PHPSemapForm/OPENSSL_SETUP.md

Enabling OpenSSL Extension in PHP (Windows)

Problem

Your PHP installation doesn't have the OpenSSL extension enabled, which is required for secure SMTP connections (TLS/SSL).

Current error: Unable to find the socket transport "ssl" or TLS/SSL transports not available

Solution

Option 1: Enable OpenSSL in php.ini (Recommended)

1. Find your php.ini file:

   php --ini
   

   If it shows "Loaded Configuration File: (none)", you need to create one:

   # Find PHP installation directory
   where.exe php
   
   # Copy the example php.ini
   cd C:\path\to\php
   copy php.ini-development php.ini
   

2. Edit php.ini and find this line:

   ;extension=openssl
   

   Remove the semicolon to uncomment it:

   extension=openssl
   

3. Restart your PHP server (or command line if using built-in server)

4. Verify OpenSSL is enabled:

   php -m | Select-String -Pattern "openssl"
   

   Should output: openssl

Option 2: Enable OpenSSL temporarily via command line

You can enable OpenSSL for a single command:

php -d extension=openssl test_email.php

Or for the built-in server:

php -d extension=openssl -S localhost:8000

Option 3: Install Composer and PHPMailer

If you can't modify php.ini, install PHPMailer which may handle SMTP better:

# Install Composer first (https://getcomposer.org/)
# Then in the php/ directory:
composer require phpmailer/phpmailer

The application will automatically detect and use PHPMailer if available.

Verifying the Fix

After enabling OpenSSL, run the test:

cd C:\Users\aky547\GitHub\SemapForm\php
php test_email.php

You should see:

• Available transports: tcp, udp, ssl, tls (or similar)
• TLS encryption enabled successfully
• Email sent successfully via SMTP

Alternative: Use a Different SMTP Port

If you absolutely cannot enable OpenSSL, you could try:

1. Contact your email administrator to see if there's an unencrypted SMTP port (not recommended for security)
2. Use a different email solution (e.g., send via a web service API instead of SMTP)

Production Deployment

On a production server (Linux/shared hosting):

• OpenSSL is usually enabled by default
• Check with php -m | grep openssl
• If not available, contact your hosting provider
• Most shared hosting environments have it pre-configured