When using repetition phpList will create an exact copy of the campaign. As a result, this should only really be used when sending a URL or other dynamic content.
Another good use is when using file system attachments. If you want phpList to send you some file from the server at a regular interval, the filesystem attachment will be refreshed at the moment of sending the (first) message.
Even if you set phpList to send every certain interval, you can still tell it to
NOT send (ie re-schedule) the message at certain moments. You do this as follows:
You add the following to your config file
# exclude dates for repetition
$repeat_exclude = array(
array("format" => "%a", "values" => array("Sun","Sat")),
array("format" => "%d-%m-%Y","values" => array("31-01-2004","01-01-2005")),
);
## end
Now that needs a bit of explanation. You can add as many entries as you like and
the format is as follows:
one entry is formatted
array("format" => [format], "values" => array([list of values])),
where the bits between [ and ] can be chosen as you like it, but they have to fit
the following:
[format] needs to be a Mysql data format string which you can find at
http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/Date_and_time_functions.html under “Date Format”
[list of values] needs to be a list of values that this format can return,
which then, if matched with the new “embargo” for a message will not create a
message for that date, but instead increases the “repetition value” to find the
next one in a row.
So for example for excluding the weekend you use
array(“format” ⇒ “%a”, “values” ⇒ array(“Sun”,“Sat”)),
and for excluding specific dates you can use
array(“format” ⇒ “%d-%m-%Y”,“values” ⇒ array(“31-01-2004”,“28-08-2004”)),