Sending a delayed email, but with correct timestamps

[Ewan]

I'd like to send a mail in the future, but without the fuss and bother of
creating a time machine to do it! I'm using IMAP, and have recently switched
from a PC.

Using Outlook I can do this by clicking "Options" on a mail I'm composing,
and choosing a "Do not deliver before" time. This, combined with a timed
send/receive every 15 minutes or so is enough to do what I want: Reply to
mails at 10pm at night, but actually send them at 9am in the morning. This
works great, perfect for running a home business ostensibly within working
hours.

Entourage has this option too: "Send Later". If I set up a Send schedule
only within working hours, anything in the outbox sent at 10pm won't go
until the first send of the day, 9am. Except on the Mac, the send time in
the message header isn't altered. Open the mail, and it shows it has been
sent at 10pm. Not so good.

Fear ye not I thought, alter the date with a trusty Applescript, and put
that in your schedule before the send action. Here's what I created:

tell application "Microsoft Entourage"
set theMsgs to messages in (folder "Outbox")
repeat with theMsg in theMsgs
set time sent of theMsg to current date
set time received of theMsg to current date --might as well
end repeat
end tell

This actually seems to work if I run the script manually, but when in a
schedule - nada. I've also tried to manipulate the header as text with a
lengthier script, but it appears to be read-only.

Is there a better way to do this? Perhaps my script isn't quite correct?

Cheers,
Ewan

 

[Ewan]

Please excuse my rudeness, I'm bumping my message to the top with a more
informative subject line in the hope somebody cleverer than I can answer it!

I'm trying to delay an email from sending until the following day (easy),
but set the timestamps correctly when it does actually send (not so easy)

E

 

[matt neuburg]

I'm trying to delay an email from sending until the following day (easy),
but set the timestamps correctly when it does actually send (not so easy)

Why is hard? If you save as a draft, then when you come round to
sending, the timestamps are set correctly for that moment. m.

 

[Ewan]

Not if I send using a schedule. Open the message and the timestamp is the
time I sent it. The delivery time of the message is OK...

 

[matt neuburg]

Not if I send using a schedule. Open the message and the timestamp is the
time I sent it. The delivery time of the message is OK...

Sorry, I no longer understand what you think the problem is. Pls forget
that I spoke. m.

 

[Ewan]

OK! I've forgotten you completely stranger!

But for the benefit of anyone else that might be reading, and can hopefully
help me, here's a quick example to explain:

1. Set up a schedule to send mail every 10 minutes
2. Create an email to yourself
3. Click "Send Later", let's say the current time is 4.31pm
4. Wait till the next scheduled mail send, it will go (at 4.40pm)
5. Receive, then Open the mail

The timestamp in the header on that mail will show the time you clicked
"Send Later" and NOT the time the mail is actually sent. E.g. It might show
4.31pm instead of 4.40pm.

Why I want to do this
=====================

I want to write a mail at 10pm at night, and click "Send Later". I want to
set up a schedule to send between 9am and 5pm. I want that mail to
subsequently send at 9am, and appear as if I have written it at 9am.

This technique works percetly in Outlook, in Entourage nothing.. I'm using
IMAP btw.

E

 

[Mickey Stevens]

Try the "Delayed Send" or "Postpone, Delayed Send" script, both of which are
available for free at the ScriptBuilders website.
<http://www.scriptbuilders.net/search.php?search_str=Delayed+send>