TABLE OF CONTENTS
- General
- Debug mode
- Intercept mode
- Storage paths
- Secure Mail feature
- Excluding Domains or specific email addresses
- Customizing HTML snippets
- Password communication mode
- Server App
- Theming
- Advanced Theming
- Detailed settings specifications
General
During the start-up phase of the Outlook add-in, the registry is scanned at the following location:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Nextcloud.Outlook
In case this path does not exist, the add-in will try to create a new registry key. In case the path does exist: the values within this key are checked for inconsistencies and repaired if needed. This may cause the add-in to ask users to login to your Nextcloud server. When the Outlook add-in detects inconsistency and attempts repair of the afflicted registry values, it makes sure the values are not overwritten with defaults.
Debug Mode
The Outlook add-in includes a debug mode. The mode is turned off by default. Enabling debug mode may give the system administrator or developers more detailed insights into what is happening inside the Outlook add-in. Make sure Outlook isn’t opened at the moment of enabling this setting.
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| DebuggingEnabled | 0,1 (false,true) | 0 (false) |
| DebugPath | “C:/log/path/” (without quotes, ensure path ends with slash) | (empty) |
When “DebugPath” is set, it overrides the default path. The default path is configured to be the current user’s “my documents” folder.
If you are experiencing any technical issues, we recommend enabling the debug mode to help to find the cause while performing the action that leads to the technical issue. The log file generated by the debug mode could also be helpful if you contact Sendent support. After the setting is enabled you can open Outlook, perform the specific action that has the issue/bug and then finalize with a specific action that works without any issues (for e.g. open Public Share + upload a file). This is to make it easier in the log file to find out the cause of the issue. After these steps have been performed you can close Outlook. Directly after closing Outlook the logfile can be found in your “my documents” folder.
Intercept Mode
Once the intercept mode is set, the Outlook add-in will monitor all emails about to be sent. This intercept mechanism has multiple modes:
Maximum Attachment Size: Based upon a predefined threshold value (expressed to be set to a value in MB’s,) the Outlook add-in will enforce the user to upload their attachments in case when they exceed the predefined threshold.
Ask the user to upload: The user will get a reminder each time an email containing a traditional attachment is about to be sent. They will be suggested to upload the attachments to their Nextcloud server. The upload is not mandatory and considered optional.
Note:
When the intercept mode is set to MaximumAttachmentSize, the threshold (in MB’s) has to be set. The default value of the attachment size threshold is 0. When the threshold is set to ‘0’ the Outlook add-in will intercept all attachments.
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| InterceptMode | Off, Ask, MaximumAttachmentSize | Off |
| Threshold | (Any rounded number, expressed in Megabytes, no negative numbers). | 0 |
Storage Path
The Outlook add-in provides settings for customizing the file and folder paths it uses.
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
PathPublicShare | Path used when the sender wants a recipient to upload files to the sender’s Nextcloud server. |
PathUploadFiles | Path used when files are uploaded from a local computer or selected from the Nextcloud server to share with the recipient. |
PathSecureMail | Path used when the Secure Mail feature is used. The email’s content (for example: the email body) including possible attachments are stored here. |
Registry values
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| PathPublicShare | Any group folder or personal folder path. Make sure the paths start and end with a ‘/’ (without quote). | /Outlook/PublicShare/ |
PathUploadFiles | Any group folder or personal folder path. Make sure the paths start and end with a ‘/’ (without quote). | /Outlook/UploadFiles/ |
PathSecureMail | Any group folder or personal folder path. Make sure the paths start and end with a ‘/’ (without quote). | /Outlook/SecureMail/ |
The Outlook add-in creates a folder for each interaction. When a user uploads files and sends the email to the recipient; this is considered a single interaction. For this interaction in this example, a unique folder will be created within the root folder for this feature (eg. PathUploadFiles).
