Plain-text mail merge with images

macOS
1

Hi all,

I have a markdown file with references to images (both stored in a Git repo) that I’d like to convert into a bulk email mail merge, to send out an email newsletter that includes inline images. Seems ripe for automation! However, I don’t really know how…

Some details:

  • The only thing that would change in the email text is the person’s first name - nothing else.
  • I’d be happy to use macOS or iOS
  • I don’t want to use proprietary tools like the Microsoft Office suite.
  • AppleScript and shell script are fine, as long as people can give me the relevant code or at least point me in the right direction.
  • MailMate (the macOS email client that I use) has a command line interface, which is excellent. However, its support for resizing inline images is limited. Resizing the images myself resulted in pixelated images in MailMate.
  • I found some puzzle pieces at Automators 2: Workflow - Mail Merge and Automators 2: Use AppleScript to Insert Recipient's Name, but a bit more guidance would be helpful, particularly regarding the inclusion of images.

Thanks!

2

Do you want to attach the images or just have them served from the web when the user opens the email? The latter will probably be simpler.

3

Not attached - I want the user to see images interspersed with text.