Inbox Actions plugin
Inbox Actions Rules Wizard Edition is an Outlook custom action for the Outlook Rules Wizard. It allows you to:
- Execute batch commands, console executables and batch files in the email received and send back the output
Send an email from your Blackberry or iPhone with the following lines:
ping 192.168.0.10
sc query webserver
cd c:\data\apps
check_db.exe
check_logs.bat
This will be executed on your PC and the output sent back to you via email.
- Execute batch files when you receive emails allowing to implement any custom logic
Inbox Actions custom action comes with a set of working examples to:
implement an autoresponder with email templates
save messages with attachments on hard drive
This list is expanded and these examples are free to download, so you can always get the latest.
You can also write your own scripts to process emails.
Requirements
Inbox Actions adds a "custom action" in the MS Outlook Rules Wizard. To use it, you just create a new Outlook rule with the wizard to process incoming emails and run Inbox Actions custom action.
Requirements: Outlook 2003 or previous, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, an Exchange account in order to use the Rules Wizard.
Read our step by step guide (with screenshots) on how to use the Inbox Actions custom action in your rules for Outlook 2003 and previous or for Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010 or later.
Use cases
Use case 1: Access and control your PC by running scripts, batch files, executables, either your own or pre-defined. For those times when you only have email from your Blackberry or iPhone.
Use case 2: Retrieve a file from your PC by simply sending an attach command and getting back the file by email. Send an email with the following line as an example:
attach C:\data\ClientInvoice.xls
Use case 3: Run batch files, scripts or executables when you receive emails, allowing you to process the email and implement your custom business logic.
Use case 4: Use the existing working examples. Autoresponder is a templated email autoresponder. SaveMessage saves every message on disk, including attachments in msg format. Source code is available.
Extending it
Inbox Actions allows you to write your own batch files, scripts or executables to process email messages as they arrive in your Outlook inbox.
You can extend it by writing your own script or executable in the language of your choice and calling it from a batch file which you place in the batches directory within the InboxActions directory.
Then create a rule with the Outlook Rule Wizard and specify to run your batch file which should be picked up automatically.
Use the existing working examples (autoresponder, savemessage) to learn how to write your script. These examples are written in Python and the source code is available for them. You can write your scripts or executable in any language.