Default
The Outlook add-in tries to use the subject name of the email by default to name the folder for each interaction. In case there is no subject present, a short unique id will be generated and used for folder naming. In case a subject name already exists, a short unique id will be added to the end of the email subject used to name the folder. For example, “My mail subject (<UID>)” (without quotes)
Date Addition
The setting: DateAddition is disabled by default. This setting, when enabled, will tell the Outlook add-in to add the current date at the end of the default path. For example, in case the default path of “PathUploadFiles” is “/Outlook/UploadFiles/”. The current date will be added at the end of the default path like this: “/Outlook/UploadFiles/2021-01-01/”.
Secure Mail
The Secure Mail feature allows users to upload the email body to Nextcloud. The email content that is about to be sent, is replaced by a HTML snippet. The recipients may access the email body by logging in to the sender’s Nextcloud server.
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
SecureMailEnabled | When enabled this setting will provide the user a ‘ribbon while they’re composing a new email. Using the controls within the ‘ribbon, the user can activate Secure Mail for the current email |
SecureMailEnforced | Enforces all mail to be processed by this feature. |
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| SecureMailEnabled | 0,1 (false, true) | 0 (false) |
| SecureMailEnforced | 0,1 (false, true) | 0 (false) |
Example of the Secure Mail ribbon:
For Sendent Nextcloud app 1.0.18 and below only
For the presentation of the messages that have been sent with Secure Mail activated you have to adjust the settings in the README.MD app of Nextcloud. If you don’t want the background to be yellow, or show the filename like .SECUREMAIL.html in the screenshot you have to uncheck the first two boxes displayed on the right.
Excluding Domains or Specific Email Addresses
In case the intercept mode is set to ‘MaximumAttachmentSize’, all outgoing emails will be intercepted by default (in other words: Upload to Nextcloud will be enforced). These emails can be sent to recipients (both internal or external) and in all cases upload to Nextcloud will be enforced.
Sometimes this behaviour is undesirable. Internal email does not always require this option to be enforced. Other situations call for exceptions based on mutual understanding between two parties (external) where they accept the risk of attaching sensitive content. For example, because of not being allowed to click links in an email as a set company policy.
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| InternalMails | @domain.com;specific@domain.com | (empty) |
| ExternalMails | @domain.com;specific@domain.com | (empty) |
| PopupExternalException | 0,1 (false, true) | 0 (false) |
When PopupExternalException is enabled, the sender will be notified when an attachment in Outlook will not be intercepted by the Sendent Outlook Add-in because of external whitelisted domain or email address (ExternalMails).
The settings shown above allow you to whitelist certain domains or specific email addresses. The syntax is as follows:
Whitelist a domain: @domain.com
Whitelist a specific email address: example@domain.com
Combined (example): @nextcloud.com;sample@sendent.nl;@example.com;another@partner.com
Note the “;” semicolon, as separator
There is no technical difference between the use of “InternalMails” or “ExternalMails”. The only reason these settings are separate from each other is to make it easier for administrators to manage these types of exceptions.
Customizing HTML snippets
The Outlook add-in allows you to customize the HTML snippet where the download link is inserted in the mail body. This feature is not available for Basic users and only accessible for Professional and Premium plans of Sendent.
The provided snippets are more samples, you need to modify the colour scheme, logos or formatting yourself.
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
HtmlSnippetPublicShare | Any HTML containing placeholders for the required fields. | {URL}<br>{EXPIRATIONDATE}<br>{PASSWORD} |
HtmlSnippetUploadFiles | Any HTML containing placeholders for the required fields. | {URL}<br>{EXPIRATIONDATE}<br>{PASSWORD} |
HtmlSnippetSecureMail | Any HTML containing placeholders for the required fields. | {URL}<br>{EXPIRATIONDATE}<br>{PASSWORD} |
HtmlSnippetPassword | Any HTML containing placeholders for the required fields. | {PASSWORD} |
Modify logo
Note: In the latest version of Sendent you can use the {LOGO} tag instead of the described procedure below.Within our HTML sample snippets we use something called "cid" tags (for embedded content). In the snippets you can find it under "src='cid:logo.png@logo'" in the img tags (without double quotes).
There are two options:
1. Replace the cid string with a reference to your own logo hosted on the same domain as your email addresses.
2. Replace the file located at: ...<program files>\Sendent Outlook\Resources\Images\sendent_logo_transparant.png with your own logo.
