SQL Server

Add a Related File to an HTML Email

Demonstrates the Chilkat Email.AddRelatedFile method, which adds the contents of a local file as a related MIME resource and returns the generated Content-ID. The returned value is the bare Content-ID — no angle brackets and no cid: prefix — so if it returns CID-123@example, the HTML reference is cid:CID-123@example. Because the Content-ID is generated by the call, this example adds the image first, then builds the HTML body in a StringBuilder — using a placeholder in the <img> tag that is replaced with the returned Content-ID — and passes the result to SetHtmlBody.

Background: To embed an image so it displays inside an HTML email (rather than being downloaded from a web server), you add it as a "related" part and reference it from the HTML with a cid: URL that matches the part's Content-ID. Since Chilkat assigns that ID when you add the file, the natural order is: add the related file, capture the returned ID, then build the <img src="cid:..."> reference from it. A StringBuilder makes assembling and updating the HTML convenient.

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-- Important: See this note about string length limitations for strings returned by sp_OAMethod calls.
--
CREATE PROCEDURE ChilkatSample
AS
BEGIN
    DECLARE @hr int
    DECLARE @iTmp0 int
    DECLARE @sTmp0 nvarchar(4000)
    --  Demonstrates the AddRelatedFile method, which adds a local file as a related MIME
    --  resource (such as an image displayed by an HTML body) and returns the generated
    --  Content-ID.  The HTML references the item using cid:<Content-ID>.

    DECLARE @email int
    EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.Email', @email OUT
    IF @hr <> 0
    BEGIN
        PRINT 'Failed to create ActiveX component'
        RETURN
    END

    EXEC sp_OASetProperty @email, 'Subject', 'Email with a related image'

    --  Add the image file as a related item first.  The return value is the bare Content-ID
    --  (no angle brackets and no "cid:" prefix).
    DECLARE @cid nvarchar(4000)
    EXEC sp_OAMethod @email, 'AddRelatedFile', @cid OUT, 'qa_data/images/logo.png'
    EXEC sp_OAGetProperty @email, 'LastMethodSuccess', @iTmp0 OUT
    IF @iTmp0 = 0
      BEGIN
        EXEC sp_OAGetProperty @email, 'LastErrorText', @sTmp0 OUT
        PRINT @sTmp0
        EXEC @hr = sp_OADestroy @email
        RETURN
      END

    --  Build the HTML body in a StringBuilder, using a placeholder where the image's
    --  Content-ID will go.
    DECLARE @sbHtml int
    EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.StringBuilder', @sbHtml OUT

    DECLARE @success int
    EXEC sp_OAMethod @sbHtml, 'Append', @success OUT, '<html><body><img src="cid:PLACEHOLDER_CID"/></body></html>'

    --  Replace the placeholder with the actual Content-ID returned by AddRelatedFile.
    DECLARE @numReplaced int
    EXEC sp_OAMethod @sbHtml, 'Replace', @numReplaced OUT, 'PLACEHOLDER_CID', @cid

    --  Set the HTML body from the StringBuilder result.
    EXEC sp_OAMethod @sbHtml, 'GetAsString', @sTmp0 OUT
    EXEC sp_OAMethod @email, 'SetHtmlBody', NULL, @sTmp0


    PRINT 'Related Content-ID = ' + @cid

    EXEC sp_OAGetProperty @email, 'NumRelatedItems', @iTmp0 OUT
    PRINT 'NumRelatedItems = ' + @iTmp0

    --  Note: The path "qa_data/images/logo.png" is a relative local filesystem path,
    --  relative to the current working directory of the running application.

    EXEC @hr = sp_OADestroy @email
    EXEC @hr = sp_OADestroy @sbHtml


END
GO