ListMail Pro and DLGuard Questions

[minisitepromoter]

Hello Dean.  My first post.

I installed LM Pro in my site and am trying to set the right
config.  Been reading the online help but not being a techie
I know I'll be hitting the forum for support.

One of my concerns is about the use of DLGuard with LM Pro.
DLG is used for download protection, as you are already
aware of.

http://www.dlguard.com/dlginfo/index.php

(not an aff link)

I want to automatically enlist all email addresses, subscribed
thru DL Guard, with ListMail Pro.

Is this something that requires a patch or an extra script/program?

I know that I may be able to export the CSV list and do it manually
but this defeats the purpose of automation.

Thanks for replying.

Best,
Minisitepromoter

[DW]

This will take a custom plugin or some code added to the shopping cart/membership software.  Do you know what programming language it's written in?  If it's Perl or PHP I can likely help out with some custom commands you can throw in.  These might be overwritten by updates to your software, however.  You might want to contact the owner of the membership script and ask if they would be interested in creating a ListMail plugin.  Similar functionailty can be had with other shopping carts such as aShop or aMemberPro

Regards, DW

[minisitepromoter]

Hello Dean.  Thank you for replying.

I sent DL Guard Support about the program language question.
Anyway, here is the server requirements from their sales page:

=========================================

Requirements:
PHP version 4.x.x

...

DLGuard does NOT need MySQL, as it uses it's own encrypted database files.

We recommend using Linux/Unix hosting, however DLGuard will work on most Windows servers that allows the use of the PHP standard Mail() function.

=========================================

So is it safe to say PHP or shall I wait for the official reply?

Best,
Minisitepromoter

PS:  About this custom plugin, how much is this going to cost me?  

[BGSWebDesign]

Hi,

DLGuard does NOT need MySQL, as it uses it's own encrypted database files.

That's a scary notion - why would they use their own encrypted database files - is this for security purposes?  Not sure why, as anyone could write a sufficient encryption algorithm, there's no need to use your own!

It says on their website that:

DLGuard fixes this problem by automatically adding your customers to your mailing list after a sale is made.

It seems to me that DLGuard should be doing this implementation for you?  Have you asked them for the implementation?

[minisitepromoter]

That's what I am trying to find out.  Not being a techie
I basically don't know which party to ask that would
provide the right fit.  Since there are two proprietary
softwares that need to communicate, I'd like to find
out which software will provide the plugin that leads
to the path of least resistance (in terms of bugs and
future updates from either parties).

I am in contact with both re this matter.

What do you think, Dean?

Best,
Minisitepromoter

[DW]

I'm sure I could add the code (and support it for a short time) fairly cheap (<$50) As mentioned previously, however, when updates to DLGuard are released the changes could be overwritten and need to be re-inserted.

In designing and developing ListMail I try not to modify the structure of the "users" table so-as not to break 3rd party plugins.  Still, I can't guarantee that the table will not change in the future, as I remove limits and improve efficiency, but there is a 99% chance it will remain the same.

Both programs can change and therefore, unless DLGuard was to create and maintain a plugin, if either one changes, the process would need to be updated.  To avoid this it makes sense that a plugin be created for the membership software, because it handles the insertion.  They update their program, so when making updates they can make sure the ListMail inclusion/plugin routine is called and passed the correct data.

Apart from the addition to their interface it's a simple matter really.  To add a user to a list/followup sequence (no welcome email - that's a bit more dfificult) all it takes is a single MySQL insert statement.

Regards

[DW]

A script you might call from DLGuard, or reference for the format of the MySQL insert statement, can be found here:
http://listmailpro.com/forum/index.php?topic=172.0

Regards

[mr.trevor]

It seems to me that given the statement:
'DLGuard fixes this problem by automatically adding your customers to your mailing list after a sale is made.'

It would seem that asking them how this is achieved would be the way to go.

If they say they can do it then they must tell you how, somewhere.

If they produce a text file output that has to be manually added to your mailing program, then this is not automatic and they need to let you know how they automatically add to the ListMailPro database.

[DW]

DLGuard could come with it's own mailing list software or only work with a certain program.  I wouldn't expect them to have support for all programs, but then again others have tried.

[mr.trevor]

If they have their own mail program, that is their business (not mine).

If they tell me that they will add automatically to MY mail list... (not their mailing list) then... MY mail list is ListMail Pro and I would be asking them to back up their claim that they can do it.

[DW]

True, too - but that might have been a typo. :roll:  Minisitepromoter, do let us know how it goes, ok?

[sales]

The system sends a email and is configured for systems like aweber, and emailace etc.

Although I don't currently have my copy of list mail configured to subscribe to lists by email, thats what the dlguard system is designed

There isn't a mailing list function in dlguard, it does have a function to mail purchasers of products, but its far from being a mailing system.

Mark

[minisitepromoter]

Thank you to everybody responding and contributing.

Dean, I have posted your suggestion re a DL Guard plugin.  I am
waiting for DL Guard's response.

Here is the URL address re the features of DL Guard:

http://www.dlguard.com/dlginfo/howitworks.php

Best,
Minisitepromoter

[DW]

Although I don't currently have my copy of list mail configured to subscribe to lists by email, thats what the dlguard system is designed

This could be an easy and fast way to get it work.  Try setting up signup-by-email and see if DLGuard can forward an email that is correctly added to ListMail.  If it doesn't work a few small changes to the signup-listX.cgi script could accomodate for the email format.

Regards

[minisitepromoter]

Hello.

I got a reply from DL Guard.  Sam (of DLG) said he can make
a few modifications...

Question:

At what point in my configuration would it be okay to provide
him the info to get access to LM Pro?  I am now at "List Setup."

Thanks again.

Best,
Minisitepromoter