Setting up the email log
Updated
On this page
Turn on the local email log, choose whether to keep message bodies and attachments, and set how many days entries are kept.
CRM-NG SMTP can keep a record of every email your site sends, right in your own WordPress database. This article walks you through the settings at the top of the Email Log tab. It is for site owners and administrators who want to see what their site sends and whether it worked.
The log is local. Nothing is copied to Catalyst Group or to any other service.
Where to find it
Go to CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → Email Log. The settings sit under the heading Local Email Log, above the list of logged emails. Each option has an Enabled box next to it.
The settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable local email logging | Records each email: date, status, sender, recipients, subject, mailer and any error. | On |
| Store email bodies and headers | Also keeps the message text and its headers, encrypted, so you can read and resend it later. | Off |
| Store attachments for resend | Keeps a copy of each attachment so a resend includes it. | Off |
| Track HTML email opens | Adds an invisible image to HTML emails to count opens. | Off |
| Track clicks in HTML email links | Routes links in HTML emails through your site to count clicks. | Off |
| Send a weekly email summary | Emails a short weekly count of sent, failed, opened and clicked messages. | Off |
| Summary recipient | Who gets the weekly summary. Blank means the site's administration email address. | Blank |
| Retention | How many days to keep log entries, from 1 to 365. | 30 |
Press Save Local Logging Settings when you are done. You will see Settings saved.
Choosing what to store
Basic logging only
With just Enable local email logging on, you get a full list of what was sent and to whom, and the error text when something fails. You cannot read the message itself or resend it. This is the safest choice for most sites.
Bodies and headers
Turn on Store email bodies and headers if you need to check what a message actually said, or resend a message that failed. The plugin encrypts the body and headers before saving them, using the same key that protects your mail passwords.
Think before you store bodies
The screen warns that stored bodies May contain personal data, password reset links, and other secrets. Anyone with access to the CRM-NG SMTP settings can open a stored message. Keep the Retention period short if you turn this on, and check your privacy policy covers it.
Attachments
Store attachments for resend only matters if you also store bodies, because the Resend email button only appears when a body was kept. Attachments are Copied into a protected uploads directory and removed with the log. The folder is blocked from direct web access. Attachments take disk space, so watch your hosting quota on busy sites.
Retention
Entries older than the number of days in Retention are deleted once a day, together with their stored attachments and tracking records. See Retention and deleting log entries for details and for deleting entries by hand.
Things to know
- Settings apply to new emails only. Turning on body storage does not add bodies to emails already logged.
- Turning logging off stops new entries. Existing entries stay until the daily cleanup removes them or you delete them.
- Emails stopped by the Do Not Send option on the Misc tab are logged with the status Blocked.
- The failure alerts and the weekly summary are not logged themselves, so they cannot clutter the list.
- Open and click tracking are explained in Open and click tracking.
Next step
Send a test from CRM-NG SMTP → Tools → Email Test, then return to the Email Log tab. Your test should be at the top of the list.