Newsletter Extras Scheduler Notes
January 21, 2010 
20 Comments
After Statistics, the Scheduler is one of the most important piece of Newsletter plugin. Scheduler allows you to send a large number of emails by sending small chunks at a specified interval to avoid limits imposed by hosting providers. Scheduler is part of Newsletter Extras package (for members).
First of all, to configure the scheduler, you have to know the limits imposed by your provider. Open a ticket or search between the FAQs to discover them.
HostGator has 500 emails per hour limit, DreamHost 200. These are very low limits, especially if your blog uses other notification plugins such as Comment Notifier or you have configured WordPress to send an email for each comment that is left for a post.
Even worse is if your account is used to run more than one blog.
[private]
The scheduler can be configured to send a batch every ## minutes. ## cannot be less than 10 minutes, this is a limit of WordPress. Also, WordPress does not have a real “cron” implementation, (is not possible to make it with plain PHP) wp_cron was introduced in version 2.1.0 and it simulates a “cron”. For who don’t know, “cron” is a Unix service which starts program on configured intervals of time, so usually programmers call a system that can fire events on time intervals a “cron system”.
Internal WordPress cron (wp_cron)runs only if WordPress has “visits”, from either humans or internet bots. It’s important to know that, because a cache system, like Hyper Cache or WP Super Cache, can make the cron system not working as excepted. Nothing bad happens, in the worst case an event to be fired by the cron will be simlpy delayed. (I’m working on Hyper Cache to make it more compatible with WordPress cron).
How to configure the scheduler
Given the provider limit and an interval of 10 minutes (I suggest to use that interval), the batch size has to be set so batch size multiply by 6 is less than provider limit. It’s better to keep some margin, so choose a batch size 10% to 20% lower than ideal.
My provider has no limits…
Good for you, but do not rely on it. Use the scheduler supposing a 500 or 1000 emails per hour, so you will not overload the mail server.
Pay attention: Scheduler batch size and time interval are separate configuration value than standard batch size for manual sends.
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Is it possible to add a scheduled time to send out the newsletter. For example, I compose the newsletter on Monday for a Tuesday 11:00am delivery.
Thanks
Actually not, anotgher thing to put “on the list”.
After Statistics, the Scheduler is one of the most important piece of Newsletter plugin. Scheduler allows you to send a large number of emails by sending small chunks at a specified interval to avoid limits imposed by hosting providers. Scheduler is part of Newsletter Extras package (for members).
[thank you for your corrections... I'll study them!!!]
This is a great plugin! I’ve been fighting with mailpress for 8 months to get the f’ing batch send to work.
I’ve gone through this page and edited some wording as you have requested, I hope it helps.
I just need to figure out how to trigger activity on my site now every hour so the wp_cron cycles.
Thanks Stefano!
I’m simulating a delivery of 1480 emails, in batches of 20 each 10 minutes. I’m using DreamHost. But it looks like the scheduler isn’t working at all. It sent the first batch, but unless I click “restart batch” it wont send the next batch.
Another strange thing is that the Batch Info informs a strange time for the next batch (see image attached). My sistem time is correct, but the time in the Batch info is not. And besides that the counter is negative [next run on 25/02/2010 06:22 (-46 minutes left)]
I have the “Maintenance Mode” plugin active in manteinance mode (the site isn’t published yet).
I need to send a real one tomorrow. I what are my options?
I’m having the same problem. Do you need to hit restart until all batches have been processed, and if you do will the batches still take 10 minutes in between or do I need to wait 10 minutes until the next batch starts?
It restarts automatically if you used the scheduler. The time left informs you on number of minutes remaining. You can force a restart manually too.
I have the same issue, counter negative, using batches of 99 each 2 minutes. The site isn’t public, I noticed without traffic the wordpress cron didn’t work (I’m visiting to avoid this). Are theses situations related?
Other situation:
previus batch Status:
“Not completed but no next run found (errors?)
Batch max emails limit reached (it is ok)”
After this, next batch work fine and counter of emails sent is incremented.
Next batch status:
“Not completed, next run on 15/05/2010 01:35 (1 minutes left)
Batch max emails limit reached (it is ok)”
Same error as above – the clock appears wrong and not linked with system time. Is there a good reason for this?
Batch info
Status Not completed, next run on 7/05/2010 09:40 (484 minutes left)
Batch max emails limit reached (it is ok)
Emails sent/total 100/930 (last id: 100)
Replied privately.
Please help me out here I have the same problem. The automatic scheduler only seems to work when I refresh the page. as in if I leave it for two days and then refresh then number only changes by a small amount, any ideas why?
Hi Stefano
I’m still having trouble understanding how the scheduler works. Sometimes I get the same error as people above, but by refreshing the page seems to continue (triggering the wp cron?).
However the most annoying problem that i keep getting is completly stopping the process. This is the error:
Status Not completed but no next run found (errors?)
Batch max emails limit reached (it is ok)
Emails sent/total 300/676 (last id: 1899)
Sending type Real/Scheduled
Any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Stefano,
Not sure if Scheduler is working.
It says:
Not completed, next run on 28/06/2010 10:00 (6 minutes left)
Batch max emails limit reached (it is ok)
I’ve had to restart it two times, after 10 minutes nothing, then I wait and restart and it says 5 or 6 minutes left, and then after f or 6 minutes, nothing again.
Is this working?
Please help.
The scheduler should restart automatically, shouldn’t it?
Never mind, when I refreshed the page I see it is working.
Thanks.
Hi!
Is there a way to raise the Batch max time limit? I have about 1000 contacts and it seems like it can only send about 10-80 in a single batch. I have the message:
Batch max time limit reached (it is ok)
So I have to restart the batch quite a lot of time..
Can I possibly set the Batch max time to something closer to what I would need?
I updated newsletter extras to newsletter pro and this problem was resolved.
Hi, is it possible to close the browser while the automatic delivery is running?
@tyraco
Sure, I suggest you to update the newsletter extras for newsletter pro. I did, the newsletter pro is more powerfull than newsletter extras. Thanks Stefano.