What is Happening?
In September 2019, Microsoft announced plans to follow suit with Google and deprecate direct SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) access to their services, meaning that unsecured methods, such as sending emails with FileMaker’s ‘Send Mail’ function, would become obsolete. Essentially, users are longer able to log in using only their username and password, as it is not considered a safe method of authentication. As of October 1st, 2022, this plan has been put into action and users are already experiencing issues when sending and receiving mail through FileMaker.
What Can You Do?
One option is to migrate to a bulk mail or transactional mail provider, of which there are many.
However, Proof+Geist suggests utilizing transactional emails as APIs. Along with allowing you to look at analytics, utilize templates and models to build HTML, and avoid being marked as a scammer, APIs offer proofing for future changes and deprecation which means you can rest assured that you’ll still be able to send and receive your mail, regardless of whatever updates are to come.
Some of these APIs include services such as SendGrid (Todd Geist’s personal favorite), MailGun, and Mandrill.
Of course, each API service comes with its own challenges; you may find yourself looking to make modifications to whatever service you choose to better fit your needs. This can be discouraging for users who are already overwhelmed by the changes they need to make due to Microsoft’s updates.
What Can We Do?
Proof+Geist offers consulting and guidance when it comes to these issues and can assist you with writing functions that will utilize an API to best fit your needs. Our product LedgerLink offers both SendGrid and Microsoft Office 365, enabling you to take emailing to the next level. LedgerLink is free to download and has a variety of email scripts for you to explore. By taking code from LedgerLink and bringing it into FileMaker, you can continue to send and receive mail as usual, without having to worry about being blocked by Microsoft’s updates.
Interested in learning more about what we can do for you? Proof+Geist offers FileMaker consulting, licensing, and developer tools, including the aforementioned LedgerLink. With our expertise in both Claris FileMaker and web technologies, we are ready to innovate and help support your business.