Overview
If there are connection issues to an external email server from M-Files Server, it is possible to get more insight about the matter by collecting additional logs for those connections.
This collects logs from the creation of a secure connection for IMAP and SMTP (when OAuth is not in use) type of email protocols. This has been valuable to get information for example about TLS mismatch (if user has not set TLS 1.2 for example) or if something has refused the email server call altogether.
The same logs also contain information about notification emails sent by M-Files Server, so they can be used to track that as well (for example, whether a certain email was generated by M-Files, and whether it got to the mail server and how the mail server responded).
Notes
To start logging, set the registry key described below and perform the action.
To stop logging and collect the logs, delete the registry key and restart the "M-Files Server Auxiliary Services" service.
NOTE: This service restart also restarts the main M-Files Server service, and thus causes a short service break.
The service restart is needed so that the log files are unlocked and you can copy them.
Make sure to start logging as close to the action you want to log, and try to stop it as soon as possible, so that it contains a manageable amount of information.
Solution
To enable logging, first create a folder for the logs, e.g., C:\MailLogs. Then set the registry value described below with that folder.
In the end, there will be several files in the mail log folder. Compress the folder to one file and send it to the M-Files support for further analysis.
Please remember to disable logging afterwards by deleting the registry value for not to fill a disk. Note that copying the logs requires a service break.
| Key | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Motive\M-Files\<version>\Server\MFServer |
| Value name | MailConnectionDebugLogFolder |
| Value type | REG_SZ |
| Description | A folder where the logs are stored. |
After setting the registry value, retry the connection to email server by pressing "Refresh Now" button in Mail Sources Connection Properties in M-Files Admin.
If you are troubleshooting notification emails, trigger the email sending (for example, create the assignment object, or change the workflow state). If you are troubleshooting daily digest emails, check the Notification Settings of your M-Files Server first to know when these are to be generated and start logging just before this time.
Important Note:
When sending the logs (or any other sensitive data), please make sure to use Cryptshare Web application that allows easy and secure exchange of sensitive information. See instruction here: /article/How-to-Send-Files-via-CryptShare-Portal
