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Sending Emails with xp_sendmail in SQL Server

If you’re working with SQL Server and need to send emails directly from your database, you may have come across `xp_sendmail`.

This handy stored procedure lets us send emails using a MAPI client like Outlook.

Although newer versions of SQL Server offer the simpler `sp_send_dbmail`, `xp_sendmail` remains a valuable tool. It is useful when we need emails to be sent regardless of the transaction’s outcome.

`xp_sendmail` is a system procedure in SQL Server that sends messages to specified recipients. Also, this message can either be plain text or the result of a Transact-SQL query. Unlike `sp_send_dbmail`, which uses SMTP and doesn’t require additional software, `xp_sendmail` needs a MAPI client like Outlook installed on the server.

Syntax of xp_sendmail

Here’s the basic syntax for `xp_sendmail`:

Here are the key parameters:

• recipient: Email address of the recipient(s). Separate multiple addresses with semicolons.
• subject: Optional email subject. Defaults to “Sybase SQL Server Message”.
• cc_recipient: List of CC recipients, separated by semicolons.
• bcc_recipient: List of BCC recipients, separated by semicolons.
• query: Transact-SQL query whose results are sent in the email.
• message: Text of the email message. Cannot be used with `query`.
• attach_result: If true, attaches the query result to the email; if false, includes the result in the email body. Default is false.
• echo_error: Includes error messages in the query results. Default is true.
• include_file: Files to attach to the email, separated by semicolons.
• no_column_header: If true, excludes column headers from query results. Default is false.
• no_output: If true, suppresses output to the initiating session. Default is false.
• width: Width of the result set in characters. Default is 80 characters.
• separator: Character used to separate columns in the query result. Default is the tab character.
• dbuser: Database user name for query execution. Default is “guest”.
• dbname: Database name for query execution. Default is “master”.
• type: Message type based on MAPI mail definition. Only “CMC:IPM” is supported.
• include_query: If true, appends the query to the result set. Default is false.

Here’s an example of using `xp_sendmail` to send an email with an attachment:

Furthermore, only system administrators have the necessary permissions to execute `xp_sendmail`. However, they can grant access to other users as needed.

While `xp_sendmail` requires a MAPI client and some setup, it remains a powerful tool for sending emails directly from SQL Server, especially when transactional independence is required. So, we can use `xp_sendmail` to boost the SQL Server’s email capabilities.

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Conclusion

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to send emails with xp_sendmail in SQL Server.