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Info

If Email Service was not included in your Crows Nest installation, add it with the steps below.

Info

If Email Service is already installed, skip to “Configure the Email Service.”

Note

The steps to launch Setup are for Windows 10. Previous versions of Windows may differ.

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The Crows Nest Email Service can be installed on on any Windows PC. There are two components installed. The first is a service that will show up in the Services list in Windows. The second is an app that is used to configure the service. The service should start automatically after installation should also be configured to restart after a reboot.

The service has two functions:

  1. Send messages saved in the notification queue to an SMTP server

  2. Generate messages in the notification queue for scheduled Alerts

Info

The message queue is populated from two sources. Some messages are event based and are generated by user interaction with one of the Crows Nest apps. These are configured in the main desktop app under Options->Notification. Other messages are generated by the Email Service after configuring Alerts. Create and configure Alerts in the main desktop app under Settings->Alerts.

Note

If the Email Service is stopped then messages for scheduled Alerts cannot be created until the service is running again. Any Alerts that should have occurred while the service was stopped will not occur.

Installing the Email Service

The Email Service is an optional feature in the same setup file used to install the other desktop apps. While installing Crows Nest, turn on the Email Service feature on the Custom Setup step (see pic)

If you have already installed Crows Nest and did not include this feature you can add it using the following steps:

  • Navigate: Windows Start Menu > Settings > Apps > Apps & features

  • Select Crows Nest > Modify

  • View Crows Nest Setup window > Setup Wizard > Next > Change

  • Click on Email Service icon > drop-down menu > select Will be installed on local hard drive

  • Click Next > Change to install

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Configure the Email Service

Info

You must enter your email server's settings for Crows Nest Email Service to work.

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After changing any settings on the configuration window Stop and Start the service for them to take affect.

To open the configuration window find and run Crows Nest Email Service in the Apps list of the Start Menu

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Configuration options are explained below:

Option

Explanation

SQL Server Settings

The Server and Database fields should match those in Crows Nest Database Utility.

Send Method

Network or IIS (disables SMTP options)

Host

Enter the IP address or the domain of your email server in this box.

Port

Enter the port number that your email server uses.

Username & Password

Login for your email server. Option to show password (checkbox)address and Database name used to connect to a SQL Server instance and access a message queue. If you don’t know these you can match these settings from the Crows Nest DB Utility or from a Connection on the main desktop App

Send Method

  • IIS = Connects anonymously to an SMTP server running on the same machine running under IIS. If you’re running a Windows OS version that allows you to install a local SMTP server under IIS then you can configure it to relay emails from the server. You may need to add some SPF records to avoid notifications from being rejected by spam filters. Using this method hides the other settings which are not needed. The ‘From’ and ‘Reply To’ fields will be populated as outlined below if ‘Use as Sender’ is Unchecked.

  • Network = Connects to an SMTP server using an address and port number and entered credentials

Host

The network address of an SMTP server using a domain or IP address

Port

The port number of the Host to connect to

Username & Password

Credentials used to connect to the Host

SSL

Enables Secure Socket Layer security, if supported by your email server.

Use as Sender

Sets the sender for email notifications:

  • Checked = Uses network credentials

    • Unchecked = Uses the server configured in Notification options.

    (when server field is blank, uses default Crows Nest email server)

    Determines how the ‘From’ and ‘Reply To’ fields are populated on the email:

    • Checked = The ‘From’ field of the email will be the same one entered on the service configuration window. If an employee triggers a notification and has an email address configured for their account it will be populated in the ‘Reply To’ field on the email, otherwise it will be left blank.

      • If an Alert is created in this scenario, the ‘Reply To’ field will be blank.

    • Unchecked = The ‘From’ field of the email will be created using the name and email address of the person who triggered the notification. This means the credentials provided in the service configuration window will require relay permissions. If the employee that triggered the notification does not have an email address configured, the name and email address for the ‘From’ field will be what’s configured in the main app under Options->Notification-->Server Name and Server Address. The ‘Reply To’ field is not used.

      • If an Alert is created in this scenario, it will always use the Server Name and Server Address.

    Start Service

    Click to start the Crows Nest Email Service in Windows. The service will need to be running for you to receive email notifications in Crows Nest.attempt to Start the Service

    Stop Service

    Click here to attempt to stop Stop the Crows Nest Email Service in Windows.Send Test

    Troubleshooting

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    Email Service Status

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    Image RemovedThe Email Service will write status and error messages to the Event Log on the PC where it’s installed. To view the messages open the Event Viewer and find the log named Crows Nest under the Applications folder. Other Crows Nest apps also write to this log so look for Crows Nest Email as the Source to identify messages from this service.

    If error occur while sending a message to an SMTP server they are also logged in the notification queue and the message will remain in the queue until the issue is addressed. While messages are stuck in the queue all users who log into the main desktop app will receive a popup message after logging in and every hour after until the messages are cleared.

    For more information on clearing stuck messages see Messages Not Sent Error