Automator "Send Outgoing Messages" broke with Lion

Question

Level 1

8 points

Automator "Send Outgoing Messages" broke with Lion

I have a ScanSnap S1500M attached to a 2010 iMac. The ScanSnap scans documents into PDFs and saves them into a designated folder.

Last summer I created an Automator folder action for this folder. When any new document came into the folder, Automator got the folder contents, opened Apple Mail, attached the PDF, and sent the mail. This was a very efficient way of capturing and moving staff timesheets as well as handwritten notes.

Here are the steps in the folder action:

Step 1: Get Folder Contents

Step 2: New Mail Message

Step 3: Add Attachments to Front Message

Step 4: Send Outgoing Messages

Once I upgraded to Lion, the the Send Outgoing Messages action stopped. The first three steps seem to work fine. I am left with an open email, correctly addressed, with the pdf attached, but the email never sends.

If I click the send icon in Mail, I get an error message:

Warning "" does not appear to be a valid email address. Verify the address and try again.

I can see at this point that the email address is correct.

If I click Send Anyway, the message sends with no problem, along with the attachment.

Has anyone else experienced a probblem with Send Outgoing Messages or Mail-related actions in Automator?

Can anyone suggest a fix?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 2.4 ghz Core 2 Duo, 5gb RAM

Posted on Aug 6, 2011 6:35 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 12, 2011 10:18 AM in response to coruscate

Hi,

I am having the exact same problem and I also upgraded to Lion. I don't know the solution as I logged into this forum just to find that solution myself. I'm posting so that perhaps someone will note this issue and provide an answer.

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Answer 2

Gryphon

Level 1

14 points

Aug 12, 2011 2:14 PM in response to coruscate

I, too, am having this exact same error. I've tried deleting the script and re-creating it from scratch, but that does not seem to solve the problem.

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Answer 3

coruscate Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 12, 2011 2:50 PM in response to coruscate

I called Apple support about this. They said they had not heard any reports of this issue. I gathered that they thought it was my error in building the script.

The script worked like a clock for a year. It only has five steps in it. It only broke after I upgraded to Lion.

I would encourage you to call Apple support to let them know of your problem. If you want, you can tell them to look up my case for cross reference. My case number is 238 360 334.

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Answer 4

Aug 12, 2011 3:13 PM in response to coruscate

Hi,

I did call Apple, but was pretty much brushed off. She referred me to the following link

www.apple.com/feedback/automator

I shared my issue with them, and referred to your case number. She claimed that the developers

actually look at what is written as this site.

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Answer 5

coruscate Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 12, 2011 3:43 PM in response to minimac51

I tried the link she gave you, but it returned this error message from the Apple site:

Hmm, the page you’re looking for can’t be found.

In this case the developer is Apple, and unless someone raises the issue, the guys in the Automator group won't know there is an issue.

Was the suport person Faith Palmer by any chance? That's who I have been talking to.

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Answer 6

Aug 12, 2011 4:12 PM in response to coruscate

Hi,

I didn't get the name of the person I reached. She was not that helpful. I'm sorry about

the link.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

If you go to this page, and scroll down to the bottom section, you can click on automator,

and then provide feedback.

Hopefully, they'll fix this and other issues caused by Lion soon.

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Answer 7

coruscate Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 12, 2011 5:25 PM in response to minimac51

Thanks. I was unaware of this page. I copied my original post as well as the URL to the post.

Faith sent me an app called Capture yesterday. It captured data while I tried to use my Automator script today. I sent the result file to her, and have also been forwarding to her the notifications of posts to this discussion. I have not heard back from her.

I don't think Apple Support will do much unless other people show up with the problem.

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Answer 8

red_menace

Level 6

17,030 points

Aug 12, 2011 5:59 PM in response to coruscate

Did you rebuild the workflow with Lion's Automator, or are you still using the original?

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Answer 9

Aug 12, 2011 6:26 PM in response to red_menace

HI red_menace,

I have been building new workflows since Lion's automator, so assume I am using Lion's

automator...

Would you have any ideas what is causing this snafoo?

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Answer 10

coruscate Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 12, 2011 8:04 PM in response to red_menace

Red_menace,

Both. The original script broke. Then I created a new script from scratch. Same result.

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Answer 11

red_menace

Level 6

17,030 points

Aug 12, 2011 9:03 PM in response to coruscate

Unfortunately, Automator has always been goofy; just about any change in a framework or application seems to break it. I'm not sure if this is an Automator issue or a Mail issue (my bet would be on Mail, which is another goofy application to automate), but Mail is not liking empty Cc or Bcc fields in the new message. A workaround would be to put something in both of those fields in the New Mail Message action (your own email address will do if you don't have anything else).

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Answer 12

Gryphon

Level 1

14 points

Aug 13, 2011 5:41 AM in response to red_menace

I agree whole-heartedly with Red: Automator has, and always has been goofy. (Most of the words I would have chosen would be slightly stronger than "goofy", but I'll restrain myself.) I've been having a terrible time getting my scripts to work since installing Lion.

That said, I have been able to finally get them to work, and Red's suggestion about filling in the CC and BCC fields seems to have done the trick for me.

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