---
title: "Global Modules"
slug: "global-modules"
updated: 2026-08-12T06:21:32Z
published: 2026-08-12T06:21:32Z
canonical: "help.mail-and-deploy.com/global-modules"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mail-and-deploy.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Global Modules

### General

Global modules can be used to write your own code that can be executed from any [Expression](/release36/docs/introduction-28) or [Execute Code Action](/release36/docs/execute-code).

**Example:** You could write a function that always returns the current date in a particular format. You can then re-use this function in [Expression](/release36/docs/introduction-28) instead of having to write date formatting code multiple times.

All modules are written in [Visual Basic .NET](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/); this makes it a very powerful tool, yet with a comparably easy syntax which is similiar to VBScript.

### Managing Global Modules

There are two ways to manage global modules:

#### Management Service

You can connect to the [Management Service](/release36/docs/services) of Mail & Deploy and click the *Global Modules* item in the main menu. This will provide you with a list of all global modules; you can edit or delete existing global modules or create new ones.

#### Report Designer

You can also edit global modules from the [Report Designer](/release36/docs/report-designer) by clicking the button in the main toolbar:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3657e0f-d0b6-4032-8271-1f5869a7b807/Images/Documentation/image%287%29.png) **Button to manage Global Modules in the Report Designer**

### Functions and Subs

Every module is organized in *Functions* and *Subs*. A Sub is a code block that executes statements but does not return anything; a *Function*, on the other hand, is a code block that executes statements and does return something. A *Sub* that writes a text file could look like this:

Sub

Public Sub WriteToFile() File.WriteAllText("C:\Temp\output.txt", "Hello World!") End Sub

A *Function* that returns a string could look like this:

Function

Public Function GetText() As String Return "Hello World!" End Function

A function or sub in a module can also call another function or sub in a module:

Sub Calling Function

Public Function GetText() As String Return "Hello World!" End Function

Public Sub WriteTextFile() File.WriteAllText("C:\Temp\output.txt", GetText()) End Sub

### Parameters

*Functions* and *Subs* can take parameters which can then be used in the code:

Sub with Parameters

Public Sub WriteToFile(ByVal pPath As String, ByVal pContent As String) File.WriteAllText(pPath, pContent) End Sub

### Examples

#### Formatting Dates

The following example is a *Function* that has no parameters and returns the current date with a specific format:

Date-Formatting Function

Public Function GetFormattedDate() As String Return Date.Today.ToString("dd.MM.yyyy") End Function