Saltar al contenido principal

✅ CORRECT Way to Send Email with PDF

What went wrong: You sent the attachment structure but not the actual PDF content (base64)

The fix: Follow these exact steps

🎯 STEP 1: Generate PDF​

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:4000/communications/generate-pdf' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -d '{
    "templateType": "invoice",
    "templateData": {
      "invoiceNumber": "INV-TEST-001",
      "invoiceDate": "2025-11-05",
      "companyName": "RPA Solution",
      "customerName": "John Doe",
      "totalAmount": "$999.00"
    }
  }' | jq '.'

Response (SAVE THIS!):

{
  "filename": "invoice-2025-11-05-temp123.pdf",
  "content": "JVBERi0xLjQKJe...VERY_LONG_BASE64_STRING...==",
  "mimeType": "application/pdf",
  "sizeBytes": 12345
}

🎯 STEP 2: Copy the content Value​

From the response above, copy the ENTIRE content value.

Example:

JVBERi0xLjQKJe...VERY_LONG_BASE64_STRING...==

This is the base64-encoded PDF. IT MUST NOT BE EMPTY!

🎯 STEP 3: Send Email (Paste the Base64)​

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:4000/communications/send' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -d '{
    "businessId": "33b6db4b-51c5-45ee-8d04-c01c2d157f66",
    "createdBy": "6c0c4f32-d74a-4a84-892f-3bead447d765",
    "channel": "email",
    "type": "invoice",
    "recipientType": "customer",
    "recipientId": "824e2bec-8402-4846-b974-1fd543fa2cb1",
    "recipientContact": "luisrangelc@gmail.com",
    "subject": "TEST: Invoice with REAL PDF",
    "content": "<p>Invoice attached</p>",
    "attachments": [
      {
        "filename": "invoice.pdf",
        "content": "PASTE_THE_ENTIRE_BASE64_FROM_STEP_1_HERE",
        "mimeType": "application/pdf"
      }
    ]
  }'

⚠️ CRITICAL: Replace PASTE_THE_ENTIRE_BASE64_FROM_STEP_1_HERE with the actual base64 string from step 1!

❌ WHAT YOU DID WRONG BEFORE​

Looking at your .eml file, the attachment was empty:

Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="attachment"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Type: application/octet-stream; name="attachment"

   ← EMPTY! No base64 content here!
--boundary--

This happened because:

  1. You didn't call /generate-pdf first
  2. OR you didn't copy the base64 content
  3. OR you sent empty content: ""

✅ WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE​

When you do it correctly, the .eml file should show:

Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="invoice.pdf"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Type: application/pdf

JVBERi0xLjQKJeLjz9MyCjYgMCBvYmoKPDwvTGluZWFyaXplZCAxL0wgMzQ2NzQvTyA4L0Ug
MjEzNjQvTiAxL1QgMzQzODUvSCBbIDUxNiAxNTRdPj4KZW5kb2JqCiAgICAgICAgICAgICAg
... (MANY MORE LINES OF BASE64) ...
--boundary--

See the difference? The base64 content is actually there!

🚀 AUTOMATED TEST SCRIPT​

I created a script that does all 3 steps automatically:

# Make it executable
chmod +x docs/Multi-Channel-Communication-System/TEST-PDF-WORKFLOW.sh

# Run it
./docs/Multi-Channel-Communication-System/TEST-PDF-WORKFLOW.sh

This script:

  1. ✅ Calls /generate-pdf
  2. ✅ Extracts the base64 content
  3. ✅ Calls /send with the PDF
  4. ✅ Verifies it was sent

📋 CHECKLIST​

Before sending:

  • Called /generate-pdf endpoint
  • Got response with content field
  • Verified content is NOT empty
  • Copied the ENTIRE base64 string
  • Pasted it into the attachments[0].content field
  • Sent the email
  • Checked Gmail for PDF attachment

🎉 EXPECTED RESULT​

Gmail should show:

  • ✅ Email received
  • ✅ Has attachment icon 📎
  • ✅ Attachment is named "invoice.pdf"
  • ✅ Attachment can be opened
  • ✅ PDF displays correctly

🔧 TROUBLESHOOTING​

Problem: "Attachment is empty"​

Solution: You didn't include the base64 content. Follow steps 1-3 above.

Problem: "content is null"​

Solution: PDF generation failed. Check backend logs.

Problem: "Invalid base64"​

Solution: You copied it incorrectly. Use jq -r '.content' to get raw value.

Problem: "Email sent but no attachment"​

Solution: The content field was empty. Make sure you paste the base64 from step 1.

💡 PRO TIP​

Save the base64 to a file for easier handling:

# Step 1: Generate and save
curl -X POST 'http://localhost:4000/communications/generate-pdf' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -d '{"templateType":"invoice","templateData":{"invoiceNumber":"INV-001"}}' \
  | jq -r '.content' > pdf-content.txt

# Step 2: Send with file content
PDF_CONTENT=$(cat pdf-content.txt)

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:4000/communications/send' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -d '{
    "businessId": "...",
    "recipientContact": "test@example.com",
    "channel": "email",
    "type": "invoice",
    "subject": "Invoice",
    "content": "PDF attached",
    "attachments": [{
      "filename": "invoice.pdf",
      "content": "'"$PDF_CONTENT"'",
      "mimeType": "application/pdf"
    }]
  }'

✅ TRY AGAIN​

  1. Restart your backend (to load the cleaned-up code)
  2. Run the test script OR follow the manual steps
  3. Check Gmail
  4. The PDF should be there! 🎉

This time it will work! 🚀