 3.5.

File .NET Framework Version
Lib\[net20|40|45|461|472|481]\EASendMail.dll Built with .NET Framework 2.0, 4.0, 4.5, 4.6.1, 4.7.2, 4.8.1
It requires .NET Framework 2.0, 3.5 or later version.
Lib\[net5.0|6.0|7.0|8.0]\EASendMail.dll Built with .NET 5.0, .NET 6.0, .NET 7.0, .NET 8.0
It requires .NET 5.0 or later version.
Lib\netstandard2.0\EASendMail.dll Built with .NET Standard 2.0
It requires .NET Standard 2.0 or later version.
Lib\[net20-cf|net35-cf]\EASendMail.dll Built with .NET Compact Framework 2.0, 3.5
It requires .NET Compact Framework 2.0, 3.5 or later version.

C++/CLI - Send HTML email with embedded images - example

The following example codes demonstrate sending email with embedded images. In order to run it correctly, please change SMTP server, user, password, sender, recipient value to yours.

Note

To get full sample projects, please download and install EASendMail on your machine.

#include "stdafx.h"

using namespace System;
using namespace EASendMail;

int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
    try
    {
        SmtpMail ^oMail = gcnew SmtpMail("TryIt");

        // Set sender email address, please change it to yours
        oMail->From = "test@emailarchitect.net";

        // Set recipient email address, please change it to yours
        oMail->To = gcnew AddressCollection("support@emailarchitect.net");

        // Set email subject
        oMail->Subject = "test HTML email from Managed C++ with inline attachment";

        // Set HTML body
        oMail->HtmlBody = "<font size=5>This is</font> <font color=red><b>a test</b></font>";

        // Add image attachment from local disk
        Attachment ^oAttachment = oMail->AddAttachment("d:\\test.gif");

        // Specifies the attachment as an embedded image
        // contentid can be any string.
        String ^contentID = "test001@host";
        oAttachment->ContentID = contentID;
        oMail->HtmlBody = "<html><body>this is a <img src=\"cid:"
            + contentID + "\"> embedded picture.</body></html>";

        // Your SMTP server address
        SmtpServer ^oServer = gcnew SmtpServer("smtp.emailarchitect.net");

        // User and password for ESMTP authentication, if your server doesn't require
        // User authentication, please remove the following codes.
        oServer->User = "test@emailarchitect.net";
        oServer->Password = "testpassword";

        // Most mordern SMTP servers require SSL/TLS connection now.
        // ConnectTryTLS means if server supports SSL/TLS, SSL/TLS will be used automatically.
        oServer->ConnectType = SmtpConnectType::ConnectTryTLS;

        // If your SMTP server uses 587 port
        // oServer->Port = 587;

        // If your SMTP server requires SSL/TLS connection on 25/587/465 port
        // oServer->Port = 25; // 25 or 587 or 465
        // oServer->ConnectType = SmtpConnectType::ConnectSSLAuto;

        Console::WriteLine("start to send email with inline image...");

        SmtpClient ^oSmtp = gcnew SmtpClient();
        oSmtp->SendMail(oServer, oMail);

        Console::WriteLine("email was sent successfully!");
    }
    catch (Exception ^ep)
    {
        Console::WriteLine("failed to send email with the following error:");
        Console::WriteLine(ep->Message);
    }

    return 0;
}

To attach embedded images/pictures, SmtpMail.ImportHtmlBody and SmtpMail.ImportHtml methods are strongly recommended. With these methods, you don’t have to specify the ContentID manually. The html source/file html body can be imported to email with embedded pictures automatically.

You can also refer to the htmlmail.* samples in EASendMail Installer. Those samples demonstrate how to build a HTML email editor and send HTML email with attachment or embedded images/pictures.

C++/CLI html editor

TLS 1.2 protocol

TLS is the successor of SSL, more and more SMTP servers require TLS 1.2 encryption now.

If your operating system is Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 2003/2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2, you need to enable TLS 1.2 protocol in your operating system like this:

Enable TLS 1.2 on Windows XP/Vista/7/10/Windows 2008/2008 R2/2012

Appendix

Comments

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See Also