How can I send mail from an iPhone application

Question

I want to send an email from my iPhone application. I have heard that the iOS SDK doesn't have an email API. I don't want to use the following code because it will exit my application:

NSString *url = [NSString stringWithString: @"mailto:[email protected][email protected]&subject=Greetings%20from%20Cupertino!&body=Wish%20you%20were%20here!"];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL: [NSURL URLWithString: url]];

So how can I send an email from my app?

Answer 1

On iOS 3.0 and later you should use the MFMailComposeViewController class, and the MFMailComposeViewControllerDelegate protocol, that is tucked away in the MessageUI framework.

First add the framework and import:

#import <MessageUI/MFMailComposeViewController.h>

Then, to send a message:

MFMailComposeViewController* controller = [[MFMailComposeViewController alloc] init];
controller.mailComposeDelegate = self;
[controller setSubject:@"My Subject"];
[controller setMessageBody:@"Hello there." isHTML:NO]; 
if (controller) [self presentModalViewController:controller animated:YES];
[controller release];

Then the user does the work and you get the delegate callback in time:

- (void)mailComposeController:(MFMailComposeViewController*)controller  
          didFinishWithResult:(MFMailComposeResult)result 
                        error:(NSError*)error;
{
  if (result == MFMailComposeResultSent) {
    NSLog(@"It's away!");
  }
  [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES];
}

Remember to check if the device is configured for sending email:

if ([MFMailComposeViewController canSendMail]) {
  // Show the composer
} else {
  // Handle the error
}