Automate Outlook with PowerShell Scripting
Automate Outlook with PowerShell Scripting
  • Automate common messaging scenarios with this powerful plug-in for Microsoft Outlook.
  • Simplifies the process of sending numerous or repetitive emails.
  • Send personalized messages quickly with minimal keystrokes and clicks.
Download Free Trial

The PowerShell Outlook Add-In offers a complete solution for dealing with the time-consuming tasks associated with customizing, creating and responding to email.

PowerShell Outlook Add-In provides any easy way to deal with repetitive email tasks. Instead of typing similar messages over and over again, or cutting and pasting from other documents, you simply select a template from the menu. By communicating quickly, you save valuable time. PowerShell Outlook Add-In allows you and your organization to operate in a smooth, organized manner, alleviating time-consuming tasks and ultimately increasing productivity.

With the PowerShell Outlook Add-In you can:

PowerShell Outlook Add-In is not just for PowerShell users. Once templates have been created, PowerShell Outlook Add-In can be easily used by everyone who uses email to quickly and efficiently customize, create and answer email.

Just take at a few of our sample templates to see how PowerShell Outlook Add-In can help you save time and increase efficiency with the power of PowerShell Scripting.

 

Using PowerShell Outlook Add-In

If you or your users habitually type emails with similar content, create new messages using text pasted from an old message, maintain the same message format though responses may differ, or respond to requests for similar information on an individual basis, then the PowerShell Outlook Add-In will make your life, and the lives of your users much easier.

The PowerShell Outlook Add-In introduces several custom variables into the PowerShell Scripting environment when processing templates. All template scripts have access to 3 special PowerShell variables at runtime:

  • The Input Variable: Represents the Outlook Item the template was applied to:
    • Contact Item: $contact
    • Email Message Item: $message
  • The Output Variable: Represents the Outlook Item of the resulting Email created when applying the template and it's named $email.
  • User Information Variable: Data about the user. This variable is named $my and contains name and address properties.

All of these variables hold attributes (data) with properties matching the properties of the underlying Outlook object layer. Properties can be referenced in two ways:

  • Member syntax. Example: $email.subject = 'Hello from PowerShell'
  • Indexer syntax. Example: $email['subject'] = 'Hello from PowerShell'

The template syntax is based on the PowerShell ASP template engine, allowing you to combine plain text or HTML with Windows PowerShell expressions.

Scripts may be applied to the text of a template, but will not appear in the final message. Scripts may be used to create new template elements, change message properties or perform actions on the mailbox.

Here is an example of a simple script generated from a calendar item: 

Dear $contact.firstname,
I would like to remind you that our weekly &day_of_the_week; meeting, will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the conference room.

$my.name
$my.email

If this template was sent to the contact (Jonathan), the result message would look like: 

Dear Jonathan,

I would like to remind you that our weekly Tuesday meeting will be 
held at noon in the conference room.

Bill Knowles
bknowles@abc.com

With the click of a button, the selected template will be applied to your message. The PowerShell Outlook Add-In combines with the Outlook Inbox Rules Engine, so templates can be auto-activated in response to predefined message conditions.

 

System Requirements

  • PowerShell Outlook Add-In is available for Microsoft Outlook 2007 & Outlook 2010.