Software > LISTSERV Email List Management Software > Feature Checklist

LISTSERV Feature Checklist

Licenses and Technical Support

LISTSERV provides high performance and flexible licensing to meet your current and future needs. Our professional technical support services are always available for help and advice to keep your email lists running smoothly.

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Multiple License Sizes LISTSERV is available in multiple license sizes, making the software ideally suited for small and large customers alike. Upgrading to a larger license is always easy.	Yes	Yes
Technical Support LISTSERV customers can sign up for technical support, which provides speedy, personal assistance from L-Soft's support staff. LISTSERV Classic and HPO customers also have access to free upgrades.	Yes	Yes
Software Tune-Up Customers with technical support are eligible for a free annual tune-up service to ensure that they are running the latest version and that all systems are configured for optimal performance.	Yes	No

List Management and Archives

The web interface and automated email list, subscriber and bounce management save you time and make list administration a breeze. Searchable list archives are easily accessible and available in multiple viewing modes depending on the purpose of your list.

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Web Interface The new responsive web interface greatly simplifies email list management, allowing list owners to control their lists from anywhere and on any device, including tablets and smartphones.	Yes	Yes
Support for All List Types LISTSERV supports all types of mailing lists, including email newsletters, announcement lists and both moderated and unmoderated discussion groups and forums.	Yes	Yes
Flexible List Security Options LISTSERV includes flexible list security options. Email lists can be completely open to the public or closed so that only the list owner can add subscribers.	Yes	Yes
Moderation Sharing LISTSERV allows for moderation sharing, which means that moderation duties can be shared among multiple designated moderators.	Yes	No
Searchable List Archives LISTSERV automatically maintains searchable message archives for subscribers with three viewing modes to choose from (Classic, Forum and Blog View).	Yes	Yes*
RSS Support LISTSERV allows subscribers to view the list archives using an RSS reader. RSS abstracts are generated automatically from the text of the message, or they may be specified explicitly.	Yes	Yes
Automatic Subscription Handling LISTSERV allows people to automatically subscribe, unsubscribe and maintain their subscription settings on a single screen using the web interface.	Yes	Yes
Multiple Subscription Modes Subscribers can select how they prefer to receive messages: as individual messages that are distributed as soon as they come in or as periodical digests or indexes.	Yes	Yes
Double Opt-In Support LISTSERV supports the double opt-in subscription procedure. Once a person requests to subscribe to a list, a confirmation email is sent to the supplied email address asking the person to verify the request.	Yes	Yes
Automatic Bounce Handling LISTSERV automatically takes care of email delivery errors or bounces, which saves time and eliminates the hassle of manually deleting subscribers.	Yes	Yes*
Customizable Mail Templates Mail templates, including subscription confirmations, welcome and good-bye messages and other administrative messages can be fully customized or translated.	Yes	No
Content Filter The content filter can be configured by the list owner to automatically reject messages with unwanted or inappropriate content from getting posted to a list.	Yes	No
Attachment Filter The attachment filter allows list owners to determine which types of attachments are permissible and which types should be filtered and denied.	Yes	Yes
Topics Topics allow list owners to establish sublists based on a narrower aspect of the subject matter. Subscribers can then subscribe and only receive messages related to topics of interest.	Yes	No
Superlists and Sublists LISTSERV supports superlists, which are container lists for a set of sublists. When posting to the superlist, the message will be distributed to all subscribers of the sublists with duplicates automatically suppressed.	Yes	No

* Limited in LISTSERV Lite

Configuration and Reports

Easy configuration and comprehensive reports on site and list activity keep you in full control of your lists at all times. Full user interface customization is available to support your brand and graphic profile, adding familiarity and trust for your subscribers.

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Server Administrator Dashboard The server administrator dashboard displays status information about the LISTSERV site, including availability of upgrades, technical support as well as license and maintenance expiration alerts.	Yes	Yes
Site Configuration Wizard The site configuration wizard allows LISTSERV administrators to make site configuration changes on the fly directly through the web interface.	Yes	Yes
List Creation Wizard The list creation wizard enables quick and easy creation of email lists of every type without the need to learn complicated list configuration keywords.	Yes	Yes
Customization Interface The customization interface makes it easy to customize the web interface and list archives to reflect an organization's brand for a unified visual profile and an enhanced user experience.	Yes	Yes
Server Activity Reports Administrators can generate detailed reports about the activity on the LISTSERV site, including number of messages sent, number of bounces received and overall bandwidth usage.	Yes	No
List Owner Dashboard The list owner dashboard provides at-a-glance information about lists, including a customizable list configuration report and information about messages awaiting moderation.	Yes	Yes
List Administration Wizard The list administration wizard provides list owners with a user-friendly interface for modifying list configuration settings without the need to learn complicated list configuration paramaters.	Yes	Yes
List Reports Site administrators and list owners can generate customizable reports and manage the configuration of all lists and subscribers on a single screen.	Yes	Yes
Subscriber Activity Reports LISTSERV can create subscriber activity reports that tabulate the number of posted messages, subscriptions and signoffs as well as other subscriber activities.	Yes	No
GDPR Reporting Tool LISTSERV comes with a companion script to help organizations with EU GDPR compliance. The script scans all list archives, changelogs and subscriptions, producing a report that lists every instance of an individual's personal data on the LISTSERV server.	Yes	Yes

