Is there a mail merge solution on OS X besides Microsoft Office?
I've been using Microsoft Office for mail merge and it is fraught with character encoding issues. I'm curious if there is another solution for mail merge besides Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. I've got a homegrown solution I use too, but looking for something more robust. It would be nice if it supported HTML formatted messages.
Solution 1:
1-use Mailchimp (mailchimp.com) it has all the bells and whistles: address list management, import lists from a variety of formats, reports, subscribe/unsubscribe, drag & drop html layouts, etc. etc. All of this in their free product.
2-Go LibreOffice (https://help.libreoffice.org/Writer/Mail_Merge_Wizard). It compares nicely with what Office can do and it is a lot more flexible in the char encoding area. It looks clunkier than Office, but it is free.
Hope it helps
Solution 2:
I just had great success with SerialMailer. The trial version let me send 10 mails, which I created from a csv file.
Solution 3:
This solution I have used with some success after [a lot of] trial and error. :/ This requires scripting, but the script can be saved and used repeatedly. This answer may not be the best solution, but may be a good starting point and I hope it adds value.
AppleScript with Pages, Contacts and Apple Mail
(Taken from iWorkAutomation)
AppleScript automation, involving three OS X applications: Contacts, Pages, and Mail, that will create and mail encrypted PDF files generated from a Pages template containing text placeholders.
Basic gist of the workflow:
In the Contacts application, create a default card containing the Mail Merge sender’s data. Include First Name, Last Name, eMail address, Mailing Address, and Phone Number. Make the card the default card by choosing Make This My Card from the Card menu.
For testing the script, create small Contacts group containing four to five people. The data requirements for the recipient contacts are: First Name, Last Name, and eMail Address. By default Mailing Address is optional for recipients. Individual Contacts entries with incomplete required data will be skipped.
Create a Pages document.
NOTE: The default set of text placeholders used by the script, such as SENDERFIRSTNAME and recipientLastName, can be customized by editing the properties at the top of the script.
The only requirement for their design, is that a placeholder must be a unique continuous string of text characters, not found as part of other words, and that a placeholder not contain spaces, numbers, hyphens, punctuation, or word delimiters.
Open the script in the AppleScript Editor application and run the script. Follow the prompts and instructions.
TIP: If you want to use this script often, install it into the system-wide Script Menu.
-- USER SETABLE PROPERTIES
property senderFirstNamePlaceholder : "SENDERFIRSTNAME"
property senderLastNamePlaceholder : "SENDERLASTNAME"
property senderEmailAddressPlaceholder : "SENDEREMAILADDRESS"
property senderFullAddressPlaceholder : "SENDERFULLADDRESS"
property senderPhoneNumberPlaceholder : "SENDERPHONENUMBER"
property recipientFirstNamePlaceholder : "RECIPIENTFIRSTNAME"
property recipientLastNamePlaceholder : "RECIPIENTLASTNAME"
property recipientFullAddressPlaceholder : "RECIPIENTFULLADDRESS"
property attemptMailSend : false
property requireRecipientAddress : false
global peopleCount, recipientGroup
tell application "Contacts"
activate
try
-- DISPLAY OPENING DIALOG WITH SETABLE PREFERENCES
repeat
if attemptMailSend is false then
set autoSendState to "OFF"
else
set autoSendState to "ON"
end if
display dialog "This script will perform a Mail Merge between a Pages tagged-template and a chosen Contacts group." & return & return & "Contact data requirements for the sender are: First Name, Last Name, eMail Address, Mailing Address, and phone." & return & return & "Contact data requirements for recipients are: First Name, Last Name, and eMail Address." & return & return & "AUTO-SEND: " & autoSendState with icon 1 buttons {"Cancel", "Set Prefs", "Begin"} default button 3
if the button returned of the result is "Begin" then
exit repeat
else
display dialog "Set AUTO-SEND to:" buttons {"Cancel", "OFF", "ON"} default button autoSendState
if the button returned of the result is "OFF" then
set attemptMailSend to false
else
set attemptMailSend to true
end if
