Configure Outgoing Email Functionality In SharePoint Server 2016

SharePoint as a Content Management System supports outgoing as well as incoming email functionality. Before we get started with using the functionality, we have to configure the SMTP Server in the SharePoint Server. In this article, we will see how to set up outgoing emails in SharePoint Server.

Scope of the article.

• Add SMTP Role
• Configure SMTP Server
• Test "Email Sending" functionality

Add SMTP Role to the Server

From the Server Manager, select “Add roles and features” option.



This will open up the "Add Roles and Features" Wizard.



Continue to the next page by selecting “Role-based or feature based installation”.



Select the Server and continue to the next page.



The SMTP Service is available in the Features window. Click on Next.



Select the SMTP Server checkbox.



Click on Install, to add the SMTP role to the Server.



This will take some time to complete.



Once the configuration is done, restart the Server to complete the installation.



Configure SMTP Virtual Server

Once the Server has been restarted, go to Administrative Tools and select IIS 6.0 Manager.



Right click on the SMTP server and select Properties.



It will open up the properties window. From the "Access" tab, select Authentication.



Make sure you select Anonymous Access.



Now, go back to the Access tab and select Connection.



Select the radio button" All except the list below " so that only specified computers can access the Virtual Server.



Do the same for the Relay section in the Access tab.



In the Messages tab, set the message size to 10 MB (10240). Also, set the email id where non-delivery report should be sent.



Now, go to the Delivery tab and select Outbound Security.



Select "Basic Authentication" and set Gmail username and password.



From Delivery tab, select Outbound Connections.



Set the TCP Port as 587 and click on OK.



From Delivery tab, select Advanced.



In "Smart host" textbox, enter “smtp.gmail.com”.



Configure Outgoing email settings in SharePoint Central Administration

Select the web application where outgoing email settings have to be set. From General Settings, select Outgoing email.



Specify the Outbound SMTP Server, From address, and Reply-to address. SharePoint 2016 provides the option to specify the SMTP Server port and TLS encryption, which was not present in SharePoint 2013.



Set the SMTP E-Mail at IIS

Select the web application where we are configuring the outgoing email. And, select SMTP Email option. Ensure that the SMTP Server and port number are set.



Testing the Outgoing Email

We can do a quick test of the outgoing email by creating a dummy email text file and placing it in the Pick Up folder. In order to do this, create a text file, as shown below.



Drag and drop it to the location - C:\inetpub\mailroot\Pickup



As soon as we drop it to the Pick Up folder, it will be taken up for delivery to the To address.



Test SharePoint Mail Sending Functionality

We can, now, test the Outgoing Email functionality from SharePoint. In order to test this out, let's create a Task List.



From List Settings->Advanced, set the Email Notification to Yes; so that whenever a new task is created, mail will be sent to the person to whom the task is assigned.



Now, let’s go ahead and create a task in the list and assign it to a user.



This will trigger the mail. The user in the "Assigned To" field will get a mail with the task details.



In case, the emails are not triggered, ensure that the SMTP Virtual Server is in started state. If it is stopped, start the Virtual Server.



Summary

Thus, we saw how to configure Outgoing Email functionality in SharePoint Server 2016.