Please note though, every time that the add-in is updated you have to replace this file.
Available fields in snippets{URL} or {0} - Share link *
{PASSWORD} or {1} - Share password **
{EXPIRATIONDATE} or {2} - Share expiration date *
{FILES} or {3} - List files (uses <ul><li> tags)
{RECIPIENTS} - List recipients
{FROM} - List from sender (e.g. info@sendent.nl)
{SUBJECT} - Subject name
{CURRENTDATE} - Current date
{CURRENTTIME} - Current time
{LOGO} - Display set Nextcloud logo from theming
The use of custom HTML snippets containing CSS is supported. Whenever designing a custom HTML snippet, it is recommended to use HTML tables. We recommend using HTML tables as it is more convenient for the end-user to copy for example the password from the email. Other techniques may cause inconveniences. The main issue is that by default Windows behaviour the selection of any word also adds a space at the end of the selected word. Therefor when an end-user copies the password, they will accidentally copy a space with the password. When the end-user attempts to authenticate with the share this will fail due the copied password containing an unintended space at the end of the password.
* = REQUIRED
** = REQUIRED unless “Password communication mode” = “include in separate email”
Password communication mode
Sometimes sending the password and the original Share link in the same email can be undesirable. For that reason, we added the ability to send passwords in a separate email. Once the share has been created and will be inserted in your email, automatically a separate email will be opened that includes the password. This can be implemented by activating the following.
| Key | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| SendMode | CurrentMail, Separate (CurrentMail = default) | CurrentMail = include the password in the email body, Separate = send the password in a separate email. |
HtmlSnippetPassword | Any HTML containing placeholders for the required fields. | {PASSWORD} |
When the password communication mode is set to “send in separate email” this doesn’t mean that the snippet for Share files and Public share is automatically adjusted to exclude the password. This would need an adjustment in the specific snippet.
Server App
Sendent also provides a convenient Nextcloud app to help you distribute settings to your Outlook clients. We highly recommend using this app for easier and centralized settings management. The app can be found in the Nextcloud app store: https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/sendent.
The Outlook Add-in will natively attempt to connect to the Sendent app installation on your Nextcloud instance. In case it does succeed, the Outlook Add-in settings will be overridden by the Nextcloud server specified settings.
Theming
In the Professional version you automatically have the possibility to use a custom branded version instead of the default Sendent branded version. The settings that are used for this can be controlled from your Nextcloud settings. To set custom branding you have to open the Theming app of Nextcloud. Sendent uses the following settings:
Name
Color
Logo
Header logo
Name
In certain dialogs we will show the Name value of the Theming settings. For example, when you want to share files from your own Nextcloud server.
Color
The color that is set here will be used to adjust all the Sendent dialogs.
Logo
The logo that is set here will be shown in the header of the dialogs.
Header logo
The header logo that is set here will be displayed in the Task Pane for Secure Mail and the Activity Tracker as the space is more limited.
Advanced Theming
Using the Server App, administrators can customize the color settings for the Outlook Add-in by enabling Advanced Theming. This feature only works in combination with the Premium plan.
All colors can be set by using the HEX color code or using the color picker in the pop-up.
Primary button
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Button primary” will change the appearance of the right-hand button in the File Share, Public Share dialogs, Settings and Guest Accounts.
Secondary button
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Button secondary” will change the appearance of the left-hand button in the File Share and Public Share dialogs.
Dialog header
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Dialog - header” will change the appearance of the header in the File Share, Public Share, Settings and Guest Accounts dialogs.
Dialog footer
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Dialog - footer” will change the appearance of the footer in the File Share and Public Share dialogs.
Popup
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Popup” will change the appearance of the popup panel shown when the user clicks on one of the interactive parts in the footer in the File Share and Public Share dialogs.
Icon
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Icon” will change the appearance of the icons being used in the Outlook ribbon.
Taskpane
Customizing the color settings containing the prefix: “Taskpane” will change the appearance of the appropriate taskpane (Activity Tracker or Secure Mail), shown when the user is editing an email or viewing an already sent email.
-Activity Tracker
-Secure Mail
Detailed Settings Specifications