Parse Messages

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
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Guest

I use Outlook 2003. I receive many canned messages daily from a list I am
on. Within each post are a couple pieces of data that I currently
cut-and-paste into a database. It would be wonderful to have a script that
would take these messages, strip out the few pieces of data (text), and write
a text (CSV) file.

I have absolutely no background in VBA.

Is such a thing possible?

If so, a couple little things about this. What happens if the format of the
messages were to ever change? I do not control the list. If a change were
made to either insert more text, change the layout, etc., I imagine the
script would need to be modified.

Whether the file created were a one-time shot or one that were appended is
not of particular concern to me as I can easily filter out in the database
duplicate entries.

If this were possible, is it something that exists and would be modified to
suit my needs? Is it something that a complete novice could attempt and
reasonably expect to complete? Is it easy enough that someone would be able
to whip up a working script without me feeling extremely guilty for asking?

I truly have no clue what is involved in a task like this.

I appreciate any help that can be offered.
 
Yes, it's possible. If you don't want to learn to write the code yourself,
there are tools at http://www.slipstick.com/addins/extract.htm that can do
the data extraction for you.

It's certainly something a novice can do. If you're new to Outlook VBA
macros, these web pages should help you get started:

http://www.winnetmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=21522&pg=1
http://www.outlookcode.com/d/vb.htm

The sample at http://www.outlookcode.com/codedetail.aspx?id=89 provides a
general framework for extracting data when it appears in name/value pairs.
 
Sue Mosher said:
Yes, it's possible. If you don't want to learn to write the code yourself,
there are tools at http://www.slipstick.com/addins/extract.htm that can do
the data extraction for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestions. The add-ins appear costly for the
application I would use them for.

So, I am going to take a stab at this myself. The sample code you have at
http://www.outlookcode.com/codedetail.aspx?id=89 would work perfectly for me
if my messages arrived in such a formatted structure. I wish that were so.

Rather, the e-mails I receive are far more "user-friendly" with blocks of
text and the fields I want dropped into the prose. Do you have a suggestion
for locating the fields from such a message? The "container text" can
change, so I am hesitant to begin by stating after the 100th word, etc.
extract this string.
 
If there's no structure at all, it may very difficult to locate the
information. Your basic tools are Instr() and other text functions.
Experiment.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
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