Vemod News Mailer
Version
1.3 (last update on Oct 10, 2010)
Rating
Compatibility
Votes
Favoured
42
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Views
63412
Date Added
6 October 2009
Vemod News Mailer is an automated newsletter compilation and sending utility, it is NOT meant to be a "send on demand" utility (although that is possible, too.).
There is also an BETA archive/subscription module available to allow site visitors to view archived newsletters.
NOTE: Vemod is BACK with a new corporate sponsor and has resumed ACTIVE development--along with a continued full commitment to GPL and open source!
Vemod News Mailer 1.2.13 is almost complete. The truncation bug has been fixed and we added a new click tracking facility to see which articles get the highest click-through rates (on the "read more" links.
Really good extension. Very easy to install and use. Does just what our school wants but we really need to use the facilities of Joomla 1.7 (i.e. different groups content access). Assuming this won't be updated for 1.7, can anyone suggest a component (pref Free) that does the same function (i.e. automatically publish latest artices in newsletter)?
This is the most amazing extension out there. I can't believe it's free (thanks!). It definitely takes some time to set up and figure out but it's 100% worth it. It's not simple but it works brilliantly. I really hope you guys upgrade to 1.8 when that comes out in Jan 2012.
I would highly recommend this extension to technically advanced Joomla administrators. Getting it to do what I wanted, as and when I wanted, took some careful thinking and trawling around the support forum (for example the cron job needs to be set up differently if you are using SEF URLs).
But all in all the functionality is head and shoulders above other free options out there. Automatic compilations by category, cron scheduling, multiple subscriber lists! They are all there.
But all in all the functionality is head and shoulders above other free options out there. Automatic compilations by category, cron scheduling, multiple subscriber lists! They are all there.
I installed Vemod 1.3 and have worked on it for weeks to get it to send email automatically. No matter what type email type in global server I used it just wouldn't send emails. I have tried all possible configurations but just does not work. I removed Vemod, I just wasted way too much time in Vemod so I gave up and removed it. The only way it would send emails is if I logged into the front end then they would send automatically.
Owner's reply
We are confused how you have been working for weeks on this since version 1.3 was released only a few days ago. ???
As for support, we have a forum for that and I'm sure that someone would have been delighted to help you figure out the issue with what had to be an earlier version (1.2.12 or prior).
On a previous site this extension worked very well.
I can get it to send newsletters on the site i am currently working on .
I checked the forum, there is only user to user communication, nothing from the developpers themselves.
I can get it to send newsletters on the site i am currently working on .
I checked the forum, there is only user to user communication, nothing from the developpers themselves.
Owner's reply
The project is still very much alive and kicking. We just posted the new version of the software on 10-10-2010. please give it a try and let us know what you think!
This is an amazing and most powerful newsletter system i've seen today!
Thank you makes it shareware.
Thank you makes it shareware.
This is a very complete composant you can do a lot od things. The only one thing I wanted : send a auntomaticle weekly newslettes to all my users and whith all news items work fine.
My dream : the user can define frequency by itself : I want the news letter every day, weekly, etc...
Thank you VERY MUCH do give it free.
My dream : the user can define frequency by itself : I want the news letter every day, weekly, etc...
Thank you VERY MUCH do give it free.
Never have i been let down this much by a plugin.
Sure there are some bugs in extensions. But this is crazy you go through all the hoops and still you catch fire.
First i installed the plugin everything went according to the install i put in all my configurations but the damn thing just wouldn't send my emails out!
So i went back to the site did all what they said i needed to do... Didn't work. The forum kept silent and i have a useless app installed on my site!
The thing is filled with language bugs... strange strings popped-up!
I couldn't preview or select older newsitems! Nothing!
Also! When i want to send a newsmail out to ppl and i select the catagory i want to at least have the option of send out this many from this catagory and section. It must be send at this time and then be able to preview it...
BAH!
Sure there are some bugs in extensions. But this is crazy you go through all the hoops and still you catch fire.
First i installed the plugin everything went according to the install i put in all my configurations but the damn thing just wouldn't send my emails out!
So i went back to the site did all what they said i needed to do... Didn't work. The forum kept silent and i have a useless app installed on my site!
