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Using Mail Merge for Lotus Notes Email. Author: Gavin Bollard, 19 May 2011 Reviewed: David Turner, 29 Sept 2011, for release 1.2. Contents. Part 1: Getting the Files Part 2: Installation Part 3: Creating the Merge Part 4: Sending the Merge Files. Part 1: Getting the Files.
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Using Mail Merge for Lotus Notes Email Author: Gavin Bollard, 19 May 2011 Reviewed: David Turner, 29 Sept 2011, for release 1.2
Contents • Part 1: Getting the Files • Part 2: Installation • Part 3: Creating the Merge • Part 4: Sending the Merge Files
Part 1: Getting the Files • Go to OpenNTF (http://www.openntf.org/) • Look for a project called; • MailMerge Excel to Notes • Click on Releases • Download the latest ZIP File • Extract it.
Part 2: Installation • This needs to be done by someone with the IBM Domino Designer application. • For test purposes, apply it on a single mail database file. • Once tested, you should probably do it on your mail file master template for easy distribution.
Copy Agents from Project File • In Designer, open the MailMerge.nsf database included in the ZIP File. • On the Left Hand Navigator, expand Code • Double-Click on Agents to see the three Mail Merge agents: • Mail Merge\Create Mail Merge • Mail Merge\Send Mail Merge • Mail Merge\Send Selected Mail Merge • Copy the agents.
Paste Agents in Mail File • Open your Mail file or template (7.x or 8.x compatible). • On the Left Hand Navigator, expand Code • Paste the agents onto the Agent node.
Copy agents from MailMerge database Paste into your mail database
Part 3: Creating the Merge • To do a merge, you’ll need; • An Excel spreadsheet containing merge data. • A Lotus Notes email in draft mode.
Creating the Spreadsheet • Start Excel and create some columns. • To – SendTo email address • Cc – CopyTo email address • Bcc – BlindCopyTo email address • Subject – Email Subject • Attachments – Filenames to attach to the email • One of the address fields must be provided. • Attachment files must exist. A list can be pipe-separated (|), and it supports wildcards (*). • And add any extra columns you want. • Any headers and data may be formula-based. • Save your spreadsheet.
Creating the Email • In Lotus Notes, create a new Mail Memo • Leave the Address Details blank but you can put a subject in (it will get overwritten anyway). • In the email body, type some text in uppercase and square brackets (e.g. [SURNAME]) whenever you want to reference a field in your spreadsheet. • When finished, click Save as Draft.
Creating the Merged Emails • Open your drafts folder and select (click on without opening) your new email. • From the Notes Menu, select; • Actions, Mail Merge, Create Mail Merge
Click Ok • If you missed fields, you’ll get a warning. • Otherwise you’ll just get a message. • In both cases, Note the ID Number and click Ok.
Click Ok Again • The mail merge operation will then go and create draft emails. • When it has finished, it will tell you how many it created and remind you of the ID number. • Note that drafting lots of emails could take a while so test on a small number first. • Click Ok to continue.
View Your Drafts • Your drafts should appear in the drafts folder. • You can view, edit and delete them just like normal email.
Check an Email or Two • Be sure to do a few checks before sending your emails. • You’ll see that your fields have been filled in.
Check an Email or Two • Be sure to do a few checks before sending your emails. • You’ll see that your fields have been filled in.
Part 4: Sending the Merge Files • You don’t actually have to do this part. • You can send your drafts individually, just like normal emails. • But it’s easier to send in bulk. • You can choose to either: • A: send all drafts, or • B: only selected drafts.
A: Send All Process • From the Notes Menu, select, • Actions, Mail Merge, Send Mail Merge.
B: Send Selected Process • In your Drafts folder, select the mails you want to send (or you can select all). • Drafts which don’t contain the merge ID won’t be sent. • From the Notes Menu, select, • Actions, Mail Merge, Send Selected Mail Merge.
Enter ID • The merge will prompt you for the ID number you wrote down earlier. • Usually it guesses it right based on your selection or the previously created batch.
Click Ok • The last warning screen will be displayed telling you how many emails it found with the Batch ID you used. • If this is ok, click Ok.
Wait for Confirmation • The time taken will vary depending on how many emails you sent. • At the end of the process, you’ll be told how many were sent and how many errors were received. • Click ok when done.
What it Looks Like • It just looks like a normal email. • Here’s my Gmail test.
The End • And a big thank you to • David Turner • Sacha Chua • For developing such a great utility.