Outlook message - clip put - paste (tables)

[Seminko]

Hey fellas,

I'm trying to create a tool for one of our teams. When we deliver an order we send the customer an email with a few pieces of data we pull from the order form.

So I have this email template with tables. When I copy it and paste it into outlook it pastes the email with all the tables. But the thing is, I need to fill it out first. Is there a way for to set the email for ClipPut so that is retains the table format it is in right now?

If so, is there a way for it to be updated and still retain the format?

If not, any other suggestion? Do you know a community around VBA that could help me?

(obviously this would be much easier via VBA, but unfortunately, I'm a VBA noob)

Thanks!

PS: Happy holidays

Edited December 23, 2014 by Seminko

[TouchOdeath]

Is there a way for to set the email for ClipPut so that is retains the table format it is in right now?

Clipput and clipget should retain whatever information you pass it.  So yes.

 

If so, is there a way for it to be updated and still retain the format?

 

Before you clipput the information into the email, change the variables.

It might help to do a search for 'parsing' in the autoit forums.  I recommend you take a stab at writing the program yourself and post your code, then we can help you further. 

[Seminko]

Before you clipput the information into the email, change the variables.

 

That's the thing ClipPut resets the format... When I copy the email body, ClipGet, do a StringReplace, ClipPut and then paste it, the table format gets lost.

[BrewManNH]

I'm almost certain that ClipPut and ClipGet only work on strings and not anything formatted. You'd need to use the Clipboard UDF to work with anything other than text.

[Seminko]

You'd need to use the Clipboard UDF to work with anything other than text.

 

Just googled and found one Clipboard UDF which appears only to be checking if a clipboard was updated or not. Nothing else...

[Gianni]

I thinh BrewManNH means the already present Clipboard.au3 in AutoIt.
#include <Clipboard.au3>
have a look to _ClipBoard_SetDataEx function in help and also to other _ClipBoard* functions

[Seminko]

Ah, thanks. Well the $iFormat doesn't seem to include tables.

[Jfish]

 

When we deliver an order we send the customer an email with a few pieces of data we pull from the order form.

Just curious as to what the order form is (i.e. HTML, Word, Excel)?  It could make a difference in terms of options to maintain the formatting.

[water]

Did you have a look at the OutlookEX UDF? It allows to create a new mail based on a template. It should then be easy to change the content of the table.

[Seminko]

Did you have a look at the OutlookEX UDF? It allows to create a new mail based on a template. It should then be easy to change the content of the table.

Was not sure if it was possible. So I create a template in Outlook and then write a script using OutlookEX to prepopulate certain fields in such template?

[water]

Correct. Add placeholders (e.g. %1%, %2% etc.) where you need to insert variable data. Open a new mail item using _OL_ItemCreate and pass the template. Retrieve the property "Body" or "HTMLBody" using _OL_ItemGet, replace the placeholders with your variable data (StringReplace) and set the propery by using _OL_ItemModify again. (I am on vacation right now so the function names might be slightly different).

[Seminko]

How do I pass the template though? I though I would create an Outlook template and set some kind of a parameter to _OL_ItemCreate for it to open the template.

[water]

IIRC _OL_ItemCreate has a parameter to pass the template name.

[water]

To be precise: It is parameter 4 of function _OL_ItemCreate

[Seminko]

Right, back from holidays. BTW, happy new year everyone.

So I chewed throught the template stuff but still can't wrap my head around the placeholders and parameters.

I got this:

#Include <OutlookEX.au3>
#Include <Array.au3>

Global $oOL = _OL_Open()
Global $oItem = _OL_ItemCreate($oOL, $olMailItem, "", "C:\Users\template.oft")
Global $Property = _OL_ItemGet($oOL, $oItem, "", "Body")
$PropertyUpd = StringReplace($Property[1][1], "OrderServiceSpeed", "S T U F F")

Now I would Item Update but there are those parameters that I don't know how to set up.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Seminko

[water]

Try:

_OL_ItemModify($oOL, $oItem, Default, "Body=" & $PropertyUpd)

[Seminko]

Right, that works... but again, it totally messes up the email formatting and pastes everything as text.

When you do StringReplace you lose all the formatting.

Any idea how to get around that?

[water]

Replace the property "Body" with "HTMLBody".

"Body" only contains the text part of the body.

[Seminko]

SPLENDID!!!

Will it work on PCs that do not have admin rights? Read somewhere there might be an issue. Just hope there won't with simple stuff like this.

Thanks water!

[water]

No admin rights needed up to Outlook 2010. Don't know if Outlook 2013 behaves the same way.