How to get outlook email attachment onto a file server?

Question

Background:

Every work day I get an e-mail message from a known sender. The sender puts an attachment in the e-mail message. I have to process that attachment with a python script.

Question:

What is the best (automatic) way for me to get the attachment out of Outlook and onto my shell account (or local filesystem) so I can process it with the script, without having to manually open the file every day and save the attachment?

Solution 1

I assume you have an Exchange server that Outlook is talking to. Is IMAP enabled on the server? If so, it should be reasonably trivial to write a program that searches the IMAP server for an email from a particular sender received within the last 24 hours and parse out (what I assume to be) a MIME attachment.

Solution 2

I was researching the same thing and I found a script.

1. You have to open outlook then press Alt + F11
2. On the left pane expand Microsoft Outlook Objects
3. Double click ThisOutlook Session

4. Copy and paste this code:

   (Note: At "Const save_path As String = "c:\Temp\"" (replace "c:\Temp\" with the path to your file server. Remember to end path always with "\")

   Sub SaveToFolder(MyMail As MailItem)
   Dim strID As String
   Dim objNS As Outlook.NameSpace
   Dim objMail As Outlook.MailItem
   Dim objAtt As Outlook.Attachment
   Dim c As Integer
   Dim save_name As String
   'Place path to sav to on next line. Note that you must include the
   'final backslash
   Const save_path As String = "c:\Temp\"
   
   strID = MyMail.EntryID
   Set objNS = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI")
   Set objMail = objNS.GetItemFromID(strID)
   
   If objMail.Attachments.Count > 0 Then
   For c = 1 To objMail.Attachments.Count
   Set objAtt = objMail.Attachments(c)
   save_name = Left(objAtt.FileName, Len(objAtt.FileName) - 5)
   save_name = save_name & Format(objMail.ReceivedTime, "_mm-dd-yyyy_hhmm")
   save_name = save_name & Right(objAtt.FileName, 5)
   objAtt.SaveAsFile save_path & save_name
   
   Next
   End If
   
   Set objAtt = Nothing
   Set objMail = Nothing
   Set objNS = Nothing
   End Sub
   

5. Go to Debug on menu and Compile...

6. Close VB screen
7. Go to rules and create a rule: when email is received from the person you mentioned in the distribution group, run a script (select script (your script will be listed)). I would add a notification with the rule so you know the rule ran as well rule to move email to a specific folder.
8. Close and reopen Outlook.

Solution 3

Advanced ETL processor can automatically reply to emails, save attachments and process emails based on various rules

http://www.dbsoftlab.com/etl-tools/advanced-etl-pocessor-news/loading-excel-files-from-emails-questions-from-the-customer.html

Comments

[Arjan]

I think it would be best not to handle this in the mail client, but on the mail server. (Like with Exim filters, if you happen to use that.) So, if that's an option, then please provide some details about that mail server, and about that shell account?

[dreftymac]

That makes sense, I would have to write a script in whatever language has support for that kind of connection, powershell seems like a good fit. What would you choose?

[David Yates]

Personally, if I knew I was going to be using a Python script to parse the attachment, I'd just add a module to it that would start by opening the IMAP folder, finding the attachment, downloading it, then parsing it :)