The following content is adapted from the Dada Mail Manual. The Dada Mail Manual is available through the purchase of Pro Dada.

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A Gentle Introduction To Dada Mail

A Gentle Introduction To Dada Mail

Dada Mail has grown from a very simple CGI script to a very large and sophisticated program. This chapter is made to give you a Birds-Eye view of many of Dada Mail's features, to get you familiar with the program.

What is Dada Mail?

In essence, Dada Mail does two very important things:

Without these two things, Dada Mail wouldn't be Dada Mail.

A Tour of Dada Mail

There are many parts of Dada Mail, but they can be divided into two different types of screens. The first type are User Screens. Everything that's publically accessable in Dada Mail is basically a User Screen.

The other part of Dada Mail is the List Control Panel. This is where you administrate your Dada Mail Lists. This includes: adding/removing subscirbers, changing preferences and sending out messages.

Default Screen

The Default Screen is what you see when you first encounter Dada Mail. If you haven't ever set up a list, you're first receive a, Congratulations message, with a form to enter the Dada Mail Root Password, to create your first Dada Mail Mailing List.


The Default Dada Mail Screen, with the, "Congratulations" Message

If you've already created a list, the Default Screen will have a subscription form for all the current lists, as well as a listing of each mailing list, with their descriptions.


The Default Dada Mail Screen,

Each listing will also have a link to the List Screen.

The List Screen

The List Screen is akin to the home page for your Mailing List. It'll have the description of your Mailing List, its Privacy Policy and more information.

This screen should also have a listing of any archived messages available to view, as well as a link to view all the archived messages that are available.


The List Screen

The Mailing List Archives Screen

The Mailing List Archives Screen shows all the archived messages available. Messages are archived from past mailings and are viewable from within Dada Mail.


The List Archives Screen

Individual archived messages will have their own screen, with a search form, to search through the list's archived messages and a Dada Mail Subscription Form, so your users can send each other copies of the archived messages.


An Individual Archive Screen

Dada Mail Profiles

Dada Mail Profiles gives an individual one place to manage their own Dada Mail subscription to every list in your Dada Mail.

Subscribers with Profiles will be able to View their subscriptions, unsubscribe from individual Mailing Lists and update the email address used for their subscriptions.

See Also

The Dada Mail Support Docs on Subscriber Profiles.

Administration

On the Default Screen, there's a link labeled, Administration on the very bottom. If you follow this link, you'll go to the Administration Screen whch will allow you to log into lists you've already have created and allow you to create a new list.

This is the gateway between the User Screens and the List Control Panel.

When you log into a mailing list that's already created, you do have the option of logging in using the List Password, which is set during mailing list creation, or the Dada Mail Root Password, which is set during installation of Dada Mail itself.

The Dada Mail Root Password will allow you to log into any list you'd like and may give you special, "Super User" abilities.


The Administration Screen

The List Control Panel

The List Control Panel has a great number of Screens that allow you to interact with your mailing list in many ways. Not only can you send out a mailing list message - it's main reason for being, you can also set preferences for your mailing list, as well as add/remove subscribers.

Each separate mailing list will have different preferences associated with it and each mailing list is fairly separate from each other Mailing List.

The various screens can be accessed from the left hand menu.

We'll routinely give directions on how to access certain administration screens, by giving the Header and Subheading on where they're located. For example, Your Subscribers - Add would be located at:


Finding the, "Your Subscribers -> Add" Screen

Sending a Mass Mail Message

When you log into the List Control Panel, the Default Screen you'll see is the, Send a Message screen. This screen will allow you to send out a message to everyone that's subscribed on your Mailing List.

Dada Mail can handle quite a few different message formats (PlainText, HTML, Both), attachments, custom headers, mailing list message templates and a whole lot more. You don't have to know about any of these to start though, just fill out the Subject of your message, write out the message itself and press, Submit Mailing List Messaage

See Also

The Chapter on the Send a Message screen.

Adding Subscribers in the List Control Panel

Generally, we highly recommend that you never, ever subscribe unverified addresses into Dada Mail, without first, well, verifying them using a Closed-List Opt-In system (Dada Mail comes with this support).

But, if you're importing a list from another system, you can add subscribers en-mass in the List Control Panel's, Your Subscribers - Add screen.


The Your Subscribers -> Add Screen

See Also

The Chapter on the Your Subscribers -> Add screen.

Dada Mail Subscription Forms

The Dada Mail Subscription Form is the HTML code that you'll need to put a subscription form on any page of your web site. It can be copied from the, Manage Appearance - Subscription Form HTML screen.


The Dada Mail Subscription Form HTML

See Also

The Chapter on the Manage Appearance -> Subscription Form HTML screen.

 

 

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