sp_send_dbmail (Transact-SQL)

Sends an e-mail message to the specified recipients. The message may include a query result set, file attachments, or both. When mail is successfully placed in the Database Mail queue, sp_send_dbmail returns the mailitem_id of the message. This stored procedure is in the msdb database.

Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

sp_send_dbmail [ [ @profile_name = ] 'profile_name' ]
    [ , [ @recipients = ] 'recipients [ ; ...n ]' ]
    [ , [ @copy_recipients = ] 'copy_recipient [ ; ...n ]' ]
    [ , [ @blind_copy_recipients = ] 'blind_copy_recipient [ ; ...n ]' ]
    [ , [ @from_address = ] 'from_address' ]
    [ , [ @reply_to = ] 'reply_to' ]
    [ , [ @subject = ] 'subject' ] 
    [ , [ @body = ] 'body' ] 
    [ , [ @body_format = ] 'body_format' ]
    [ , [ @importance = ] 'importance' ]
    [ , [ @sensitivity = ] 'sensitivity' ]
    [ , [ @file_attachments = ] 'attachment [ ; ...n ]' ]
    [ , [ @query = ] 'query' ]
    [ , [ @execute_query_database = ] 'execute_query_database' ]
    [ , [ @attach_query_result_as_file = ] attach_query_result_as_file ]
    [ , [ @query_attachment_filename = ] query_attachment_filename ]
    [ , [ @query_result_header = ] query_result_header ]
    [ , [ @query_result_width = ] query_result_width ]
    [ , [ @query_result_separator = ] 'query_result_separator' ]
    [ , [ @exclude_query_output = ] exclude_query_output ]
    [ , [ @append_query_error = ] append_query_error ]
    [ , [ @query_no_truncate = ] query_no_truncate ]
    [ , [ @query_result_no_padding = ] @query_result_no_padding ] 
    [ , [ @mailitem_id = ] mailitem_id ] [ OUTPUT ]

Arguments

• [ @profile_name= ] 'profile_name'
  Is the name of the profile to send the message from. The profile_name is of type sysname, with a default of NULL. The profile_name must be the name of an existing Database Mail profile. When no profile_name is specified, sp_send_dbmail uses the default private profile for the current user. If the user does not have a default private profile, sp_send_dbmail uses the default public profile for the msdb database. If the user does not have a default private profile and there is no default public profile for the database, @profile_name must be specified.

• [ @recipients= ] 'recipients'
  Is a semicolon-delimited list of e-mail addresses to send the message to. The recipients list is of type varchar(max). Although this parameter is optional, at least one of @recipients, @copy_recipients, or @blind_copy_recipients must be specified, or sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

• [ @copy_recipients= ] 'copy_recipients'
  Is a semicolon-delimited list of e-mail addresses to carbon copy the message to. The copy recipients list is of type varchar(max). Although this parameter is optional, at least one of @recipients, @copy_recipients, or @blind_copy_recipients must be specified, or sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

• [ @blind_copy_recipients= ] 'blind_copy_recipients'
  Is a semicolon-delimited list of e-mail addresses to blind carbon copy the message to. The blind copy recipients list is of type varchar(max). Although this parameter is optional, at least one of @recipients, @copy_recipients, or @blind_copy_recipients must be specified, or sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

• [ @from_address= ] 'from_address'
  Is the value of the 'from address' of the email message. This is an optional parameter used to override the settings in the mail profile. This parameter is of type varchar(MAX). SMTP security settings determine if these overrides are accepted. If no parameter is specified, the default is NULL.

• [ @reply_to= ] 'reply_to'
  Is the value of the 'reply to address' of the email message. It accepts only one email address as a valid value. This is an optional parameter used to override the settings in the mail profile. This parameter is of type varchar(MAX). SMTP secuirty settings determine if these overrides are accepted. If no parameter is specified, the default is NULL.

• [ @subject= ] 'subject'
  Is the subject of the e-mail message. The subject is of type nvarchar(255). If no subject is specified, the default is 'SQL Server Message'.

• [ @body= ] 'body'
  Is the body of the e-mail message. The message body is of type nvarchar(max), with a default of NULL.

• [ @body_format= ] 'body_format'
  Is the format of the message body. The parameter is of type varchar(20), with a default of NULL. When specified, the headers of the outgoing message are set to indicate that the message body has the specified format. The parameter may contain one of the following values:

  • TEXT

  • HTML

  Defaults to TEXT.

• [ @importance= ] 'importance'
  Is the importance of the message. The parameter is of type varchar(6). The parameter may contain one of the following values:

  • Low

  • Normal

  • High

  Defaults to Normal.

• [ @sensitivity= ] 'sensitivity'
  Is the sensitivity of the message. The parameter is of type varchar(12). The parameter may contain one of the following values:

  • Normal

  • Personal

  • Private

  • Confidential

  Defaults to Normal.

