How to Automate Outlook Emails With Python
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Python has much to offer in the way of automation, and you could achieve a lot of functionality with just a few lines of code. The language has gained in popularity across many domains, from data analysis to system administration.
Outlook is a popular email client, and you can use Python’s Outlook automation features to send emails quickly without too much effort.
You must read on to learn how to send automated emails from Python using Microsoft Outlook.
Fulfilling a Few Prerequisites
To get started, download and install the following:
Installing the win32com.client
win32com.client is an integral aspect of this code, and you need a fully functional library to establish a connection between Microsoft Outlook and Python.
Check win32com.client Version
Before installing, you’re able to check ifwin32comis already installed on your machine. Some IDE versions offer this package by default. You can check if it is available with the following command.
If you get a “‘pip’ is not recognized as an internal or external command” error, you shouldinstall pip on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
After running the above command, if you receive a version number, you don’t need to install it again.
Subsequently, if you get the following error message, you need to install thewin32comlibrary on your system:
Installing the win32com Library
Open the prompt and type in thepipcommand to install the library from the terminal window.
Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process. You can use theshowcommand post-installation to verify whetherwin32comis successfully installed on your system.
Sending Emails From Python Using Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is one of the oldest and most widely used email clients, which ranks in the email application in the list ofmost popular email providers after Gmail and Yahoo. Python’s automation linkages with Outlook come as no surprise, as with a few basic tweaks, you could easily send emails on the go.
After completing the above prerequisites, it’s time to start writing the code to automatically send emails from Outlook using Python. To start with, you need to import thewin32com.clientlibrary by using theimportstatement.
You can now write code to connect Python and Microsoft’s email application, Outlook.
Next, it is necessary to define the dimensions of the new email message so that Python understands where the content needs to be updated.
Python’s functions pop-open a new email item, as soon as you define the email body dimensions.
Every email needs a subject line, and you can define it within the code so that Python adds it automatically before sending the email to the recipient.
you’re able to add the intended recipients within theToandCCkeywords as follows:
Similarly, you can even add the BCC names, in case you want to send emails anonymously to the recipients. All you have to do is pass the following statement after the CC command:
Python’s Outlook automation doesn’t restrict Outlook’s native capabilities and features. For instance, even when you are using Python to manage your email client’s responses, you may still send emails to multiple recipients. Simply add asemi-colon (;)separator between email IDs within the To/CC/BCC column, and you’re set.
Finally, once you define the subject and the recipients, you can add the email body to the new mail item before sending it to the recipients within theToandCCcolumns.
To add attachments to your email, you can use the following commands:
Now the email is ready to send; there are two options you can use. If you want a preview of your email before sending it to the recipients, you can use theDisplay()command as follows:
Alternatively, if you don’t want to preview the email and wish to send it directly, you can replace theDisplay()command with theSend()command.
Using the Send() command is a bit tricky, as you won’t see a preview of the email. Use this command wisely if you are changing your email body content regularly.
Here’s the complete code:
Once the code successfully executes, you should be able to send emails automatically. In case there is an issue, and you get errors at the time of sending emails, there might be a configuration issue within Outlook. You should start your investigation by troubleshooting the most common Outlook errors.
The Benefits of Python Email Automation
Automating your emails using Python lets you send them directly without opening MS Outlook. If you are an avid user of Python and not too keen on opening an email client repeatedly to type out emails, you can let the programming language do it for you.
Why spend hours doing repetitive tasks, when it’s possible to send automated emails using Python with just a few lines of code?
Want to learn how to create your very own customisable Python emailer using SMTP? Look no further.
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