MailMerge and Outlook Task Item

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DebraH - 18 Apr 2007 19:18 GMT

Hi. I have inquired about this before and I still don't know if this is
possible.

I want to do an email merge and instead of sending a message I want to send
a task item.

Microsoft support gave me some complicated programming solution, but
shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
template instead of the outlook message template?

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Debra H

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Peter Jamieson - 18 Apr 2007 22:46 GMT

> Microsoft support gave me some complicated programming solution,

If they did that then the chances are that that's the simplest way to solve
the problem as they understand it.

> shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
> template instead of the outlook message template?

Well, Word doesn't really use an "Outlook message template" when it merges
to e-mail. It just constructs an email using Microsoft's MAPI standards that
could be sent via any suitable MAPI-enabled e-mail client, not just Outlook.
So doing something with Outlook tasks would be a bit more Outlook-specific
and would require that Word understood more about Outlook tasks. Then you
have to consider exactly what Word is supposed to send. Would it have to
send exactly the same structure and content of message that Outlook produces
when you click Assign Task, then Send the completed form? Which details
would be compulsory, and which optional? And so on?

Perhaps I'm missing the point, though...

Peter Jamieson

> Hi. I have inquired about this before and I still don't know if this is
> possible.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
> template instead of the outlook message template?

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debraholloway - 19 Apr 2007 18:10 GMT

Nope. I think you have it. So can it be done and if so how? The other
alternative is to create a fake project plan and do it through microsoft
project.

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Debra H.

> > Microsoft support gave me some complicated programming solution,
>
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> > shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
> > template instead of the outlook message template?

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Peter Jamieson - 19 Apr 2007 18:34 GMT

Hi Debra,

The trouble is I don't really know exactly what "it" is.

To me, your best bet for sending Outlook tasks automatically is to automate
Outlook, which is almost certainly what Microsoft has suggested.

I wonder if www.slipstick.com has any stuff like that?

Peter Jamieson

> Nope. I think you have it. So can it be done and if so how? The other
> alternative is to create a fake project plan and do it through microsoft
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
>> > shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
>> > template instead of the outlook message template?

Reply to this Message

Peter Jamieson - 20 Apr 2007 10:33 GMT

> To me, your best bet for sending Outlook tasks automatically is to
> automate Outlook, which is almost certainly what Microsoft has suggested.

Unless all you really need to do is send relatively ordinary e-mails that
have task-related information, perhaps taken from MS Project (or whatever
you are trying to start from)

In which case a critical question would be whether you already have a method
for getting the necessary info. from that data source.

Peter Jamieson

> Hi Debra,
>
[quoted text clipped - 51 lines]
>>> > shouldn't it be as simple as having the mailmerge use the outlook task
>>> > template instead of the outlook message template?

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