end if
end repeat
-- CHECK AND RETRIEVE THE SENDER DATA
-- assumes that the sender is the default Contact card
set thisPerson to my card
if thisPerson is missing value then error number 10000
-- get the sender’s data
tell thisPerson
set senderFirstName to first name
set senderLastName to last name
if senderFirstName is missing value or senderLastName is missing value then
error number 10001
end if
set the emailCount to the count of emails
if the emailCount is 0 then
error number 10002
else if the emailCount is 1 then
set senderEmailAddress to the value of first email
else -- multiple email addresses, prompt the user to pick one
set theseEmailAddress to the value of every email
set senderEmailAddress to ¬
(choose from list theseEmailAddress with prompt ¬
"Pick the sender email address to use:" default items (item 1 of theseEmailAddress))
if senderEmailAddress is false then error number -128
set senderEmailAddress to senderEmailAddress as string
end if
set the addressCount to the count of addresses
if the addressCount is 0 then
error number 10003
else if the addressCount is 1 then
set senderAddress to the formatted address of the first address
else -- multiple addresses, prompt the user to pick one
set theseAddresses to the formatted address of every address
set senderAddress to ¬
(choose from list theseAddresses with prompt ¬
"Pick the sender address to use:" default items (item 1 of theseAddresses))
if senderAddress is false then error number -128
set senderAddress to senderAddress as string
end if
set the phoneCount to the count of phones
if the phoneCount is 0 then
error number 10004
else if the phoneCount is 1 then
set senderPhoneNumber to the value of first phone of it
else -- multiple phone numbers, prompt the user to pick one
set thesePhoneNumbers to the value of every phone
set senderPhoneNumber to ¬
(choose from list thesePhoneNumbers with prompt ¬
"Pick the sender phone number to use:" default items (item 1 of thesePhoneNumbers))
if senderPhoneNumber is false then error number -128
set senderPhoneNumber to senderPhoneNumber as string
end if
end tell
-- CHECK AND PROMPT FOR TARGET GROUP
set groupCount to count of groups
if the groupCount is 0 then
error number 10005
else if the groupCount is 1 then
set recipientGroup to group 1
set recipientGroupName to name of recipientGroup
else -- multiple groups, prompt the user to pick one
set theseGroupNames to the name of every group
set recipientGroupName to ¬
(choose from list theseGroupNames with prompt ¬
"Pick the recipient Contacts group:" default items (item 1 of theseGroupNames))
if recipientGroupName is false then error number -128
set recipientGroupName to recipientGroupName as string
set recipientGroup to group recipientGroupName
end if
-- CHECK GROUP FOR PEOPLE
set peopleCount to the count of people of recipientGroup
if the groupCount is 0 then
error number 10006
end if
on error errorMessage number errorNumber
if errorNumber is 10000 then
set errorNumber to "NO DEFAULT CARD"
set errorMessage to ¬
"No person in this Contacts database is set to be the default card or “My Card.” Select a person and choose “Make This My Card” from the Card menu."
else if errorNumber is 10001 then
set selection to my card
set errorNumber to "MISSING SENDER INFO"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The current default card is missing a value for the First Name or Last Name fields."
else if errorNumber is 10002 then
set selection to my card
set errorNumber to "MISSING EMAIL ADDRESS"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The current default card is missing a value for the email address field."
else if errorNumber is 10003 then
set selection to my card
set errorNumber to "MISSING MAILING ADDRESS"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The current default card is missing a value for the address fields."
else if errorNumber is 10004 then
set selection to my card
set errorNumber to "MISSING PHONE NUMBER"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The current default card is missing a value for the phone number field."
else if errorNumber is 10005 then
set errorNumber to "MISSING GROUPS"
set errorMessage to ¬
"There are no groups in the current contact database."
else if errorNumber is 10006 then
set errorNumber to "MISSING PEOPLE"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The chosen Contacts group contains no people."
