email options using Xampp on XPP

Hi

Going great with my test environment having enabled Curl now!!

BUT what is the best setting for email options on an XAMPP install?

ALFO

Most XAMP distro's do not include a mail server....So there is no best way.

Move this to a host for this

I downloaded from Apachefriends and it comes with Mercury mail but I am not sure how to setup Zen for this.

I have a host for my live sites but would like to get email working on my local test sites.

it comes with Mercury mail but I am not sure how to setup Zen for this.

I have a host for my live sites but would like to get email working on my local test sites.
All for naught if you host uses a mail packge other than Mecury

You are welcome to use Mercury if you like.
Zen Cart requires nothing extra special to use it.
If it came with your XAMPP install, then you can probably just use Zen Cart's default setting for Email Transport: PHP.

As to how to configure your Mercury settings to actually forward mail outside your PC onto the internet, you'll have to deal with the mercury documentation for that, or the apachefriends website. Most ISPs block the standard port 25 from sending mail to places other than your own ISP mailserver. It may not even be possible in some cases.

I haven't used XAMPP yet, but if it's the same as Uniform Server there is a version of Sendmail you can install that will let you use your SMTP server to act the same as a true Sendmail.

This is what I use and it works.

http://www.glob.com.au/sendmail/sendmail.zip

sendmail.exe is a simple windows console application that emulates sendmail's "-t" option to deliver emails piped via stdin.

it is intended to ease running unix code that has /usr/lib/sendmail hardcoded
as an email delivery means.

it doesn't support deferred delivery, and requires an smtp server to perform
the actual delivery of the messages.

After siting it up in your testing server, edit your cart with your ISP SMTP information. Be careful, it will send outside your testing environment. also another heads up, you have to be online to mail, which means your testing server is exposed to the world unless you run a good firewall.