RocketProxy
Gateway Services
1) Concept
Each
list or list segment created has a unique email address that is
attached to
it. Emails sent to these special addresses, or "list proxy keys", are
monitored
and processed according to the keyword commands used in the
message Subject
and/or Body of the message. The great thing about list proxy keys
is that they can be used to send messages from any email client or
mobile device such as Outlook, Gmail, cellphone or blackberry.
They can also be used inside legacy and proprietary systems to
drive
message content and list member data to ListRocket for processing and
delivery.
An example of a proxy key
address is dx93af9c1efd.proxy@listrocket.com
The key prefix, everything before the ".proxy@", can be changed as
needed,
as long as it's unique.
The global settings for each list proxy can be changed individually
inside the ListRocket GUI. The Proxy Status can be changed to
enabled/disabled as well as requiring preview and
approval (shown in
example) or not before a message is delivered.
The "Group Discussion" mode (currently in BETA) is meant to act similar
to a traditional "list-serv", where recipients can reply to the
original message, which is in turn is sent to the entire list.
2) Proxy commands
Proxy
commands are very similar to how cellphone shortcodes are used to
process commands via keywords. These commands are simple to use and are
placed inside
the
Subject line as "command:function".
Currently, there are 2 functions available:
command:import
Proxy
will import members listed in body of
message. Body can contain up to
5k records and needs to be one record per line. First line may be the
import header.
The import request will be processed and then send a
confirmation email to finish the import.
The import wizard will guide the user through the rest of the import
process.
command:template
Proxy
will save this message as a template to be used with future proxy
messages sent to this list. The template must
contain the variable
"%BODY%". This variable will be replaced with content once it's setup
as a template. This is the same as selecting a template in the proxy
setup screen within ListRocket.
3) Sending Message Content
If
NO special command keyword is found in the Subject, it is
treated as an actual message to be sent to the corresponding list. If
the email message begins with a URL (ex.
"http://www.page.com/party_invite0408.html"), it will be interpreted as
a
"webload" message. In this case, the contents of the webpage will be
pulled and processed as the message. In either case, the Subject is
always copied
verbatim to the new outbound message.
XML
Interface
1) Concept
XML is a standardized way to transfer data
back and forth between computer platforms. Using this method,
you can add members to your list via what is called an "XML Post". The
advantage of XML posting is that it can be processed
transparently from any data source or backend system. This is
generally the case if you need to update multiple databases via one
single transaction.
Under Setup, you can
access the XML setup screen.
Each list has it's own
random access key used to post data TO ListRocket and is used in the
Post URL itself.
XML
posting mechanics
In PHP and most other platforms, you can use CURL to post XML
data.
This example, using PHP CURL, posts new member details into a list. The
example
data includes email, fname and lname. Note: custom
fields setup in ListRocket to hold extra member data (ex. first name)
need to be
flagged to accept XML data and given the explicit incoming XML
tag name that relates to itself.
$ch=curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL,
"http://www.listrocket.com/public/xmlreceive.php?lid=89&ak=55e28676e7dea73");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, 0);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, urlencode($xmlstr));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 120);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$buffer = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
print_r($buffer);
XML Data Example:
$xmlstr = "
<members>
<member>
<email>JSmith@yahoo.com</email>
<fname>John</fname>
<lname>Smith</lname>
</member>
</members>";
2) Setting up list member
fields to
accept XML data
There are two ways to automate member signups: HTTP post forms on a
webpage (ex. "page.com/signup.html"), or by XML post to the ListRocket
XML processor (ie. "listrocket.com/public/xmlreceive.php").
The XML tag for member email is always
"email" (ex. "<email>joesmith@fuse.net</email>"). All
other member data fields need to be setup to
accept XML data under Setup>Custom Fields>XML (for each field).
The field XML setup is
flexible enough to accommodate many different types of XML formatting.
This example shows that the incoming XML tag is "fname".
Posted data example: < fname>John</ fname>
Posted data example: < member
firstname="Joe"></ member>
Posted data example: < member
fieldname="fname">Joe</ member>
In this case, the custom field name is "fname" and holds the
member's first name (ex. "Joe").
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Proxy/XML Whitepaper
