Exploring Apps Script: Send Email Capabilities + More Simple Alternatives

Apps Script is a versatile scripting platform that allows you to streamline your email workflows. In this guide, we’ll delve into how to use Apps Script to send emails automatically, answer common questions about email automation, and provide insights into innovative automation strategies that extend beyond the conventional Apps Script approach presenting you with a trustworthy Apps Script alternative.

 

Sending Emails with Apps Script for Beginners

If you’re new to the world of Apps Script, it is a JavaScript-based platform that allows you to automate tasks within Google Workspace applications. To get started with sending emails:

1. 1. Open Google Sheets: Begin by opening a Google Sheets document.
   2. Access the Script Editor: Navigate to Extensions > Apps Script to access the Script Editor.
   3. Write Your Script: Inside the Script Editor, write a basic script to send an email using the MailApp service. Use the sendEmail method, and don’t forget to set the recipient’s email address, subject, and body.

Here’s a simple example of an Apps Script function to send an email:

function sendEmail() {
var recipient = 'example@example.com';
var subject = 'Hello from Apps Script!';
var body = 'This is an automated email sent using Apps Script.';

MailApp.sendEmail(recipient, subject, body);
}

4. Run the Function: After writing the script, save it and run the function by clicking the play button (▶️) in the toolbar.

Congratulations! You’ve just sent your first email using Apps Script.

Can I use Apps Script to Send Emails to Multiple Recipients?

Now that you’ve got the hang of sending emails, let’s take it up a notch and send emails to multiple recipients simultaneously. The process is quite similar:

1. 1. Modify the Recipient List: Adjust the recipient variable to include multiple email addresses, separated by commas.

Here’s an example of sending an email to multiple recipients:

function sendEmailToMultipleRecipients() {
var recipients = 'example1@example.com, example2@example.com';
var subject = 'Hello from Apps Script!';
var body = 'This is an email sent to multiple recipients.';

MailApp.sendEmail(recipients, subject, body);
}

2. Run the Function: Save your script and run the new function.

Can I use Apps Script to Send Emails with Attachments?

It is possible to use Apps Script’s mailing capabilities to attach files:

1. 1. Adjust the Script: Modify your script to use the sendEmail method with additional parameters for the attachment.

Here’s a basic example of sending an email with an attachment:

function sendEmailWithAttachment() {
var recipient = 'example@example.com';
var subject = 'Email with Attachment';
var body = 'Check out this attachment!';

var file = DriveApp.getFileById('File_ID');

MailApp.sendEmail({
to: recipient,
subject: subject,
body: body,
attachments: [file]
});
}

2. Replace 'File_ID': Replace 'File_ID' with the actual ID of the file you want to attach.

Can I use Apps Script to Send Email at Specific Times?

Yes, you can schedule an Apps Script to send emails at specific times:

1. Access Triggers: From the Script Editor, navigate to Edit > Current project's triggers.

2. Add a Trigger: Click the + Add Trigger button.

3. Configure Trigger: Choose the function you want to trigger, set the event source to Time-driven, and specify the time you want the script to run.

How Many Emails Can You Send from Google Apps Script?

Google Apps Script allows you to send a considerable number of emails per day: 100 email recipients per day for a free Gmail account, and 1500 email recipients per day for Google Workspace accounts. You can find more quotas here.

How to Automatically Send Email from Google Sheets Using Apps Script

Automating emails directly from Google Sheets is handy, especially when dealing with data-driven tasks:

1. Open Google Sheets: Open the Google Sheets document containing the data you want to work with.

2. Access the Script Editor: Navigate to Extensions > Apps Script.

3. Write the Script: Develop a script that retrieves data from the sheet, generates emails, and sends them using the MailApp service.

Here’s a simplified example of automating email sending from Google Sheets:

ar sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getActiveSheet();
var data = sheet.getDataRange().getValues();

for (var i = 1; i < data.length; i++) {
var recipient = data[i][0];
var subject = data[i][1];
var body = data[i][2];

MailApp.sendEmail(recipient, subject, body);

}
}

4. Run the Script: Save the script and run it to send emails based on the data in your Google Sheet.

Is there a no-code solution to automate sending emails from a spreadsheet?

While Apps Script offers a powerful method to automate Google Workflows, utilizing its scripts often demands significant time investment to set up, maintain changes, and troubleshoot. As your processes grow in complexity, managing them solely with Apps Script can become quite challenging. This has prompted numerous Google Workspace users to seek simpler, no-code alternatives for achieving streamlined automation. If you’re among this group, let us introduce you to zenphi – a no-code process automation platform tailored for Google Workspace.

With zenphi, not only can you perform all the tasks mentioned in this article, but you can also achieve much more – all without needing to write a single line of code. Just employ drag-and-drop actions to create your Flow, and you’re good to go.

Here are some tutorials to get you started:

How to do a mail merge using Gmail, Google Sheets, and zenphi on G Suite