Send To e-mail recipient: A universal solution

Administration
Microsoft Outlook

Product Producer : Microsoft / Internet : http://www.microsoft.com

Article C9P38A3054 / Language ENG

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Begin of this article…

As an act of contrition, I've come up with an alternative technique which works in all flavors of Windows from 95 on (thanks to Wick, Harvey, Luis, Greg, Kevin and Iain for testing the technique on different versions of Windows). I'll explain the technique below, but first, here's a quick reprieve to bring everyone up to date.

 

The original tip (read the details here) described a technique for placing a specific e-mail address in the SendTo folder so that when you right-click a file and choose Send To <recipient>, a pre-addressed Outlook e-mail pops up with the file already attached to the message. So, for instance, if you frequently send documents or other attachments to Madam X, you can add a Send To…MadamX option to your right-click menu. Once you've done that, you simply right-click a file and choose Send To…MadamX, and a new message window pops up pre-addressed to MadamX, with the file attached.

 

It's a great timesaver, but unfortunately it requires the use of an Outlook command-line switch. In versions of Windows prior to WinMe and Win2k, the Send To command ignores command-line switches, and so the technique won't work.

 

MailForMadamX

The alternative method doesn't use the Send To command at all. Instead, it adds a separate option to the right-click context menu and makes that option available for files of any type. Think of it as a 'MailForMadamX' option: once you've got it working, you can create a pre-addressed e-mail complete with attachment simply by right-clicking any file and selecting MailForMadamX from the pop-up menu. Of course, you can name the command anything you like, but for our purposes, we'll stick with MailForMadamX.

 

I'm going to show you two ways of implementing old MadamX. The first is by manually editing the registry; the second is by way of a registry patch.

 

Editing the registry is no big trick, but you need to be careful because if you make a mistake you can turn your computer into a doorstop, at least temporarily. So, whenever you tinker with the registry, make sure you create a backup first (I'll show you how) and, if you're not comfortable with the whole thing, remember that the better part of valor is to turn tail and skedaddle!

 

The second method avoids manual editing of the registry and instead uses a registry patch file to make the necessary changes. You are, essentially, doing the same thing as in a manual edit of the registry, and thus need to use care when applying your registry patch. The good thing about this method is that you don't have to use the registry editor and go galumphing around inside the registry. The other good thing is that it lets you share the patch with others who can then apply it with a simple double-click. The other other good thing is that once you've saved your patch file, it's a snap to modify it so you can add MailFor options for additional recipients to your right-click menu.

 

Editing the registry manually

Here's how to add MailForMadamX the manual way:

 

Open the registry editor by clicking Start, Run, and typing:

regedit

in the Open box. Then click OK.

Create a backup of your registry for safety's sake by selecting Export Registry File from the Registry Menu, giving the exported file a memorable name and location, selecting All in the Export Range section, and clicking Save.

Click the + sign beside HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.

Click the * folder (right up near the top of the list under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT). The * subkey lets you create commands which are valid for any registered filetype.

Right-click the * folder, select New, Key from the pop-up menu, name the new key:

shell

and press Enter.

Right-click the newly created shell folder, select New, Key, name this new key:

MailForMadamX

(or whatever descriptive name suits you), and press Enter.

Make sure the MailForMadamX folder is selected on the left, double-click Default in the right-hand pane, and type:

Mail for Madam &X

in the Value Data box. This is the name of the command as it will appear in the pop-up menu whenever you right-click a file, so you should make it descriptive and include spaces for clarity. The ampersand (&) in the name indicates that the following key, in this case X, will be used as a hotkey to activate the command. You don't have to include a hotkey, but it's a handy addition.

Right-click the MailForMadamX folder (or whatever you've called it), select New, Key, name this new key:

Command

and press Enter.

Make sure the Command folder is selected on the left, double-click Default in the right-hand pane, and type the following string in the Value Data box:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe" /c ipm.note /m madamx@geekgirls.com "%1"

You must include the quotation marks around the path name and around %1. Replace the e-mail address madamx@geekgirls.com with whichever e-mail address you wish to use. If you have a whole bunch of people you want to include as recipients in the same e-mail, add all the relevant e-mail addresses separated by semi-colons, like this:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe" /c ipm.note /m misterz@geekguysrus.com;madamx@geekgirls.com;heyyou@heyyouse.com "%1"

Click OK and then close the registry editor.

Now try right-clicking a file you wish to attach to an e-mail and choose your customised MailForMadamX option from the right-click menu. A New Message window should open, with MadamX's address in the To: box and the file you right-clicked attached to the e-mail.

You can make multiple similar context-menu items to different e-mail recipients. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell folder you created, and then create sub-keys as described in steps 6 to 9.

 

Creating a registry patch : If you'd like to update your registry automatically without the need to get your hands dirty editing it manually, you'll need to create a registry patch file. This is merely a text file with the extension reg, containing registry editing commands. Once you've created the patch file, you'll be able to update your registry by double-clicking the file.

 

Here's how: Create a new text document using Notepad (my preferred method is to right-click in a blank space on the desktop and choose New, Text Document from the pop-up menu).

Add the following lines to the text file:

---------------------------------- Copy everything below --------------------------------

 

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell

@="

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\MailForMadamX]

@="Mail for Madam &X"

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\MailForMadamX\Command]

@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Office\\Office\\Outlook.exe\" /c ipm.note /m madamx@geekgirls.com %1"

 

---------------------------------- Copy everything above --------------------------------

 

Note that you should write that  final @= line as one, complete unbroken line.

You'll want to modify the commands above to reflect your own needs:

 

Replace both occurrences of MailForMadamX with whatever name you wish to give your new registry subkey (but don't put spaces in the name you use). For example, you may wish to call the subkey AttachmentForBoss.  Replace the @="Mail for Madam&X" line with the actual command name you want to display in the pop-up menu. The ampersand (&) in the line tells Windows to use the following letter as a hotkey for the command. So, if you name your subkey AttachmentForBoss, you might use:

@="Attachment for the &Boss"

 

with B as the command's hotkey.

 

Replace the e-mail address madamx@geekgirls.com with the correct e-mail for your recipient(s).

Apart from those changes, it's really important you get these lines exactly right. You'll notice some strangenesses here: The pathname uses double backslashes (\\) instead of the usual single ones, and there are seemingly extraneous backslashes and quotation marks littered throughout the last command. That's the way the registry likes it - go figure! I suggest you copy and paste the lines from this newsletter straight into your text document, then carefully make the changes suggested above.

 

Once you've finished editing the document, close it and save your changes.

Rename the text document mailfor.reg, ignoring Windows' warning about changing the extension.

Double-click mailfor.reg to apply the changes to your registry.

Neat, huh? You can share your mailfor.reg file with others who need to add the same option to their systems, and all they'll have to do is double-click the file to update their registry. If you need to make changes to your reg file, right-click the file and choose Edit from the pop-up menu.

 

Multiple recipients

If you want to add a bunch of these MailFor options for different recipients, you can create a single patch file that will do the job all at once. I have a sample multi-recipient file (MailForX.reg) on my site, which adds three options (Mail for Madam X, Attachment for the boss, and Forward to Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice). You can download the file then right-click it and choose Edit to modify it to suit your needs.

End of this article…

 

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With special thanks to the writer and/or publisher of this article.