Hi,
I'm developing a software to send newsletter to the users of my
website. I have a problem on the stats, detecting the opening of the
newsletter on the user's client.
The method I've chosen uses an html img tag like this:

<img src="detectscript.php?email=1234"/>

The script "detectscript.php" uses the email-id passed to save the
event "mail open". The script save the "opening" information on the db
and then pick a trasparent image on the server, set the mime type of
the response and send it out to the client.
The script called alone from the browser give the trasparent image
correctly and save the opening event in the db.

So, this method works with some email clients but not with all,
because clients like Windows Mail or Outlook detect that this is a
fake image and they don't call my script. I think that they check the
name of my script... it's a ".php", there are parameters... and they
block it.

Do you have any suggestion to count the newsletter opening correctly?

bye
Giulio

<ginoplusio@gmail.comwrote in message
news:1187769752.817265.74860@m37g2000prh.googlegro ups.com...

Hi,
I'm developing a software to send newsletter to the users of my
website. I have a problem on the stats, detecting the opening of the
newsletter on the user's client.
The method I've chosen uses an html img tag like this:
>
<img src="detectscript.php?email=1234"/>

Which my email client will never open. It considers images a security risk,
as loading them confirms that the email address they were sent to is a valid
one. This is an Anti spam measure.

Do you have any suggestion to count the newsletter opening correctly?

Why do you need to do this?

--
Richard.

On 22 Ago, 10:14, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

<ginoplu...@gmail.comwrote in message
>
news:1187769752.817265.74860@m37g2000prh.googlegro ups.com...
>

>

>
Which my email client will never open. It considers images a security risk,
as loading them confirms that the email address they were sent to is a valid
one. This is an Anti spam measure.
>

>
Why do you need to do this?
>

To make some statistics.
I'd like to make statistics on the newsletter:
- Total emails sent
- Valid emails in the db
- Emails that were full (over quota)
- Opened emails
- Clicked emails

I have problems only on detecting the opened emails.

<ginoplusio@gmail.comwrote in message
news:1187771079.379665.43150@e9g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...

On 22 Ago, 10:14, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

>
To make some statistics.
I'd like to make statistics on the newsletter:
- Total emails sent
- Valid emails in the db
- Emails that were full (over quota)
- Opened emails
- Clicked emails
>
I have problems only on detecting the opened emails.

If the email recipient chooses to not download that image then there is
nothing at all that you can do to make it happen.

You will just have to accept the fact that your stats are not reliable.

--
Richard.

On 22 Ago, 10:36, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

<ginoplu...@gmail.comwrote in message
>
news:1187771079.379665.43150@e9g2000prf.googlegrou ps.com...
>
>
>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>
If the email recipient chooses to not download that image then there is
nothing at all that you can do to make it happen.
>
You will just have to accept the fact that your stats are not reliable.
>
--
Richard.

are you sure?
i can't believe that there isn't a trick... professional newsletter
software how do they do?
using htaccess file is it possibile to make gif extension file
processed as php...?
or is it possibile to use url rewriting to find a work around...?
any suggestion?

thank you in advance.
giulio

<ginoplusio@gmail.comwrote in message
news:1187773290.163484.198530@x35g2000prf.googlegr oups.com...

On 22 Ago, 10:36, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

>
are you sure?

<sighYes. I am very sure.

If your email recipient has configured their email client to _not_ retrieve
images (as I have done) then there is absolutely nothing you can do about
it, short of going round to their house and changing their preferences for
them.

You can also do nothing at all about the fact that I have a cup of coffee to
the right of my keyboard. You can wish as much as you like for it to be on
the left of my keyboard, but it simply won't happen.

i can't believe that there isn't a trick... professional newsletter
software how do they do?

They don't. Nothing you or any professional newsletter software can do at
your end can suddenly make my email client do something I have specifically
told it _not_ to do. This is called: "security".

using htaccess file is it possibile to make gif extension file
processed as php...?

Irrelevant. The client is _not_ making a request on the server. If there is
no request then htaccess does not come into it.

or is it possibile to use url rewriting to find a work around...?
any suggestion?

See above.

--
Richard.