• [ @file_attachments= ] 'file_attachments'
  Is a semicolon-delimited list of file names to attach to the e-mail message. Files in the list must be specified as absolute paths. The attachments list is of type nvarchar(max). By default, Database Mail limits file attachments to 1 MB per file. For more information, see Database Mail Configuration Wizard.

• [ @query= ] 'query'
  Is a query to execute. The results of the query can be attached as a file, or included in the body of the e-mail message. The query is of type nvarchar(max), and can contain any valid Transact-SQL statements. Note that the query is executed in a separate session, so local variables in the script calling sp_send_dbmail are not available to the query.

• [ @execute_query_database= ] 'execute_query_database'
  Is the database context within which the stored procedure runs the query. The parameter is of type sysname, with a default of the current database. This parameter is only applicable if @query is specified.

• [ @attach_query_result_as_file= ] attach_query_result_as_file
  Specifies whether the result set of the query is returned as an attached file. attach_query_result_as_file is of type bit, with a default of 0.

  When the value is 0, the query results are included in the body of the e-mail message, after the contents of the @body parameter. When the value is 1, the results are returned as an attachment. This parameter is only applicable if @query is specified.

• [ @query_attachment_filename= ] query_attachment_filename
  Specifies the file name to use for the result set of the query attachment. query_attachment_filename is of type nvarchar(255), with a default of NULL. This parameter is ignored when attach_query_result is 0. When attach_query_result is 1 and this parameter is NULL, Database Mail creates an arbitrary filename.

• [ @query_result_header= ] query_result_header
  Specifies whether the query results include column headers. The query_result_header value is of type bit. When the value is 1, query results contain column headers. When the value is 0, query results do not include column headers. This parameter defaults to 1. This parameter is only applicable if @query is specified.

• [ @query_result_width = ] query_result_width
  Is the line width, in characters, to use for formatting the results of the query. The query_result_width is of type int, with a default of 256. The value provided must be between 10 and 32767. This parameter is only applicable if @query is specified.

• [ @query_result_separator= ] 'query_result_separator'
  Is the character used to separate columns in the query output. The separator is of type char(1). Defaults to ' ' (space).

• [ @exclude_query_output= ] exclude_query_output
  Specifies whether to return the output of the query execution in the e-mail message. exclude_query_output is bit, with a default of 0. When this parameter is 0, the execution of the sp_send_dbmail stored procedure prints the message returned as the result of the query execution on the console. When this parameter is 1, the execution of the sp_send_dbmail stored procedure does not print any of the query execution messages on the console.

• [ @append_query_error= ] append_query_error
  Specifies whether to send the e-mail when an error returns from the query specified in the @query argument. append_query_error is bit, with a default of 0. When this parameter is 1, Database Mail sends the e-mail message and includes the query error message in the body of the e-mail message. When this parameter is 0, Database Mail does not send the e-mail message, and sp_send_dbmail ends with return code 1, indicating failure.

• [ @query_no_truncate= ] query_no_truncate
  Specifies whether to execute the query with the option that avoids truncation of large variable length data types (varchar(max), nvarchar(max), varbinary(max), xml, text, ntext, image, and user-defined data types). When set, query results do not include column headers. The query_no_truncate value is of type bit. When the value is 0 or not specified, columns in the query truncate to 256 characters. When the value is 1, columns in the query are not truncated. This parameter defaults to 0.

  Note

  When used with large amounts of data, the @query_no_truncate option consumes additional resources and can slow server performance.

• [ @query_result_no_padding ] @query\_result\_no\_padding
  The type is bit. The default is 0. When you set to 1, the query results are not padded, possibly reducing the file size.If you set @query\_result\_no\_padding to 1 and you set the @query\_result\_width parameter, the @query\_result\_no\_padding parameter overwrites the @query\_result\_width parameter.

  In this case no error occurs.

  If you set the @query\_result\_no\_padding to 1 and you set the @query\_no\_truncate parameter, an error is raised.

• [ @mailitem_id= ] mailitem_id [ OUTPUT ]
  Optional output parameter returns the mailitem_id of the message. The mailitem_id is of type int.

Return Code Values

A return code of 0 means success. Any other value means failure. The error code for the statement that failed is stored in the @@ERROR variable.

Result Sets

On success, returns the message "Mail queued."

Remarks

Before use, Database Mail must be enabled using the Database Mail Configuration Wizard, or sp_configure.

sysmail_stop_sp stops Database Mail by stopping the Service Broker objects that the external program uses. sp_send_dbmail still accepts mail when Database Mail is stopped using sysmail_stop_sp. To start Database Mail, use sysmail_start_sp.