end if
if errorNumber is not -128 then
display alert (errorNumber as string) message errorMessage
end if
error number -128
end try
end tell
-- LOCATE THE TEMPORARY ITEMS FOLDER
set thisDirectoryHFSPath to (path to temporary items folder) as string
-- SWITCH TO PAGES
tell application "Pages"
activate
try
-- CHECK TO SEE ALL DOCUMENTS ARE CLOSED
if the (count of documents) is not 0 then error number 10000
-- GET A LIST OF THE INSTALLED USER TEMPLATES AND PROMPT USER TO PICK THE ONE TO USE
set userTemplateNames to the name of every template whose id of it begins with "User/"
if userTemplateNames is {} then error number 10001
set the chosenTemplateName to ¬
(choose from list userTemplateNames with prompt ¬
"Pick the tagged Pages template to use:" default items (item 1 of userTemplateNames))
if chosenTemplateName is false then error number -128
set chosenTemplateName to chosenTemplateName as string
-- PROMPT FOR THE NAME OF THE EXPORTED PDFs
repeat
display dialog "Enter the name to use for the exported document:" default answer ""
set thisDocName to the text returned of the result
if thisDocName is not "" then
if thisDocName does not end with ".pdf" then
set exportDocName to thisDocName & ".pdf"
else
set exportDocName to thisDocName
end if
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
-- PROMPT FOR PASSWORD (OPTIONAL)
repeat
display dialog "Enter a password for the PDF file:" default answer ¬
"" buttons {"Cancel", "No Password", "OK"} default button 3 with hidden answer
copy the result to {button returned:buttonPressed, text returned:firstPassword}
if buttonPressed is "No Password" then
set usePDFEncryption to false
exit repeat
else
display dialog "Enter the password again:" default answer ¬
"" buttons {"Cancel", "No Password", "OK"} default button 3 with hidden answer
copy the result to {button returned:buttonPressed, text returned:secondPassword}
if buttonPressed is "No Password" then
set usePDFEncryption to false
exit repeat
else
if firstPassword is not secondPassword then
display dialog "Passwords do no match." buttons {"Cancel", "Try Again"} default button 2
else
set providedPassword to the firstPassword
set usePDFEncryption to true
exit repeat
end if
end if
end if
end repeat
-- PROMPT FOR MAIL SUBJECT LINE
set defaultMessageSubject to "Document from " & senderFirstName & space & senderLastName
repeat
display dialog "Enter the subject for the created Mail message:" default answer defaultMessageSubject
set the outgoingMessageSubject to the text returned of the result
if the outgoingMessageSubject is not "" then exit repeat
end repeat
-- OPEN TEMPLATE AND CHECK FOR OPTIONAL PLACEHOLDERS
display dialog "Scanning template…" buttons {"•"} default button 1 giving up after 1
set thisDocument to ¬
make new document with properties {document template:template chosenTemplateName}
tell body text of thisDocument
set recipientFullAddressPlaceholderCount to ¬
the count of (every word where it is recipientFullAddressPlaceholder)
end tell
close thisDocument saving no
display dialog "Scan complete. Beginning Mail Merge…" buttons ¬
{"•"} default button 1 giving up after 1
-- BEGIN MERGE
set the errorLog to "MAIL MERGE ERROR LOG"
set createdMessages to {}
repeat with i from 1 to the peopleCount
set skipFlag to false
tell application "Contacts"
set thisPerson to person i of the recipientGroup
set thisPersonIDString to the id of person i
try
set recipientFirstName to first name of thisPerson
if recipientFirstName is missing value then error
on error
set recipientFirstName to "NO-FIRST-NAME"
set skipFlag to true
set the errorLog to ¬
errorLog & return & recipientFirstName & space & thisPersonIDString
end try
try
set recipientLastName to last name of thisPerson
if recipientLastName is missing value then error
on error
set recipientLastName to "NO-LAST-NAME"
set skipFlag to true
set the errorLog to ¬
errorLog & return & recipientLastName & space & thisPersonIDString
end try
try
set recipientFullAddress to the formatted address of the first address of thisPerson
if recipientFullAddressPlaceholderCount is not 0 and ¬
recipientFullAddress is missing value then error
on error
set recipientFullAddress to "NO-FULL-ADDRESS"
set skipFlag to requireRecipientAddress
set the errorLog to ¬
errorLog & return & recipientFullAddress & space & thisPersonIDString
end try
try
set recipientEmailAddress to the value of the first email of thisPerson
if recipientEmailAddress is missing value then error
on error
