Surveys

This feature allows you to easily create one or more surveys for each project, in which voting buttons are inserted into the email. After sending your emails, you can retrieve results of the vote and display it graphically.

Surveys can be used in SuperMailer Professional versions, not in Standard version. In Free version results of surveys are not retrievable.

 

Requirements

 

Notes for administrators

Saving survey results to file

Saving survey results to MySQL database

 

 

Usage of surveys

At HTML part of email position cursor and select "Insert at cursor position" after you have created your survey. HTML code can also be inserted with button "surveys"
 
above WYSIWYG-/HTML source code editor.

While using wizard mode surveys can only be inserted in WYSIWYG editor while editing multiline texts.

 

Changing layout

Surveys will be inserted with 2 tables, this tables can be changed by table editing functions, e.g. right click Table - Table properties or Cell properties.

 

Results of surveys

Select in dialog "Setup of surveys" on tab Surveys your survey and click on "Show results".

Hint: Results can be only retrieved after you have send your emails.

 

Configuration of surveys

All settings for surveys are valid for hole project and will be applied for all surveys.

 

Tab Upload

Setting Hints
Domain incl. directory Enter the complete URL with http:// and directory. The directory must be corresponded with the FTP directory or the upload directory in the script upload.php .

Hint:
Is the URL not correct than SuperMailer will generate an error message and you must correct the URL.

 

 
Script name Enter the name of PHP script. The script must have the file extension .php otherwise it will not be executed. In the filename of the script you should only use the letters A-Z (a-z), the numbers 0..9 and underline or hyphen. 

 
 

Select the transfer mode which SuperMailer should use to upload the files and the script.
Select FTP in order to let the data directly transferred by FTP. This is the recommended variant.

In firms it is often not possible to set up a direct FTP connection, in this case you should select the transmission with help of the upload script by HTTP. See also: setting up the upload script

 

FTP

Connection type Select connection type. At login area of your web space provider you can find information about required connection type.

You can select:

  • FTP (Port 21), unsecured
  • FTPS (explicit FTPS, Port 21), secured
  • FTPS (implicit FTPS, Port 990), secured
  • SFTP (Port 22), secured, based on SSH

 
Port Change port only when your web space provider requires this explicitly. 

 
FTP Server Enter the FTP server name or IP address of FTP server.

Information for the FTP server you can get from your ISP.

 
FTP Username / FTP Password Enter username and password for FTP access.

Information for the FTP server you can get from your ISP.

 
FTP directory Select the FTP directory to upload the files and the script. In order to select the directory you must specify FTP server, username and password.

Hint:
FTP directory and domain incl. directory must correspond.

 
Use passive mode The option "Use passive mode" should be selected for (A)DSL connection or if problems occur while uploading the scripts.

 

HTTP Upload

URL of upload script If you have decided to use the variant to transmit the scripts per upload script.
See also setting up the upload script

Enter the HTTP request inclusive name of the upload script.

 
Web-based retrieval of survey statistics Web-based survey statistics are always retrieved via the URL <domain incl. directory>/<script namne>. Click right on button to open URL in your browser.

Username and password are random values, you can change it. You must send emails again to change username and password on webspace.

 

 

 

 

Tab Settings

Setting Hint
Text or website to be displayed after successful voting (HTML allowed) Enter text that should be displayed after successful voting.

Alternatively, enter a URL with http:// or https:// to be forwarded after successful voting.

 

 
Text or website to be displayed as previously voted (HTML allowed) This text or URL will be used only if multiple votes should be avoided.

Enter text that should be displayed when user as already voted.

Alternatively, enter a URL with http:// or https:// to be forwarded.

 
Data storage on webspace/server Select variant for saving survey results so it can be evaluated later than.
 

Save survey results to file

This variant should be used with a few email recipients only; otherwise, votings might be lost, especially when many recipients click the voting buttons at the same time.

Save survey results to MySQL database

This variant is recommend.

Your webspace provider offers information for MySQL database.

 

 

 

Tab Surveys

Setting Hints
Add Allows you to add a new survey.

 
Edit Allows you to edit a survey.

 
Remove Removes selected survey.

 

 
Insert at cursor position Inserts HTML code for survey at cursor position in WYSIWYG editor or plain HTML source code editor.

 
Show results After sending your emails you can retrieve results from internet and let it show graphically as text or chart. 

 
Avoiding multiple votes For avoiding multiple votes you can use more than one possibilities:

 

Use email address Uses email address of recipient to avoid multiple votes.

This variant is recommended.

 
Use IP blocking Saves IP address at server to avoid multiple votes.

This variant is not recommend, because in companies have all employees the same outgoing IP address, so only one can vote.

 
Use Cookie Uses a cookie to avoid multiple votes.

 

 

 

 

 

"Button "Style"

Allow you to add an own stylesheet for outer table of survey.

 

 

Setting up the upload script

You can use our upload script upload.php as substitute for FTP transfers. This script can be found in your SuperMailer directory. You have to upload this script once via FTP to your web space, after that you can upload files without FTP. This script should be reconfigured before uploading it, so that your upload files are copied into the right directory.

hint
You should change the filename of this script, because that not everyone can put files on your web space.

You can also use this script for file upload, tracking or the newsletter archive.

changing the script configuration

  1. open this script with an text editor (not Word or WordPad!)
  2. search for:

# Upload directory with / at the end of path
# the upload directory is the complete directory from the root directory
# the directory can be differ from ftp upload directory
# under linux you should chmod the directory with rights 777

$UPLOADDIR="/home/www/tracking/";

  1. Change the value of $UPLOADDIR from /home/www/tracking to your directory.
  2. Save this script and upload it on your server/webspace.

If you don't know the correct directory, then ask your web space provider