How to test workflows notifications and emails

Today I want to share with you all a very efficient technique that I use to test email notifications and communication templates in workflows.

The technique is based on a very lightweight dummy SMTP server called smtp4dev that can run on any Windows system. This small application sits in the system tray and does not deliver the received messages. The received messages can be quickly viewed, saved and the source/structure inspected.

I typically install this little app on the same system where Maximo runs but you can chose to install it on another Windows system if you prefer so.
First of all you need to install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. You can download it from here.
Now download smtp4dev v2 binary and extract the executable in a folder of your choice. Launch the smtp4dev.exe file and leave it running.

Now open Maximo and edit the mail.smtp.host system property setting it with the hostname of the system where you have installed smpt4dev. You can set it to localhost if it is installed on Maximo server. Remember to do a ‘live refresh’ of the mail.smtp.host system property.

Now you are free to test your workflow and communication templates. Emails will not be delivered to real users but will be forwarded to smtp4app. Every time an email is sent from Maximo, you will see an new row into smtp4dev interface. Here is how it looks like.

If you have problems running the smtp4dev application, try to click on the Options button. If you get an error like this it means that you have not installed the right .NET framework.

Happy email testing to everyone!