>

<sighYes. I am very sure.
>
If your email recipient has configured their email client to _not_ retrieve
images (as I have done) then there is absolutely nothing you can do about
it, short of going round to their house and changing their preferences for
them.
>

Hi Richard, that's true, ok. I know it. But in Windows mail as in
Outlook, when you receive a mail with images you can click a link that
say something like "download images".
I'm not crazy, I know I can't change your client security settings or
move your coffee :-)

I want to track opening when the user decide to "download images".

The problem is that the image used to track as a suspect name (".php"
and parameters) so that particular image is not download.

So the problem is in the way I write the tracking image tag.

Thank you.
Giulio

<ginoplusio@gmail.comwrote in message
news:1187777969.499520.206220@l22g2000prc.googlegr oups.com...

>
Hi Richard, that's true, ok. I know it. But in Windows mail as in
Outlook, when you receive a mail with images you can click a link that
say something like "download images".
I'm not crazy, I know I can't change your client security settings or
move your coffee :-)
>
I want to track opening when the user decide to "download images".
>
The problem is that the image used to track as a suspect name (".php"
and parameters) so that particular image is not download.
>
So the problem is in the way I write the tracking image tag.

Ah, OK then. Sorry, I did not understand that your recipient has actually
pressed the "download" button.

I see no reason at all why this should not work. Neither the client nor the
host care about the actual file name. To the client it _is_ an image,
because you have specified an <imgelement. The file name is, or should be,
irrelevant.

However, you have a closing / in there, which is XHTML. Does it work if you
use HTML (no /). Maybe it is not a "fake image" issue but an XHTML one.
Hint: IE simply does not understand XHTML and error corrects the / away.
Perhaps Outlook does not error correct, er, correctly.

--
Richard.

ginoplusio@gmail.com wrote:

On 22 Ago, 10:36, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

>
are you sure?
i can't believe that there isn't a trick... professional newsletter
software how do they do?
using htaccess file is it possibile to make gif extension file
processed as php...?
or is it possibile to use url rewriting to find a work around...?
any suggestion?
>
thank you in advance.
giulio
>
>
>

Yes, he's sure, and he's correct. There is no trick. Professionals use
professional methods - marketing teams, surveys, etc. to see if they are
read.

No matter what you do, you will never know if I opened your email or not
- unless I choose to tell you I have.

Your statistics will never be accurate. It's impossible.

--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
==================

On 22 Ago, 12:35, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

<ginoplu...@gmail.comwrote in message
>
news:1187777969.499520.206220@l22g2000prc.googlegr oups.com...
>
>
>
>
>

>

>

>

>

>

>
Ah, OK then. Sorry, I did not understand that your recipient has actually
pressed the "download" button.
>
I see no reason at all why this should not work. Neither the client nor the
host care about the actual file name. To the client it _is_ an image,
because you have specified an <imgelement. The file name is, or should be,
irrelevant.
>
However, you have a closing / in there, which is XHTML. Does it work if you
use HTML (no /). Maybe it is not a "fake image" issue but an XHTML one.
Hint: IE simply does not understand XHTML and error corrects the / away.
Perhaps Outlook does not error correct, er, correctly.
>
--
Richard.

mmm... I send XHTML email, here is the beginning of the html part:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://
www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

I'll make a test with only HTML.

thanks.
bye
Giulio

<ginoplusio@gmail.comwrote in message
news:1187783646.489547.203180@q3g2000prf.googlegro ups.com...

mmm... I send XHTML email

We already know that XHTML is not viable on the web (in part because the
most used browser out there simply does not support it, even in its most
recent incarnation).

Perhaps your tests will prove the same for email (assuming Outlook is the
most used email client (which I doubt. OE is, after all, free)).

Awaiting your results :-)

--
Richard.

On 22 Ago, 14:08, "rf" <r...@invalid.comwrote:

<ginoplu...@gmail.comwrote in message
>
news:1187783646.489547.203180@q3g2000prf.googlegro ups.com...
>

>
We already know that XHTML is not viable on the web (in part because the
most used browser out there simply does not support it, even in its most
recent incarnation).
>
Perhaps your tests will prove the same for email (assuming Outlook is the
most used email client (which I doubt. OE is, after all, free)).
>
Awaiting your results :-)
>
--
Richard.

it works.
thanks.
so there's no check about script file name...
bye.
giulio