© 2001-2002 PensaWorks, inc., All Rights Reserved
http://www.pensaworks.com
info@pensaworks.com
5953 Commerce Rd
Milton, FL 32583

Support can be obtained from the support forums at http://www.pensaworks.com/forum, the FAQ's, or by emailing support at support@pensaworks.com.

Table of Contents
=============================================================
1.) Introduction
2.) New Installation Instructions
3.) Upgrade Instructions
4.) Setting Up the Automated Features
5.) Customizing & Modifications
6.) Closing/Credits

Thank you for purchasing the Spd E-Letter Mailing List. This program was developed in the need for a mailinglist program that would take the hassle out of having multiple lists and was extensible enough to handle more than any other program available. It has been saved hundreds of users much time and money, we hope it does the same for you.

If you ever have questions or problems with the program, please use the forum at http://www.pensaworks.com/forum. You may also send us an email at support@pensaworks.com.

2. If you plan on using the included Access DB (spd_eletter.mdb), you need to upload it to a directory with read/write/delete (and sometimes execute) permissions (i.e fpdb or cgi-bin directory). If you plan on using an existing Access Database or SQL-Server, you will need to have the connection path handy or DSN name, username, and password handy.

3. Open the config.asp file in your favorite text editor. It is recommended you do not use Front Page for this.

a. Uncomment the strDBType by removing the ' in front of it indicating the type of database you will be using.

b. Update the ELetter_String variable by entering in your DSN Name, username and password or uncommenting the line that you wish to use as your connection type and update accordingly.

c. It is not required, but highly recommended that you change the strSecPass from 12345678 to your own special password. This password is required to install/uninstall or upgrade the Spd E-Letter. Make sure the quotes stay around the password.

4. Open the setup.asp page at: http://www.<yourdomain.com>/<mailinglistdir>/admin/setup.asp. After entering the correct security password (the one we set in the config file), you will be directed to apage asking what action you wish to take. Make sure that the database type you are using is highlighted in red. If not, please change it in the config file, upload, and refresh before proceeding. Choose "New Installation" and the setup program will guide you the rest of the way.

****************************************************************
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR DATABASE BEFORE
INSTALLING THE PROGRAM.
****************************************************************

5. After Spd E-Letter has been installed, login to the administration section at: http://www.<yourdomain.com>/<mailinglistdir>/admin/default.asp (this link will be provided for you at the end, but please bookmark it so you can always refer to it later). You will login with the Username: admin and the password: admin5. It is recommended that you immediately change your password. You can do this by going to the "Settings" dropdown and choosing "Personal Preferences". After logging in to the administration section, you will need to go into the "Site Preferences" found under the "Settings" drop down menu. Once you have completed that, you need to generate the HTML needed to integrate the Spd E-Letter with your site by going to "Generate HTML" from the "Home" driop down menu.

6.) Click here for instructions in setting up the automated features.

1. Unzip all files. Upload all of the files to a directory on your server (usually mailinglist). It is recommended you keep a backup copy of the older files just in case (you may want to refer back to your old config.asp file for the next few steps).

2. Open the config.asp file in your favorite text editor. It is recommended you do not use Front Page for this.

a. Uncomment the strDBType by removing the ' in front of it indicating the type of database you will be using. Please refer to the old config.asp file for this.

b. Update the ELetter_String variable by entering in your DSN Name, username and password or uncommenting the line that you wish to use as your connection type and update accordingly. Again, please refer to your old config.asp file for this information.

c. It is not required, but highly recommended that you change the strSecPass from 12345678 to your own special password. This password is required to install/uninstall or upgrade the Spd E-Letter. Make sure the quotes stay around the password.

3. Open the setup.asp page at: http://www.<yourdomain.com>/<mailinglistdir>/admin/setup.asp. After entering the correct security password (the one we set in the config.asp file), choose the installation option "Upgrade from vX.0" and click go.

****************************************************************
ALWAYS REMEMBER TO MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR DATABASE BEFORE
INSTALLING THE PROGRAM.
****************************************************************

4. After Spd E-Letter has been installed, login to the administration section at: http://www.<yourdomain.com>/<mailinglistdir>/admin/default.asp (this link will be provided for you at the end of upgrading). After logging in to the administration section, you will need to go into the "Site Preferences" found under the "Settings" drop down menu and update a few new properties. Once you have completed that, you need to generate the HTML needed to integrate the Spd E-letter with your site by going to "Generate HTML" from the "Home" drop down menu.

5.) Click here for instructions in setting up the automated features.

The Automated Features of the Spd E-Letter allows you to do things you never dreamed possible with virtually no work at all! With the "Automated Emails", you can now specify a specific email to be sent out to a subscriber after they have been subscribed for a specific number of days. The potential of this is far reaching and not limited by any means. Say you integrate the Spd E-Letter into your shopping cart system. You setup a specific list and subscribe all those people who place an order to this list. You can then setup an "Automated Email" to send them an email 14 days after their order asking them to fill out a customer service survey. Or maybe they purchase specific products that have warranties and you want to notify them a few weeks before the warranty becomes invalid. You can use this to send out a series of "Educational" material in a scheduled or sequenced manner.

The "Scheduled Broadcast" system allows you to sleep in while your Newsletter is being sent to your subscribers. What could be better than increasing your sales while you sleep? Never again will you be forced to remain online and wait out those lengthy broadcasts. It's automation at it's best!

