Creating and Managing Test Email Accounts for Moodle LMS

When working with Moodle LMS, especially during the development and testing phases, you might need multiple email accounts for creating user profiles or testing notifications. Instead of creating numerous accounts, you can leverage Gmail’s unique features to generate multiple test email addresses from a single account. Here's how to do it effectively.

Using a Single Gmail Account for Multiple Test Emails

Start by creating a single Gmail account, for example:

john.smith@gmail.com

Using this account, you can create variations of the email address that will all redirect emails to your original Gmail inbox. Gmail ignores certain characters and allows for flexible formatting, making it easy to generate multiple unique-looking email addresses. Here are some examples:

Email Address Variations Without Creating Additional Accounts

1. Without periods:
   • johnsmith@gmail.com
2. With periods in different positions (Gmail ignores "."):
   • j.o.h.n.s.m.i.t.h@gmail.com
   • jo.hn.smi.th@gmail.com
3. Using the "+" symbol to add labels (Gmail ignores anything after the "+"):
   • johnsmith+1@gmail.com
   • johnsmith+2@gmail.com
   • johnsmith+student@gmail.com
   • johnsmith+teacher@gmail.com
4. Combining periods and the "+" symbol:
   • john.smith+1@gmail.com
   • john.smith+2@gmail.com
   • john.smith+student@gmail.com

How This Will Work

All emails sent to any of the above addresses will arrive in your original Gmail inbox, john.smith@gmail.com. This feature is particularly useful for testing account creation, notifications, or workflows in Moodle LMS without the hassle of managing multiple email accounts.

Generating Temporary/Test Email Addresses

You can use a formula to create test email addresses in Excel or Google Sheets. This approach is ideal for bulk testing scenarios in Moodle LMS.

Spreadsheet Formula for Temporary Gmail Addresses

To create test Gmail test addresses:

="john.smith+temp" & TEXT(ROW(), "00000") & "@gmail.com"

Steps to Use:

1. Copy the formula into cell A1 of your spreadsheet.
2. Drag the fill handle down to generate as many email addresses as needed.

Example Output:

• john.smith+temp00001@gmail.com
• john.smith+temp00002@gmail.com
• john.smith+temp00003@gmail.com

Spreadsheet Formula for Fake Email Addresses

If you only need email addresses for testing purposes and do not require actual inboxes, you can also generate temporary addresses using this simple spreadsheet formula:

="temp-" & TEXT(ROW(), "00000") & "@local.localhost"

Example Output:

• temp-00001@local.localhost
• temp-00002@local.localhost
• temp-00003@local.localhost

These email addresses are syntactically valid but do not correspond to real inboxes. They are perfect for creating test users or scenarios where actual email delivery is not required (and they won't fill your inbox).

Conclusion

By using Gmail’s flexible addressing features and simple spreadsheet formulas, you can streamline the process of managing test email accounts for Moodle LMS. This approach saves time, reduces complexity, and ensures a more efficient testing workflow.

Hope you find this information useful.

Michael Milette