The thing is filled with language bugs... strange strings popped-up!
I couldn't preview or select older newsitems! Nothing!
Also! When i want to send a newsmail out to ppl and i select the catagory i want to at least have the option of send out this many from this catagory and section. It must be send at this time and then be able to preview it...
BAH!
I don't understand all the grousing that I see in other reviews. I love this component and have used it for a few years now. It seems very easy and yet it is very powerful. I cannot imagine any features that are missing, other than some tracking; but I hear that there will be some basic tracking in the next version which is due out soon. I could not manage my website without this component!
I thought this would solve my problem:
5 content Sectons each needing a weekly no frills standard HTML newsletter, justlike updates from Socialnetwork sites.
Maybe @ backend:
1. Select Section/Categories,
2. Frequency: weekly/daily (etc)
3. When: Mon/Tues/Wed etc
3. At: (set time)
Maybe front end, user selects:
1. Sections wanted
2. Frequency
But NO... there's dozens of config options (and more bug complaints in the forum than a cheap hotel in Bangkok)
An early review said it all:
What is needed is the following:
A simple button to trigger a bulk email.
A simple link to a list showing us what this particular email trigger is going to do, to who, when &c.
A simple log from the back end showing what was sent, when and to whom and if not, why.
Before any bug-fixing, improvements are carried out the above needs to be addressed.
------
SAD DISAPPOINTMENT...
Who are all these people who have been giving Top Ratings, some claiming to have been using it for years... I've been looking for something like this on the JED since 2007 & it only just appeared a couple of months ago!!
5 content Sectons each needing a weekly no frills standard HTML newsletter, justlike updates from Socialnetwork sites.
Maybe @ backend:
1. Select Section/Categories,
2. Frequency: weekly/daily (etc)
3. When: Mon/Tues/Wed etc
3. At: (set time)
Maybe front end, user selects:
1. Sections wanted
2. Frequency
But NO... there's dozens of config options (and more bug complaints in the forum than a cheap hotel in Bangkok)
An early review said it all:
What is needed is the following:
A simple button to trigger a bulk email.
A simple link to a list showing us what this particular email trigger is going to do, to who, when &c.
A simple log from the back end showing what was sent, when and to whom and if not, why.
Before any bug-fixing, improvements are carried out the above needs to be addressed.
------
SAD DISAPPOINTMENT...
Who are all these people who have been giving Top Ratings, some claiming to have been using it for years... I've been looking for something like this on the JED since 2007 & it only just appeared a couple of months ago!!
Owner's reply
Vemod is NOT designed to be an "on-demand" newsletter mailer. It is designed to auto-compile all news articles added since the previous compilation and assemble them into an email which is then sent out to all users on the subscriber list.
We're sorry you feel this way about this component. As for the years of use--that's because this component was maintained by its original author in the past (with a different entry in the JED which has since been removed) and we took over project management at the time when the entry was re-added.
It's interesting that you complain about "too many options" since most people complain that there are not enough.
As for bugs, we are already working on a new release--but there are NO bugs which prevent general use at this time. There are over a thousand sites who have registered their use of this component.
Vemod has been a time saver for us and our clients. It has allowed us to create content for our website and not worry about having to notify our mailing list in a separate email. We used have to manually send out an email through other software packages. Now it's all done automatically. I'm glad Unimatrix.net has taken over the management of this great extension.
I have terrible problems with VEMOD, I like it in many ways but it has some big failings. I am pretty technical but VEMOD often defeats me. It is completely counter-intuitive as to how to initiate a mail session. It seems to be a case of pull this, ring this bell, turn this tap, tick this box and pull one or two levers from the back end, do some tweaking at the front end and hope like hell that it fires off. Then to find out what it has actually done, when it mailed, who to &c seems to be another arcane science in itself. It is like nursing a old steam engine into life.
What is needed is the following:
A simple button to trigger a bulk email.
A simple link to a list showing us what this particular email trigger is going to do, to who, when &c.
A simple log from the back end showing what was sent, when and to whom and if not, why.
Before any bug-fixing, improvements are carried out the above needs to be addressed.
