Where Did My Brain Go?

Quick Mail 3.0.3 Maintenance Release

Discover the latest version of Quick Mail.

Quick Mail is a WordPress plugin for sending email with attachments from the WordPress dashboard. Quick Mail includes options to send email to members of your site, or anyone.

I created Quick Mail to send email to WordPress users on a site, without looking up their email addresses.

Download Quick Mail now, or read on for more information.

Quick Mail was published two years ago. I use Quick Mail regularly, and try to improve it.

What’s New in Quick Mail 3.0.3?

Quick Mail is my first public plugin. Maintaining a public plugin requires updates. Some updates are minor, but they prevent errors.

Today’s update fixes a bug, and tries to prevent a conflict with other plugins.

wp_mail Content Type

I received a support message on the WordPress forum from @mukula1dezine. He said:

When I activated this plugin. Its removed formatting from other emails. Like contact form 7 emails or other plugin sending notification to admin or members.

I enjoy fixing bugs. However, it is easier to fix a computer problem when you can reproduce the error.

I tested Quick Mail with user registrations and Contact Form 7, before I (hopefully) found the error.

Quick Mail sends mail with the wp_mail() function.

wp_mail() uses the wp_mail_content_type to send a message as plain text or HTML. WordPress says:

The default content type for email sent through the wp_mail function is ‘text/plain’ which does not allow using HTML. However, you can use the wp_mail_content_type filter to change the default content type of the email.

If an outgoing message contains HTML or a WordPress shortcode, Quick Mail changes the default content type to HTML.

My first plan was to set the wp_mail() content type to plain text, after sending an HTML email. However, another plugin might have changed the setting.

Quick Mail 3.0.3 changes the content type before sending email. The previous setting is restored after the email is sent.

Fixed Quick Mail Settings

I checked Quick Mail’s installation settings after reading New WordPress Plugin Shows Users Where a Plugin’s Settings Link Is Upon Activation by Jeff Chandler. Mr. Chandler advised readers to install a plugin to help users find the location of a new plugin’s settings after installation.

I added a wp_pointer in version 1.3.0 to display the “Welcome to Quick Mail” message shown above.

Alas, I broke this feature in version 3.0.0 by adding role=“alert” for accessibility.

It works now. Mr. Chandler added:

Adding a settings link to the plugins listing page puts it in a predictable location and is something I as a user appreciate.

I added a settings link to the plugin page. It would be nice to know if anyone uses it, but I am not allowed to phone home.

Quick Mail Help

I removed the compatibility message / link from help.

My article for Quick Mail 2.0.3 said:

A new help message reminds you to help other people.

Please let everyone know that Quick Mail 2.0.3 is compatible with your version of WordPress. I am usually the only person who clicks on the compatibility link.

The new WordPress plugin directory removed the “compatibility link.”

Perhaps users lacked incentive to return to a plugin page, after the plugin was installed.

Get Quick Mail 3.0.3 from WordPress or Github

Download Quick Mail 3.0.3 from the WordPress Plugin Repository. Fork Quick Mail on GitHub to add new features.

Quick Mail 3.0.3 was tested with WordPress 4.7.4, including multisite.

I hope Quick Mail makes your life easier. Please leave a review to help others find it.

Thanks to everyone who has been translating Quick Mail. Please join the translation project so more people can use Quick Mail in their language.

Review my previous articles on Quick Mail for additional information. Download Quick Mail to try it now.