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How to compose a new message from an external file?

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 7 views
  • Last reply by Juniper P

Juniper P
Juniper P
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I generate outgoing messages from a script and save them as EML files. I'd like to bring a message up in Thunderbird as a new message in a Compose window, for example by invoking Thunderbird using a shell command specifying the EML file path.

Thunderbird's 'compose' command line syntax allows us to create a new message, but only by specifying the body text explicitly in a command line argument: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Command_line_arguments_-_Thunderbird#Compose_new_mail_with_command_line

Because the message bodies I'm composing are long and complex. I would prefer to simply specify the EML file path on the command line and let Thunderbird read it and plug the text it finds into relevant email fields.

I did this for years using Eudora, simply by passing the shell function the path to Eudora and the path to the text file. However, when I try this with Thunderbird, it brings up the message not as a new message for sending but instead as though the message had been received and with the Send function disabled.

I can then select Edit as New Message (Ctrl-E) to shift the message into compose mode, but if possible I'd like the message to come up already as a new message.

Thanks for your suggestions~

I generate outgoing messages from a script and save them as EML files. I'd like to bring a message up in Thunderbird as a new message in a Compose window, for example by invoking Thunderbird using a shell command specifying the EML file path. Thunderbird's 'compose' command line syntax allows us to create a new message, but only by specifying the body text explicitly in a command line argument: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Command_line_arguments_-_Thunderbird#Compose_new_mail_with_command_line Because the message bodies I'm composing are long and complex. I would prefer to simply specify the EML file path on the command line and let Thunderbird read it and plug the text it finds into relevant email fields. I did this for years using Eudora, simply by passing the shell function the path to Eudora and the path to the text file. However, when I try this with Thunderbird, it brings up the message not as a new message for sending but instead as though the message had been received and with the Send function disabled. I can then select Edit as New Message (Ctrl-E) to shift the message into compose mode, but if possible I'd like the message to come up already as a new message. Thanks for your suggestions~

All Replies (2)

Matt
Matt
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor
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As you have already observed Thunderbird considers an EML file to be an email, not an email pending dispatch. And you can not do what your trying to do, so I suggest you look at what yours doing and why a script is required at all. What are you doing? Mail merging? or something else again

Given emails generated by scripts are extremely prone to poor encoding anything that sees the end of script generated email would be a good thing in my view.

Juniper P
Juniper P Question owner
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Thanks for sharing your perspective, Matt.

I can imagine many reasons for generating email messages by script. I wouldn't want to drop that from the toolbox just because a particular email client can't handle the functionality.

In this particular case, a Visual BASIC script is generating admin emails for an educational listserve running locally. The administrator wants those messages integrated into their local outgoing email flow. I'm in the process of shifting the application over to online message generation - again by script but PHP this time - which will BCC the administrator for a similar effect. In the meantime they want the outgoing messages to appear in a Compose window to give them a chance to review & revise before sending.

I think it's great when we can incorporate an existing application into a customized process like this. Shell commands rock when the desired application has the right hooks. If you're correct that Thunderbird really is incapable of bringing up a text file directly into a Compose window, my client will simply use the Edit as New Message (Ctrl-E) function to shift the imported message into compose mode. It is, after all, only two keystrokes away from the ideal.

Meanwhile, I'll suggest import-to-compose to the Thunderbird development team if it hasn't been already.