Content Development

The newsletter library and builder make it simple to create customized and branded HTML newsletters without any coding. The fully responsive message templates adjust to screens of any size, providing a smooth and enjoyable reader experience.

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Message Posting Interface The message posting interface allows subscribers to easily post messages to a list and upload attachments. It includes an integrated visual editor for easy creation of HTML content.	Yes	Yes
HTML Newsletter Library LISTSERV comes with a library of more than 75 responsive newsletter and announcement templates, offering a variety of layout styles and color schemes that can be used as-is or modified as needed.	Yes	No
HTML Newsletter Builder The newsletter template builder allows list owners to design eye-catching and fully responsive HTML newsletters and announcements without coding experience.	Yes	No
Message Scheduling The message scheduling option allows senders to schedule the delivery of their newsletters and announcements at a specific time and date, without having to be present at the time of delivery.	Yes	No
Message Testing LISTSERV allows list owners to send formal test messages of their newsletters before delivery and to run a content analysis to evaluate the likelihood that the message will be viewed as spam by receiving mail systems.	Yes	No
Easy Compliance with Anti-Spam Regulations LISTSERV makes it easy to comply with typical anti-spam regulations in different countries, including the EU GDPR. Contact details, legal information and unsubscribe links can be automatically added to all messages for full compliance.	Yes	Yes

Deliverability and Security

The cutting-edge deliverability and authentication features of LISTSERV ensure that your messages reach their destinations, and the built-in virus and spam filters keep your lists and subscribers secure.

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Deliverability Assessment LISTSERV offers a deliverability assessment, which analyzes LISTSERV and DNS configurations, including DKIM, SPF and Sender ID, giving site administrators concrete suggestions on improving deliverability.	Yes	No
DKIM Support LISTSERV supports DKIM, which is a cryptographic authentication solution that adds signatures to email messages, allowing recipient sites to verify that the message was sent by an authorized sender.	Yes	No
DMARC Compatibility LISTSERV discussion lists allow private replies and are fully compatible with subscribers whose email providers have implemented aggressive DMARC policies.	Yes	Yes
Integrated Virus Protection LISTSERV is the only software of its kind with built-in virus protection. The system scans all messages for viruses before delivery, offering another layer of email list and subscriber inbox protection.	Yes	No
Built-In Blacklist/Whitelist LISTSERV offers an integrated blacklist/whitelist system, which site administrators can use to reduce the amount of spam reaching a LISTSERV site.	Yes	No
Third-Party Spam Filter Compatibility In addition to the built-in spam filters, LISTSERV also offers a mechanism to connect to third-party spam filters, such as SpamAssassin, which can scan all messages processed by LISTSERV.	Yes	No
Spam Feedback Loops LISTSERV can automatically process spam feedback loop reports and implement the actions required by the whitelist agreement of the recipient site.	Yes	No
LISTSERV Backbone Distribution The LISTSERV backbone distribution mechanism conserves connection bandwidth and improves email delivery efficiency worldwide by connecting to other machines running LISTSERV.	Yes	No
Peered Lists The site administrator can peer lists between countries to optimize local email delivery efficiency.	Yes	No
Access Restriction by IP Address As an extra security measure, administrators can limit access to the password-protected web interface and list archives to a local domain area or to a specifically defined range of IP addresses.	Yes	No

Database Integration

The database integration features allow you take advantage of your existing databases for dynamic and personalized mailings. Databases and LDAP servers can also be used for authenticating credentials and user logins within large and complex organizations.

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Database Connectivity LISTSERV can connect with most ODBC-compliant (Windows and Unix) databases; Microsoft SQL Server; IBM DB2; ORACLE; and MySQL, allowing organizations to take advantage of their existing databases.	Yes	No
LDAP Support LISTSERV can connect to LDAP servers to authenticate user logins, to insert LDAP attributes in mail-merge distributions and to implement dynamic queries.	Yes	No
Dynamic Queries LISTSERV can execute on-demand dynamic queries against either LDAP or traditional DBMS servers and use the results for access control and mail delivery.	Yes	No
Mail-Merge Support LISTSERV enables personalized email messaging, or mail-merge, when used in conjunction with a database. Any SMTP server can be used to conduct mail-merge.	Yes	No