Just to complete ArneRie's answer here (which is already very relevant), I like to have in my projects a class to handle email sending and different templates at the same time.
This class could be in your library for example (/library/My/Mail.php):
class My_Mail
{
// templates name
const SIGNUP_ACTIVATION = "signup-activation";
const JOIN_CLUB_CONFIRMATION = "join-club-confirmation";
protected $_viewSubject;
protected $_viewContent;
protected $templateVariables = array();
protected $templateName;
protected $_mail;
protected $recipient;
public function __construct()
{
$this->_mail = new Zend_Mail();
$this->_viewSubject = new Zend_View();
$this->_viewContent = new Zend_View();
}
/**
* Set variables for use in the templates
*
* @param string $name The name of the variable to be stored
* @param mixed $value The value of the variable
*/
public function __set($name, $value)
{
$this->templateVariables[$name] = $value;
}
/**
* Set the template file to use
*
* @param string $filename Template filename
*/
public function setTemplate($filename)
{
$this->templateName = $filename;
}
/**
* Set the recipient address for the email message
*
* @param string $email Email address
*/
public function setRecipient($email)
{
$this->recipient = $email;
}
/**
* Send email
*
* @todo Add from name
*/
public function send()
{
$config = Zend_Registry::get('config');
$emailPath = $config->email->templatePath;
$templateVars = $config->email->template->toArray();
foreach ($templateVars as $key => $value)
{
if (!array_key_exists($key, $this->templateVariables)) {
$this->{$key} = $value;
}
}
$viewSubject = $this->_viewSubject->setScriptPath($emailPath);
foreach ($this->templateVariables as $key => $value) {
$viewSubject->{$key} = $value;
}
$subject = $viewSubject->render($this->templateName . '.subj.tpl');
$viewContent = $this->_viewContent->setScriptPath($emailPath);
foreach ($this->templateVariables as $key => $value) {
$viewContent->{$key} = $value;
}
$html = $viewContent->render($this->templateName . '.tpl');
$this->_mail->addTo($this->recipient);
$this->_mail->setSubject($subject);
$this->_mail->setBodyHtml($html);
$this->_mail->send();
}
}
I like have some Zend_Mail options (such as transport, default sender name, etc.) set in my application.ini as follows:
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;; Email
;------------------------------------------------------------------------------
resources.mail.transport.type = smtp
resources.mail.transport.host = "192.168.1.8"
;resources.mail.transport.auth = login
;resources.mail.transport.username = username
;resources.mail.transport.password = password
;resources.mail.transport.register = true
resources.mail.defaultFrom.email = [email protected]
resources.mail.defaultFrom.name = "My Site Name"
resources.mail.defaultReplyTo.email = [email protected]
resources.mail.defaultReplyTo.name = "My Site Name"
email.templatePath = APPLICATION_PATH "/modules/default/views/scripts/emails"
email.template.newsletter = "My Site Name - Newsletter" // default templates
And now, from anywhere in my application, I can simply send an email using for instance:
$mail = new My_Mail;
$mail->setRecipient("[email protected]");
$mail->setTemplate(My_Mail::SIGNUP_ACTIVATION);
$mail->email = $user->email;
$mail->token = $token; // generate token for activation link
$mail->firstName = $user->firstName;
$mail->lastName = $user->lastName;
$mail->send();
This will set the template, and template variables through a magic setter.
At last, my templates are localized in APPLICATION_PATH "/modules/default/views/scripts/emails" (can be changed in the application.ini). A typical template would be:
// in /views/scripts/emails/signup-activation.tpl
<p> Hi,<br /><br /> You almost done, please finish your registration:<br />
<a href="http://www.example.com
<?= $this->url(array('controller' => 'account',
'action' => 'index',
'e' => $this->email,
't' => $this->token), 'default', true) ?>
">Click here</a>
</p>
// in /views/scripts/emails/signup-activation.subj.tpl
My Site Name - Account Activation Link
where $this->email
and $this->token
are the template variables.