Home > Sharing data > Saving, importing, and exporting data > Sending email messages based on record data > Sending multiple email messages

Sending multiple email messages

You can use FileMaker Pro to send multiple email messages to one or more recipients. To specify email addresses, subjects, and messages, you can type text, use data from each record in the current found set, or use calculations. A separate email is sent for each record in the found set.

To send multiple email messages:

1.	Find the records you want to use for your email messages.

See Finding records.

2.	Choose File menu > Send > Mail.

The Send Mail dialog box appears.

3.	For Send via, choose how you want to send the email.

•	To send using an email application such as Microsoft Outlook (Windows) or OS X Mail (OS X), accept the default, E-mail Client.

•	To send using SMTP (without an email application), choose SMTP Server. In the SMTP Options dialog box, enter user and server information (see Entering or editing SMTP options) and click OK. Then continue with step 4.

4.	For Create, select Multiple emails (one for each record in found set).

5.	Do one of the following to enter email addresses in the To, CC, and BCC boxes:

 

To	Do this
Enter one or more email addresses	Type the addresses. Separate each address with a semicolon or the return character.
Specify a field that contains one or more email addresses	Click and choose Specify Field Name. Then select a field and click OK.
Specify a calculation that generates one or more email addresses	Click and choose Specify Calculation. Then create a calculation and click OK.
Windows: Enter one or more email addresses from the Windows address book	Click and choose Specify Email Addresses. Then choose the email addresses you want.

6.	If you specified a field or calculation in step 5, select Collect addresses across found set if you want to gather addresses from all the records in the current found set for each message.

Important  Use Collect addresses across found set with caution because it can generate a lot of email messages. For example, if your found set contains 10 records and you specified a field that contains a single email address in each record, 100 email messages would be generated. Each email address will receive 10 emails. See the example below.

7.	Do one of the following to fill in the Subject and Message boxes:

 

To	Do this
Enter text	Type the text.
Specify a field that contains text for the email	Click and choose Specify Field Name. Then select a field and click OK.
Specify a calculation that generates text for the email	Click and choose Specify Calculation. Then create a calculation and click OK.
Insert the contents of a text file into the Message box	Click next to the Message box and choose Insert Text from File. Then choose the text file you want.

8.	Select Attach file if you want to select a file to send as an attachment to the email.

9.

Click OK.

Generated email messages are sent using your default email method.

Notes

•	Email is sent through SMTP or directly to your default email application’s outbox as plain text. To apply formatting or change an email message’s contents, see the Send Mail script step.

•	If you specify the contents of a field as the email address and the field contains more than one address (separated by commas or semicolons as required by your email client), one message is sent to each address in each record.

Example

When you specify a field or a calculation as the email address, the number of messages sent depends on the contents of the fields or the result of the calculation and whether you select the Collect addresses across found set option. Suppose you have the following found set:

 

Address	Subject	Message
Recipent1@isp.com	Subject1	Message1
Recipent2@isp.com	Subject2	Message2
Recipent3@isp.com	Subject3	Message3
Recipent2@isp.com	Subject4	Message4

When you specify the Address field for the email address and select Multiple emails (one for each record in found set), each message is addressed to only one recipient and the results are:

•	Recipient1 receives one message: Subject1, Message1

•	Recipient2 receives two messages: Subject2, Message2 and Subject4, Message4

•	Recipient 3 receives one message: Subject3, Message3

If you select the Collect addresses across found set option, all three recipients receive all four messages (Subject1, Message1; Subject2, Message2; Subject3, Message3; and Subject4, Message4) and each message is addressed to all three recipients.