Mandrill email attachments file path

Question

I am trying to add some attachments to an email that is being sent using the mandrill api via a php wrapper. I have tried a number of different things to try to successfully attach the file but to no avail. I am using cakephp 2.x but I don't think that has any particular significance in this instance (maybe it does?!). I am using the php wrapper maintained by mandrill at https://bitbucket.org/mailchimp/mandrill-api-php

Here is the code:

$mandrill = new Mandrill(Configure::read('Site.mandrill_key'));
    $params = array(
        'html' => '
            <p>Hi '.$user['User']['name'].',</p>
            <p>tIt is that time of the year again.<br />
            <a href="http://my-site.com/members/renewal">Please login to the website members area and upload your renewal requirements</a>.</p>
            <p>Kind regards.</p>',
        "text" => null,
        "from_email" => Configure::read('Site.email'),
        "from_name" => Configure::read('Site.title'),
        "subject" => "Renewal Pending",
        "to" => array(array('email' => $user['User']['email'])),
        "track_opens" => true,
        "track_clicks" => true,
        "auto_text" => true,
        "attachments" => array(
            array(
                'path' => WWW_ROOT.'files/downloads/renewals',
                'type' => "application/pdf",
                'name' => 'document.pdf',
            )
        )
    );

    $mandrill->messages->send($params, true);

}

This shows that an attachment has been added to the email and is a pdf but the actual pdf has not been attached. I also tried by adding the path directly onto the file as in:

"attachments" => array(
            array(
                'type' => "application/pdf",
                'name' => WWW_ROOT.'files/downloads/renewals/document.pdf',
            )

I have googled and read every article I can find but cannot find any specific reference as to how I should specify the path for mandrill to correctly attach my attachment.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Solution 1

It looks like you're passing a parameter called path, but the Mandrill API doesn't take the path of a file for attachments. If you're using the send or send-template call, attachments should be an associative array (hash) with three keys: type, name, and content.

The content parameter should be the contents of the file as a Base64 encoded string, so instead of path, you'll want to get the file contents, Base64 encode them, and then pass them in a parameter called content instead of path.

You can see the full details of the parameters, including for attachments, in the Mandrill API docs here: https://mandrillapp.com/api/docs/messages.html#method=send

Solution 2

OK. So thanks to Kaitlin for her input. The PHP way to deal with this is to get the file and then base64_encode it:

$attachment = file_get_contents(WWW_ROOT.'files/downloads/file.pdf');
$attachment_encoded = base64_encode($attachment); 

and then in the attachments part of the mandrill array you pass the :

"attachments" => array(
        array(
            'content' => $attachment_encoded,
            'type' => "application/pdf",
            'name' => 'file.pdf',
        )

So easy! Thanks again Kaitlin!

Comments

[Manu]

Thanks Kaitlin. Sorry for my ignorance. I am not familiar with using Mandrill and I have not base64 encoded anything or for that matter attached files to emails before. So far I am very impressed with Mandrill and appreciate your quick feedback!

[Costa Michailidis]

Yeah, thanks for jumping into stackoverflow with us : ) This is super helpful.

[CodeGuru]

Hi @Manu , what about decoding it ? How do I save the decoded base64?

[Manu]

I don't know what you are trying to achieve but this thread is about how to attach and send files using the mandrill api. When you receive the file you do not need to do anything to the file. It is available to download like any email attachment.

[CodeGuru]

You mean Mandrill will provide a link for us to download it?

[Manu]

No. You get the attachment in your email like any attachment. Mandrill is provides a transport facility not a storage facility.