Email Automation
Automating the process of sending email helps you to integrate email notification in your automation process flow and keep users informed of events that concern them. When specific activity is being performed, the system can also automatically notify users by email about the tasks being completed and keep them updated.
Email Automation Activities
You can use the following activities to design an RPA bot that can automate email sending task:
Compose an email and send it from Outlook.
Properties
- Name: Enter the display name of the action.
- Choose Window: The default window is the [Current Window] that is open when the bot is executing the activity. Alternatively, you can enter the left square bracket ([) to view the available windows list. Select the window on which you want to perform the click action or retrieve the value. You can also click the Refresh icon to update the list of windows.
- To: Main recipient of the email message.
- CC: Recipient who will receive a copy of the email message that you sent to the recipients in the To field.
- Subject: Subject of the email message.
- Attach: Attachment (that is, pictures, files, contacts, emails, and other items) that you want to add to the email message.
- You can also add multiple attachments. The path for multiple attachments must be in the following format:
"attachement1path" "attachement2path"
. For example,"C:\FolderName\Data1.txt" "C:\FolderName\TestData\Data2.txt"
.
- You can also add multiple attachments. The path for multiple attachments must be in the following format:
- Body: Body of the email message.
- You should turn off the BCC field in Outlook, before running a bot that includes the Compose Email action.
- If you are using Microsoft Office 2013 with this action, you might see that this action is not executed, and an email is not composed.
Open the Outlook application.
Properties
Name: Enter the display name of the action.
Use this action to retrieve POP or IMAP email messages from a specified server and save it as a variable.
Properties
- Name: Enter the display name of the action.
- Host Name: Name of email server host to be used.
- Port: Specify the port to be used to retrieve the email message.
- Username: Specify the vault variable associated with the vault key (that is, the unique identifier for the email address).
- Password: Specify the vault variable associated with the vault key (that is, the user password's unique identifier associated with the email account). Click the checkbox to hide the vault variable.
- SSL Connection: Specify if the connection to the email server has SSL encryption.
- Protocol Type: Select one of the following method to access email message.
- POP: Allows to fetch specified number of emails starting from the top of the list in inbox.
- IMAP: Select a search type for accessing email messages.
- Search Type: Allows to filter emails based on the selected type. The following search types are supported:
- UNSEEN: Filters the mails that are not read at the time when the task is executed.
- Search by Subject: Filters the mails based on the subject of the mail.
- Search by From Address: Filters the mails based on the from address of the mail.
- Search by To Address: Filters the mails based on the to address of the mail.
- Search by Date: Filters the mails based on the date when the mail is received.
- Custom Search: Allows to add multiple search types to filter the mails based on the values specified for each search type. Click Add to specify the Key-Value pairs of search type and search parameter. The search is performed in the same order of the key-value pairs that you add.
- Enter Search Parameter: Enter a string to search within the mails filtered based on Search Type. If Search by Date is selected as Search Type, you must enter the date in one of the following formats only:
- dd-mmm-yyyy
- yyyy.mmm.dd
- mmm.dd.yyyy
- mmm.yyyy.dd
Example: 15-may-2020 or 15-MAY-2020 or 15-May-2020
Example: 2020.may.15 or 2020.MAY.15 or 2020.May.15
Example: may.15.2020 or MAY.15.2020 or May.15.2020
Example: may.2020.15 or MAY.2020.15 or May.2020.15
- Search Type: Allows to filter emails based on the selected type. The following search types are supported:
- Enter Variable to store Emails: Enter the variable name in which you want to store the email message.
- Enter number of mails read: Specify the number of email messages you want to read from the email server.
- Enter Directory path to save Attachments: Specify the full path of the folder where the email messages attachments are to be saved.
-
Email Body(table) to Excel: Specify the Excel file with its path to export tables from email body. All the tables in the email body will be exported to specified Excel file in single sheet one below the other in the same order.
- If the directory path to save the email message attachment isn't valid, the action shows an error when you run the bot.
- Email signature is also exported with the tables in the email body to the excel spreadsheet.
You can use this action to send an email message from an email service provider.
Properties
- Name: Enter the display name of the action.
- Host Name: Name of email server host to be used.
- Port: Port that is used to send the email message through.
- Username: Specify the vault variable associated with the vault key (that is, the unique identifier for the email address).
- Is Authentication: Select Yes, to provide the password of the Email account to be used for sending the message. If you select No, you do not have to provide the password.
- Password: Specify the vault variable associated with the vault key (that is, the user password's unique identifier associated with the email account). Click the checkbox and then specify the password.
- To Email: Main recipient of the email message.
- Subject: Subject of the email message.
- Attachment: Specify the local file you want to attach to the email.
- Body: Body of the email message.