Robin Bonathan

Q: creating a distribution list

How do I create a distribution list in mail ?

 

I have 50 or so email address (not in my address contact book) that I need to send emails to on a regular basis.

 

So far I have just copied and pasted them into my mail program but as the names change monthly there must be a better way.

 

I can see you can create a distrution list out of contacts in contacts app but how this does not seem to allow me to make a group just from email address I have.

 

any ideas please.

 

thanks

MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Apr 2, 2013 5:23 AM

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Q: creating a distribution list

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  • by Robin Bonathan,

    Robin Bonathan Robin Bonathan Dec 12, 2013 6:21 AM in response to hibbopotamus
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 12, 2013 6:21 AM in response to hibbopotamus

    That is quite a good solution to problem.

     

    I will give it a go.

  • by OckhamAHC,

    OckhamAHC OckhamAHC Jan 22, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Robin Bonathan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Robin Bonathan

    Mailshot pro worked for me - available in the App Store

  • by jillspch4,

    jillspch4 jillspch4 Jan 28, 2014 7:33 PM in response to Robin Bonathan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 28, 2014 7:33 PM in response to Robin Bonathan

    I have many distribution lists that I use in Outlook. It is inconvenient  that a) I cannot access them when using my iPhone/Pad and b) I have no way to recreate them for times it is more convenient to use my IOS devices.

  • by rbmartins,

    rbmartins rbmartins Jul 4, 2015 4:05 AM in response to Robin Bonathan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 4, 2015 4:05 AM in response to Robin Bonathan

    Hi Bonathan!

     

    Knowing that this is an old post. I hope this can help.

     

    1. Go to your Address Book. Add a new group list and drag the desired contacts to it.
    2. In Address Book menu choose Edit -> Edit Distribution List. At the showing window select the group you add earlier on the left side and the email you want to use on the right. The highlighted addresses are the ones that will be used by that group. To switch to another address for an individual, simply click on an alternate address.
  • by esvorm,

    esvorm esvorm Jul 12, 2016 8:44 AM in response to Robin Bonathan
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 12, 2016 8:44 AM in response to Robin Bonathan

    Although this is an old post, it still seems relevant (despite the several workarounds offered in the replies). So I thought I would add my own workaround as well.

     

    First, the challenge is not necessarily creating groups from addresses that are already in your contact list. That is about as straightforward as it gets. The only slightly non-intuitive step is that you have to open a separate app (Contacts) rather than doing it all through the native Mail app.

     

    That being said, I find the biggest challenge comes when I have to create a distribution list from a large group of email addresses which are NOT already in my contacts list. For instance, I regularly have to communicate with large groups of people for a given project, and I may only interact with them on a group basis, and only for a limited amount of time. I would prefer not to have to bloat my contacts list with addresses from virtual strangers, but I would still like to be able to type in a simple group name and have those addresses populate automagically. Here is my solution to this problem:

     

    Step 1. Get all the email addresses in a semi-colon delimited list (for example bob@email.com;steve@email.com;jake@email.com, etc).

    Step 2. Open the Contacts App

    Step 4. Add a New Contact

    Step 5. Name the Contact the name of the group you wish to use (I use the same for both first and last names, for example NATO, NATO)

    Step 6. Paste the list from above into the email section of this contact.

     

    All of the email addresses will populate whenever you call up this contact, just like it would if you called up a group.

     

    I haven't tested this with massive lists (>100), but it works for what I do.

     

    Good luck!

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