Problem using Gmail Send

IvanH has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi Monks,

I have some, but limited, experience with PERL. I am trying use Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail to send emails. I tried using the sample code provided with the module but can't get it to work. My OS is Windows 8.1, 64 bit. Here is the code I used (but with my real password:

use strict;
use warnings;
use Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail;
my $mail=Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail->new( -smtp=>'smtp.gmail.com',
                                        -login=>'IHipschman@gmail.com'
+,
                                        -pass=>'mypassword');

$mail->send(-to=>'IHipschman@yahoo.com', -subject=>'Hello!',
            -body=>'Just testing it<br>Bye!',-contenttype=>'text/html'
+);
$mail->bye;
[download]

The response I receive is:

C:\Users\Ivan\Documents\BSA\EMAIL\GmailSend>perl tryitmodified.pl
Could not connect to SMTP server
Can't call method "send" without a package or object reference at tryi
+tmodified.
pl line 8.
[download]

Can anyone suggest what the problem is? I have tried running from an administrator level command prompt and turning off the Windows firewall.

Thanks

Comment on Problem using Gmail Send Select or Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Problem using Gmail Send by kcott (Archbishop) on Jul 20, 2014 at 05:13 UTC
G'day IvanH, As ++roboticus has pointed out, your core problem is the constructor (`new()`) failing. Here's some troubleshooting tips. Add "`-debug => 1`" to `new()`'s argument list. Check that Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail's default for `-smtp` (i.e. `smtp.gmail.com`) is valid for you. Check spelling of `-login` value. Check spelling of `-pass` value (i.e. "my real password"). Check that the password you're using doesn't have special characters (e.g. '`$`' and '`@`') that haven't been escaped. Always check the return value of `new()` (both while debugging and in production code). If `$mail` is not a `Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail` object, provide appropriate feedback and exit your script gracefully. [The following is not documented as part of the published API, so don't rely on it remaining the same in future versions; however, looking at the latest (v0.85) source code, `$mail` with have a value of `-1` if connection to the SMTP server failed.] -- Ken	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Problem using Gmail Send by roboticus (Chancellor) on Jul 19, 2014 at 22:54 UTC
IvanH: It means that `Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail->new()` failed somehow and didn't create a valid object for the `$mail` variable. I don't see anything obvious in the Email::Send::SMTP::Gmail docs about how to do diagnostics, so you may need to look over the source code to see why it may fail, or look at the related classes (e.g. Email::Send::SMTP) for diagnostic information. If you're using SMTP, you might consider running a telnet session to gmail to see if you can connect to the server and log in properly with the credentials you're using. ...roboticus When your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like your thumb.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Problem using Gmail Send by tbone654 (Beadle) on Jul 20, 2014 at 14:04 UTC
Add these lines -layer=> 'ssl', -port=> 465, -debug=> 1, You will get similar if it works: Connecting to smtp.gmail.com using ssl with LOGIN Net::SMTPS>>> Net::SMTPS(0.03) Net::SMTPS>>> IO::Socket::INET(1.31) Net::SMTPS>>> IO::Socket(1.32) Net::SMTPS>>> IO::Handle(1.31) Net::SMTPS>>> Exporter(5.64_03) Net::SMTPS>>> Net::SMTP(2.31) Net::SMTPS>>> Net::Cmd(2.29) Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 220 mx.google.com ESMTP b67sm22450316y +hc.16 - gsmtp Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> EHLO localhost.localdomain Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250-mx.google.com at your service, [99 +.189.126.205] Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250-SIZE 35882577 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250-8BITMIME Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250-AUTH LOGIN PLAIN XOAUTH XOAUTH2 PL +AIN-CLIENTTOKEN Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250-ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250 CHUNKING Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> AUTH LOGIN Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 334 VXNlcm5hbWU6 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> dGN4bmllbWFuQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ== Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 334 UGFzc3dvcmQ6 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> bGE1dmVnYTU= Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 235 2.7.0 Accepted Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> MAIL FROM:<mail@gmail.com> Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250 2.1.0 OK b67sm22450316yhc.16 - gsm +tp Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> RCPT TO:<mail@xxx.com> Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250 2.1.5 OK b67sm22450316yhc.16 - gsm +tp Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> DATA Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 354 Go ahead b67sm22450316yhc.16 - gs +mtp Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> From: address@gmail.com Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> To: send_to@xxx.com Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> Reply-To: address@gmail.com Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> Subject: Hello! Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 08:53:59 -0500 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> MIME-Version: 1.0 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> Just testing it<br>Bye! Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> . Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 250 2.0.0 OK 1405864442 b67sm22450316y +hc.16 - gsmtp Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)>>> QUIT Net::SMTPS=GLOB(0x6003e5128)<<< 221 2.0.0 closing connection b67sm2245 +0316yhc.16 - gsmtp [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Problem using Gmail Send by IvanH (Acolyte) on Jul 24, 2014 at 01:04 UTC
What a great forum! Thanks to all for the help. Some of the suggestions will help later as I create useful code. Adding -layer=> 'ssl', and -port=> 465 resolved the problem.	[reply]
Re: Problem using Gmail Send by xyzzy (Pilgrim) on Jul 21, 2014 at 01:47 UTC
This has nothing to do with Perl, but if at first you don't succeed, *don't ever* try to run it with super-user privileges*. Most of the time the error is benign, but it makes the worst-case scenario an extremely-worst-case scenario. The same comment in image form* `$,=qq.\n.;print q.\/\/____\/.,q./\ \ / / \\.,q. /_/__.,q..` Happy, sober, smart: pick two.	[reply] [d/l]