Installation:
Installation is straightforward - it is a well behaved block. It creates 5 DB tables to store its data.
Walkthrough:
The block is added to the course in a normal fashion by the teacher. There can only be 1 per course.
The plugin has a configuration page where the teacher can select a few options:
If students can use the plugin
What roles are in the filter list
What to prepend on the email subject
If the sender receives a copy by default
When using the plugin, as a student or teacher, the user sees a number of areas:
The recipient's area allows the user to select who will receive the email. On the left you have the list of current recipients. On the right you have potential recipients and options to filter by role and/or by group.
Between the two, you have Add, Remove, Add All, and Remove All buttons.
A standard Moodle file picker for adding attachments.
A Subject box
A standard Moodle editor for the message body
A dropdown to select pre-saved signatures
A set of radio buttons to select if the user receives a copy or not
A set of buttons for Send, Save as Draft, and Cancel
When sent, emails are sent immediately (not dependant on cron), and appears to come from the sender. No additional formatting/boilerplate is added, except for the subject prefix if configured.
On the history page, the user can see the emails they have sent. They are given a row for each message, with:
An odd behavior is that when viewing a historic email, it takes you back to the compose page with everything filled in, and you can send it again.
The Drafts page is identical to the history page.
For admins, on the history and draft pages, there is a dropdown to select what user to view.
Each user also has a page to create and edit signatures. The page gives you a spot to select the title of the signature, the content, and whether it is the default signature. With options to save, cancel, or delete.
Course Maintenance:
Quickmail has no real "maintenance" concerns, it is a course level block.
Documentation:
The documentation is very light, only offering a basic README https://github.com/lsuits/block_quickmail/blob/master/README.md