I am NOT thick and I am technically minded. I cannot however get to grips with VEMOD and every time I use it I find myself digging through the pages to find out what I actually need to do. I still do not know to this day whether some of emails are actually being sent at all... Reading the manual seems to have no impact on my ability to be able to send emails.
I want to use VEMOD having invested time and effort in it. When the project went in stasis I really thought about abandoning the tool completely. As it is already installed on three J1.5 sites I don't really want to go through the pain of finding another tool again. I have another three J1.5 sites to optimise, I also have six J1.0 sites to find a mailing tool for.
That's my penn'orth, a response to this on the forum would be really useful as I am doing my analysis of mailing list tools now. I have a bit of cash to point in the develope's direction per site install if that helps.
What is needed is the following:
A simple button to trigger a bulk email.
A simple link to a list showing us what this particular email trigger is going to do, to who, when &c.
A simple log from the back end showing what was sent, when and to whom and if not, why.
Before any bug-fixing, improvements are carried out the above needs to be addressed.
I am NOT thick and I am technically minded. I cannot however get to grips with VEMOD and every time I use it I find myself digging through the pages to find out what I actually need to do. I still do not know to this day whether some of emails are actually being sent at all... Reading the manual seems to have no impact on my ability to be able to send emails.
I want to use VEMOD having invested time and effort in it. When the project went in stasis I really thought about abandoning the tool completely. As it is already installed on three J1.5 sites I don't really want to go through the pain of finding another tool again. I have another three J1.5 sites to optimise, I also have six J1.0 sites to find a mailing tool for.
That's my penn'orth, a response to this on the forum would be really useful as I am doing my analysis of mailing list tools now. I have a bit of cash to point in the develope's direction per site install if that helps.
I used to be in love with this extension for a long time and used it for over a year till it gave me terrible responsiveness with the last upgrade.
Since moving to 1.2.12, 5 out 7 newsletters that I would send out in the week would have errant links, probably because of a lack of compatibility in the SEF.
Eagerly waiting for the next upgrade in the hope that the bugs would be fixed.
Since moving to 1.2.12, 5 out 7 newsletters that I would send out in the week would have errant links, probably because of a lack of compatibility in the SEF.
Eagerly waiting for the next upgrade in the hope that the bugs would be fixed.
Owner's reply
Have you documented these issues in the support forums? I've never heard a complaint about this from our user base. We'll be happy to look into any issues you may be having.
This looks like a very good product, but was too buggy for me to persevere with. There are other products out there. The primary problem I had was adding subscribers to a top-level newsgroup, it just didn't work. I also had problems with the module not subscribing or unsubscribing, and a number of issues with saving configuration settings, where I was redirected to the component page and couldn't save the changes.
Owner's reply
Have you reported these "bugs" in the support forum? I do not recognize any of the issues you report as ones we've seen from other users. We would be glad to help you. The only true bug of which we are aware is the one relating to truncation of articles in the news compilation--but that is being fixed in the new release due out in a few weeks. Thank you for your opinions!
We tried several newsletter extensions and decided on Vemod. It has a straightforward and powerful concept: aggregate new articles from your site into an auto-generated newsletter. This is very different from a custom written newsletter. We really like the Vemod approach because it puts the focus on the website content so there is no separate newsletter writing and editing, which simplifies keeping the website and newsletter fresh. There are many options to config which article sections and categories feed the newsletter and how often it is produced (daily, weekly, monthly, etc).
There are a few cadillac features missing, at least we haven't found how to config them: When each article section/category is a separate newsletter that allows users to pick and choose which to subscribe to, but the Vemod engine sends each one separately to each user. There is a "single email" option but that forces users to take the entire bundle of sections and categories. We would really like the Vemod engine to bundle the users choices regards how few or many are selected.
Strongly recommend this module.
There are a few cadillac features missing, at least we haven't found how to config them: When each article section/category is a separate newsletter that allows users to pick and choose which to subscribe to, but the Vemod engine sends each one separately to each user. There is a "single email" option but that forces users to take the entire bundle of sections and categories. We would really like the Vemod engine to bundle the users choices regards how few or many are selected.
Strongly recommend this module.
Owner's reply
Thank you for the feedback. Would you take a few minutes to go and document your suggestions in our wishlist forum?
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