In order to actually automate these tasks, you need some service that will actually execute the automated_tasks.asp file on a regular basic. LiveTask is a free service provided by PensaWorks for it's customers. If you wish to look into other means of running this feature on a regular basis, please read these articles for more help:

• Automating Tasks with WSH
• Automatically Running a Function Every So Often

Once you have activated your account with LiveTask, you will need to login to their system and add a new task. If you look in the admin folder of the Spd E-Letter, you should find a file named "automated_tasks.asp". This is the file that needs to be automated. Enter the full URL to that file in the appropriate spot on the LiveTask screen. The URL should look like http://www.<yourdomain.com>/<mailinglistdir>/admin/automated_tasks.asp. Set the task to run every 6 hours as well as setting the other options (such as emailing you reports). Now your all set to begin Automated Emails!

* LiveTask is used primarily because it is the easiest way to run this feature for experieneced and non-experienced webmasters. Using the alternate methods above does come with some restrictions and drawbacks. Using the WSH (Windows Script Host), requires that you have a dedicated server and opens a new instance of Internet Explorer each time which uses more memory and requires human intervention to close. The second solution requires modifications (or the use of) a global.asa file that can be very tricky to implement for non seasoned developers. The second option is not guaranteed as well. It relies on vistors to your website on a regular basis. It also delays a visitors access to the site until the automated script finishes processing and thus you could possibly loose a few visitors each day. LiveTask is guaranteed to run your automated features without the drawbacks, and has many additional features such as emailing you any results. The LiveTask system is fast and is easy to use for non-experienced developers as well as the more seasoned ones while not being costly.

1. We have taken every step to make the integration of the Spd E-Letter into your website easy and seamless. Here we will discuss the method used to achieve this. In the explanation, we will explain using the mailinglist.asp file found in the mailinglist root folder, but the same method is used in the edit.asp and archive.asp files.

Simply open the mailinglist.asp file in any HTML editor (or notepad if that is what you prefer). Be sure to save a copy of this file before you begin so you can refer back to the original.

When you open the mailinglist.asp file, you should notice 2 things when looking at the source code. The first is the comments at the top of the page. They are a summary of this section of the readme and can be deleted if you choose. The second thing that you will notice, is an include file named "inc_mailinglist_action.asp" (line 25 of the orginal mailinglist.asp file). This is the line that is important. Add your site design/template to the page, and then put the code for the include file in the section of the page where you want the mailinglist content to be. Once you have completed this, upload all the files and open the mailinglist.asp page directly. You should now be presented with a subscription form to subscribe to any of the public lists or redirected to the Root URL if no public lists exist. If the page does not load, or you get an error, please check your code or contact support for help. Please note that we cannot debug code for you if you have other ASP related issues. Try checking the FAQ's in advance, they will most likely help you before having to contact support.

If you do experience errors after customizing these page (messages such as "Page Cannot be Displayed"), it will be helpful for support issues if you turn on script error notification in Internet Explorer and include the details of the error. To do this:

a. Open Internet Explorer
b. Click on the "Tools" tab located on the top menu and select "Internet Options".
c. There should be 6 tabs accross the top, click the tab that says "Advanced".
d. Under the "Browsing" section, make sure the boxes for "Show friendly URLs" & "Show friendly HTTP error messages" are UNCHECKED.
e. Open the ASP page that is giving you the error again and you should now see a more detailed error. Be sure to send this to the support team as it can dramatically decrease the time it takes to solve your problem.

2. Almost every webmaster hates the little advertising that many developers commonly add as a footer to the program in the sections that website visitors interact with. This "footer" is not present in the sections of which website visitors interact with the Spd E-Letter. The copyright notice however, MUST stay intact in the administration section. Removing or changing the copyright in the administration section is a violation of copyright law and will be pursued.

If you are interested in a version which does not require the copyright notice, please contact us for more details.

3. To add additional capabilities and customizations to the Spd E-Letter, several new features have been presented. The first is the "Footer HTML" that can be edited in the "Site Preferences". This footer HTML will appear on every page of the Spd E-Letter in the bottom left corner. Webmasters can use this section to add a "Powered By X-Company" notice, or image of any kind if they wish to inform clients who is in charge of the Administration section.

The second technique that has been implemented, is the use of personalized navigation systems. Some people prefer a quick text list of all options available, while others prefer a graphical interface. There are several navigation systems built into the Spd E-letter by default that you may use and each is primarily geared towards a users skill level when interacting with the Spd E-Letter. New Navigation Systems will be introduced periodically as they become available. Modifications of, or additions of Navigation systems is a direct violation of the licensing terms of the Spd E-Letter unless prior consent is given. If you are in need of a personalized navigation system, please contact PensaWorks for more information.

4.) Modifications to the program of any kind are prohibited unless expressed written consent is obtained in advance. Failure to adhere to this notice is a violation of copyright law and will be pursued by legal means. If you are in need of a customized version of the Spd E-Letter or wish to obtain rights to modify the program, please contact PensaWorks for more information.

6.) Closing/Credits
==============================================================
Thank you to everyone who helped guide us along the way of creating this wonderful program.

* To all users of the Spd E-Letter. To this day, we have yet to get any negative feedback from users. It's always positive feelings. You are the driving force that keeps us making the program better every day!

* To all of the beta testers throughout each version.

* To Daniel Vinck & Robbert van Os for Dutch translations. Special thanks to Robbert for ALL of his hard work in beta testing v3.0 and giving us a hard time about everything ;o) .

* Special Thanks to other individuals:
Steven Conn & Marina
Carvel Avis
Greg Van Horn
Omar
Aaron Wade
The wonderful people of the Macromedia UltaDev NewsGroup
And anyone else I may have forgotten...

- The PensaWorks Team

Spd E-Letter v4.0
© 2001-2002, PensaWorks.