How to Configure Exploratory Collaboration Server to Send Emails (SMTP)

You can configure Exploratory Collaboration Server to send an email notification when an insight is shared, to the users who are invited to see the insight.

To do this, add the configurations about the connection to the email server (SMTP server), as explained in this Note.

Additional Configurations in docker-compose.yml

Locate docker-compose.yml configuration file under the “exploratory” directory, which was created at the installation of the Collaboration Server.

Open the docker-compose.yml file with an editor, and add the following additional configuration items under the “environment” section under the “exploratory” container section.

  • EXPL_SMTP_ENABLED - Set true to enable email sending via the SMTP server.
  • EXPL_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS - This is the “from” email address for the notification emails.
  • EXPL_SMTP_FROM_NAME - This is the name used with the “from” email address.
  • EXPL_SMTP_HOST - Hostname for the SMTP server.
  • EXPL_SMTP_PORT - Port number for the SMTP server. The default is 465 when SSL (TLS) is not used. With SSL (TLS), the default is 587.
  • EXPL_SMTP_USERNAME - The user name to connect to the SMTP server.
  • EXPL_SMTP_PASSWORD - The password to connect to the SMTP server.
  • EXPL_SMTP_TLS_ENABLED - To use SSL (TLS) for the connection to the SMTP server, set true. Otherwise, set false.

Example of Configuration in docker-compose.yml :

exploratory:
    ...
    environment:
      ...
      - EXPL_SMTP_ENABLED=true
      - EXPL_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS=exploratory@yourcompany.com
      - EXPL_SMTP_FROM_NAME=Exploratory Collaboration Server
      - EXPL_SMTP_HOST=smtp.yourcompany.com
      - EXPL_SMTP_PORT=587
      - EXPL_SMTP_USERNAME=exploratory
      - EXPL_SMTP_PASSWORD=your smtp password
      - EXPL_SMTP_TLS_ENABLED=true

Restarting Collaboration Server

Now, restart Collaboration Server, and the email notification for insight sharing is enabled!