When @profile is not specified, sp_send_dbmail uses a default profile. If the user sending the e-mail message has a default private profile, Database Mail uses that profile. If the user has no default private profile, sp_send_dbmail uses the default public profile. If there is no default private profile for the user and no default public profile, sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

sp_send_dbmail does not support e-mail messages with no content. To send an e-mail message, you must specify at least one of @body, @query, @file_attachments, or @subject. Otherwise, sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

Database Mail uses the Microsoft Windows security context of the current user to control access to files. Therefore, users who are authenticated with SQL Server Authentication cannot attach files using @file_attachments. Windows does not allow SQL Server to provide credentials from a remote computer to another remote computer. Therefore, Database Mail may not be able to attach files from a network share in cases where the command is run from a computer other than the computer that SQL Server runs on.

If both @query and @file_attachments are specified and the file cannot be found, the query is still executed but the e-mail is not sent.

When a query is specified, the result set is formatted as inline text. Binary data in the result is sent in hexadecimal format.

The parameters @recipients, @copy_recipients, and @blind_copy_recipients are semicolon-delimited lists of e-mail addresses. At least one of these parameters must be provided, or sp_send_dbmail returns an error.

When executing sp_send_dbmail without a transaction context, Database Mail starts and commits an implicit transaction. When executing sp_send_dbmail from within an existing transaction, Database Mail relies on the user to either commit or roll back any changes. It does not start an inner transaction.

Permissions

Execute permissions for sp_send_dbmail default to all members of the DatabaseMailUser database role in the msdb database. However, when the user sending the message does not have permission to use the profile for the request, sp_send_dbmail returns an error and does not send the message.

Examples

A. Sending an e-mail message

This example sends an e-mail message to Dan Wilson using the e-mail address danw@Adventure-Works.com. The message has the subject Automated Success Message. The body of the message contains the sentence 'The stored procedure finished successfully'.

EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail
    @profile_name = 'AdventureWorks Administrator',
    @recipients = 'danw@Adventure-Works.com',
    @body = 'The stored procedure finished successfully.',
    @subject = 'Automated Success Message' ;

B. Sending an e-mail message with the results of a query

This example sends an e-mail message to Dan Wilson using the e-mail address danw@Adventure-Works.com. The message has the subject Work Order Count, and executes a query that shows the number of work orders with a DueDate less than two days after April 30, 2004. Database Mail attaches the result as a text file.

EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail
    @profile_name = 'AdventureWorks Administrator',
    @recipients = 'danw@Adventure-Works.com',
    @query = 'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM AdventureWorks.Production.WorkOrder
                  WHERE DueDate > ''2004-04-30''
                  AND  DATEDIFF(dd, ''2004-04-30'', DueDate) < 2' ,
    @subject = 'Work Order Count',
    @attach_query_result_as_file = 1 ;

C. Sending an HTML e-mail message

This example sends an e-mail message to Dan Wilson using the e-mail address danw@Adventure-Works.com. The message has the subject Work Order List, and contains an HTML document that shows the work orders with a DueDate less than two days after April 30, 2004. Database Mail sends the message in HTML format.

DECLARE @tableHTML  NVARCHAR(MAX) ;

SET @tableHTML =
    N'<H1>Work Order Report</H1>' +
    N'<table border="1">' +
    N'<tr><th>Work Order ID</th><th>Product ID</th>' +
    N'<th>Name</th><th>Order Qty</th><th>Due Date</th>' +
    N'<th>Expected Revenue</th></tr>' +
    CAST ( ( SELECT td = wo.WorkOrderID,       '',
                    td = p.ProductID, '',
                    td = p.Name, '',
                    td = wo.OrderQty, '',
                    td = wo.DueDate, '',
                    td = (p.ListPrice - p.StandardCost) * wo.OrderQty
              FROM AdventureWorks.Production.WorkOrder as wo
              JOIN AdventureWorks.Production.Product AS p
              ON wo.ProductID = p.ProductID
              WHERE DueDate > '2004-04-30'
                AND DATEDIFF(dd, '2004-04-30', DueDate) < 2 
              ORDER BY DueDate ASC,
                       (p.ListPrice - p.StandardCost) * wo.OrderQty DESC
              FOR XML PATH('tr'), TYPE 
    ) AS NVARCHAR(MAX) ) +
    N'</table>' ;

EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail @recipients='danw@Adventure-Works.com',
    @subject = 'Work Order List',
    @body = @tableHTML,
    @body_format = 'HTML' ;

See Also

Reference

Database Mail and SQL Mail Stored Procedures (Transact-SQL)

sp_addrolemember (Transact-SQL)

Concepts

Database Mail

Database Mail Profiles

Other Resources

Database Mail Configuration Wizard

Change History

Updated content
Information about the new parameters @from_address and @reply_to was added to the syntax and arguments sections.