With each of the reader email templates, you can set custom From Name and Reply To fields. In the SMTP configuration, you also set a Send From Name and Reply To address.
When you use SMTP for reader emails, the SMTP Send From Name and Reply To address are used as the defaults.
When the From Name or Reply To fields in the email template are left blank, the SMTP's Send From Name and Reply To settings are used. When the From Name or Reply To fields in the email templates have values entered, those values are generally used instead of the SMTP settings.
SMTP configuration may overwrite Readers' Settings
Some SMTP providers don't support separate Send From Addresses or Send From Names. In those cases, emails sent via SMTP will always use the address and name specified in the SMTP configuration, rather than what's used in the Account > Readers > Settings email templates.
Sample setup
Let's consider this sample setup:
SMTP settings
- Send From Address: linus@knowledgeowl.com
- Reply To Address: owlbus@knowledgeowl.com
- Send From Name: Parliament of Owls
Reader Welcome Email
- From Name: Linus Owl
- Reply To: linus@knowledgeowl.com
Reader Password Reset
- From Name: (blank)
- Reply To: (blank)
End result
The Reader Welcome emails will appear as coming from Linus Owl and the Reply To address will be linus@knowledgeowl.com.
But the Reader Password Reset emails will default to the SMTP settings, so they'll show as coming from Parliament of Owls with owlbus@knowledgeowl.com as the Reply To address.
