13.x: email param from PluginTracker too difficult to get it working as expected for end users

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• Support request
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13.x: email param from PluginTracker too difficult to get it working as expected for end users

• Maybe some more documentation in doc.t.o missing?
  • param "emailformat" (indicated by a poweruser in an email) missing in the doc. page (since long ago)?
• Maybe some easier ready-to-use tpl bundled within tiki to work for that use case, if the default tracker_changed_notification.tpl doesn't work.
• Maybe some bug? (some devs said thatyou need to set the "copy activity to email" to something for that tracker to get those emails sent for the non-registered user submitting the tracker item?
• ...

Related doc so far:
http://doc.tiki.org/PluginTracker#Parameters (see "email" param)

An instance has been created linked to this wish, so that we can all have a look at a common instance to elucidate what the problem is, and then, as a consequence, how to improve it.

Instance design details:

1. Feature Log mail in the tiki logs is enabled, so that we can check which emails were sent and which ones weren't.
   http://xavi-9794-5470.show.tikiwiki.org/tiki-syslog.php
2. "Contact us" page contains PluginTracker with this code:
   

   {TRACKER(trackerId=1, fields=1:2:3:4, showmandatory=y, emailformat="html", sort="y",
   email="real_email_from@example.com|3,a_second_real_email@example.com|tracker_changed_notification.tpl,tracker_changed_notification.tpl")}
   !!! Thanks
   ...{TRACKER}

3. Field 3 is the user selector, with "plain text" as the type of link.
4. tracker_changed_notification.tpl is a valid tpl in the file tree, so I guess this should be a valid-enough file for basic demostration purposes, unless someone indicates the opposite for some reason.
5. "Copy activity to email" has been set to a_third_real_email at example.com, just in case that was valid, as jonnyb suggested.

To reproduce:

1. Come here as anon:
   http://xavi-9794-5470.show.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=Contact+us
   and fill in the contact form, which is set to (in theory) send you a copy of the tracker item added.
2. go to the tiki logs (http://xavi-9794-5470.show.tikiwiki.org/tiki-syslog.php) and you will that the email that has been sent is the one related to "Copy activity to email" ("a_third_real_email@example.com", xavi (a) tikiwiki.org in this case), but nothing else related to the email typed in the form (field 3) nor the "a_second_real_email@example.com" indicated in the param)

Finally, some hint (in case it matters):

• I tried first this approach in my localhost (linux box), and I got same behavior.
  • Looking at the apache error log I saw a message complaining that I didn't have "sendmail", which is true (in purpose, for other reasons)
    

    sh: 1: /usr/sbin/sendmail: not found

  • The curious thing is that those cases of error with sendmail were not recorded in tiki syslog as "mail error" lines, but nothing was loged. Only the email related to "copy activity to email" was recorded in the tiki syslog with at least a line saying "mail error", and all the details about that email.

This bug has been demonstrated on show2.tiki.org

Please demonstrate your bug on show2.tiki.org