set recipientEmailAddress to "NO-EMAIL-ADDRESS"
set skipFlag to true
set the errorLog to ¬
errorLog & return & recipientEmailAddress & space & thisPersonIDString
end try
end tell
if skipFlag is false then
-- open a copy of the tagged template
set thisDocument to ¬
make new document with properties ¬
{document template:template chosenTemplateName}
tell thisDocument
-- replace the placeholders with the person data
set placeholderWordReplacementStringPairings to {{senderFirstNamePlaceholder, senderFirstName}, {senderLastNamePlaceholder, senderLastName}, {senderEmailAddressPlaceholder, senderEmailAddress}, {senderFullAddressPlaceholder, senderAddress}, {senderPhoneNumberPlaceholder, senderPhoneNumber}, {recipientFirstNamePlaceholder, recipientFirstName}, {recipientLastNamePlaceholder, recipientLastName}, {recipientFullAddressPlaceholder, recipientFullAddress}}
tell body text
with timeout of 600 seconds -- allow up to 10 minutes to process really long documents
repeat with i from 1 to the count of placeholderWordReplacementStringPairings
copy item i of placeholderWordReplacementStringPairings to ¬
{placeholderWord, replacementString}
my replaceWordWithStringInBodyText(placeholderWord, replacementString)
end repeat
end timeout
end tell
end tell
-- export the PDF to the temporary items folder
set the targetExportFileHFSPath to (thisDirectoryHFSPath & exportDocName)
if usePDFEncryption is true then
export thisDocument to file targetExportFileHFSPath ¬
as PDF with properties {password:providedPassword}
else
export thisDocument to file targetExportFileHFSPath as PDF
end if
-- close the new document without saving it
close thisDocument saving no
-- make a new message, attaching the exported PDF file
tell application "Mail"
set thisMessage to make new outgoing message with properties ¬
{subject:outgoingMessageSubject, visible:true}
tell thisMessage
make new to recipient with properties ¬
{address:recipientEmailAddress, name:(recipientFirstName & space & recipientLastName)}
make new attachment at end of paragraphs of content with properties ¬
{file name:file targetExportFileHFSPath}
end tell
set the end of createdMessages to thisMessage
end tell
-- delete the exported PDF file
tell application "Finder"
move document file targetExportFileHFSPath to the trash
end tell
end if
end repeat
-- SEND THE CREATED MESSAGES (OPTIONAL)
if attemptMailSend is true then
try
tell application "Mail"
activate
repeat with i from 1 to the count of the createdMessages
set thisMessage to item i of the createdMessages
send thisMessage
end repeat
end tell
on error errorMessage
set the errorLog to errorLog & return & ¬
"Attempt at sending messages failed." & space & errorMessage
end try
else
tell application "Mail" to activate
end if
-- CHECK THE ERROR LOG
if the (count of paragraphs of errorLog) is greater than 1 then
-- create a new Pages document with the eror log
set thisDocument to ¬
make new document with properties {document template:template "Blank"}
set body text of thisDocument to errorLog
error number 10002
else
-- display dialog "Mail Merge completed." buttons {"OK"} default button 1
display notification "Process completed." with title "Mail Merge with Contacts Group"
end if
on error errorMessage number errorNumber
if errorNumber is 10000 then
set errorNumber to "OPEN DOCUMENTS"
set errorMessage to ¬
"Please close all documents before running this script."
else if errorNumber is 10001 then
set errorNumber to "NO USER TEMPLATES"
set errorMessage to ¬
"There are no Pages user templates installed on this computer."
else if errorNumber is 10002 then
set errorNumber to "MAIL MERGE ERRORS"
set errorMessage to ¬
"The open document lists the errors occuring during the Mail Merge."
end if
if errorNumber is not -128 then
if errorNumber is in {10002} then
display notification "Errors occured." with title "Mail Merge with Contacts Group"
end if
display alert (errorNumber as string) message errorMessage
end if
error number -128
end try
end tell
on replaceWordWithStringInBodyText(searchWord, replacementString)
tell application "Pages"
activate
tell the front document
tell body text
-- start at the end and go to the beginning
repeat with i from the (count of paragraphs) to 1 by -1
tell paragraph i
repeat
try
if exists searchWord then
set (last word where it is searchWord) to replacementString
else
exit repeat
end if
on error errorMessage
exit repeat
end try
end repeat
end tell
end repeat
end tell
end tell
return true
end tell
end replaceWordWithStringInBodyText