Message Parse for Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP

The uses for Message Parse are endless. You can use Message Parse to create and update mailing list. You can use it to grab sales information that you normally copy/paste or type into your contact application. You can use Message Parse to grab data from online forms, such as surveys that are emailed to you, or support-sales inquires. You could use Message Parse to transfer order information you received via email to your accounting package. These are just a few examples of what our customers are using Message Parse for.

Anyone who uses information from their inbound messages in other applications will benefit from using Message Parse. Message Parse is designed to same time, save resources, eliminate typing errors by automating your email processing chores.

The way Message Parse works is you create what we call a template. A Message Parse Template is a set of instructions that tells Message Parse what data to grab, where that data can be found, and where you want that data to be written to.

As Message Parse scans the email message, it compares the text or the message with the criteria you setup in your template. If there is a match between the two the data is grabbed and stored. Once the whole message has been scanned, the extracted data is written to an output file that you specified.

Message Parse can create delimited text files. Suitable for importing into other programs that have import capabilities Message Parse also has the ability to write the information directly to database programs such as Microsoft Access and SQL.

Message Parse works with POP3 mailboxes or with any of the following mail readers: Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Netscape.

1. Install and Launch Program

2. Create New Template



To create a new template click either the "New" button on the toolbar or the "Create New Template" menu item on the explorer bar. The program will then ask if you would like to use the Template Wizard. Although the wizard would be quicker for this example, we want to cover some of the basics of a template. So select No. After which the "Template Properties" window will be shown.

3. Setting General Properties



Template Name - The name identifies the template. In the text box type in the name you want to use. The name is also used as the file name when the template is saved to disk. Consequently certain characters are not allowed and the name must be unique. You should use something that helps you identify the specific template and what it does.

Enabled Checkbox - In order to use a template, it must be enabled. So be sure that there is a check in this checkbox. When a template is disabled it is ignored by the parsing engine. This switch is handy when you have templates that you do not use all the time and want to make sure that the template is not used if the parsing engine is running in automatic mode.

4. Add Mail Source



Click the "Mail Source Add" button to setup a mail source.

A mail source is where your email messages are stored that you want to parse. You can have multiple sources per template. For example you might have several folders in Outlook Express you want to parse with this template. Or you might have 2 or 3 POP3 accounts that you want to capture the same data from.

Message Parse supports multiple readers and POP3 mailbox. The instructions for setting up the mail source are different for each one. For instructions for your specific requirements select one of the following links.

5. Setting A Message Filter



Message Field List - Here you select which of the message fields the program should look for the filter string. The message filter allows you to tell the program which messages should be parsed with this template. For example you might only want to include messages where the subject line contains "Online Survey Results". In this case you would select "MSG_SUBJECT" from the drop down list.

Select from the drop down list if you want all messages from the mail source to be included in the email processing.

Filter Match String - Here you enter the string that the filter is to look for. Any messages that contain the defined string in the selected message field will be included in the parsing results. All messages that do not contain the string are ignored.

6. Create Data Variables



7. Set Output File Properties



This screen is used to setup how and where you want to write the data. Message Parse can write to delimited text file or Access database. The bottom portion of the screen changes depending on which output type is selected. In this example we are using the text file output.

8. Save and Close



Congratulations - You have created your first Message Parse template. At this point you will want to save the template and close the Template Properties window. You can do that by clicking the "Save Changes" button and then the "Close" button. Or you can just click the "Close button. The program will prompt you to save changes in this case.

9. Extract Your Data





Now it is time to run your template. First select your template by clicking the name in the template list. Then click either the Parse button on the main toolbar or the "Run Template" on the explorer bar menu.

Next the Parsing Engine status window will come up and you will be able to see that the messages are being processed. Once the program has finished the status window will close.

Email Software