1

I have to send reports to internal staff.

  1. These reports will be sent via email (Outlook for the most part).
  2. New reports are sent out daily.

The standard solution would be to send an HTML formatted email. If we had only one or two reports this would not be a problem - but there are a lot of reports, each with a different format. And, as we're using Outlook everything must be in tables and we have to use inline styles. Yukk.

As it happens we are not sending the ENTIRE report in the email. We're only sending the cover page and the users will then click to go to the company intranet and view the complete report there.

One solution that would work (we tested it) would be to take a screenshot (Windows - PRTSC; Snag-It), crop it and then paste that in an email.

So the question is: Is there a software which could be part of the following process:

  1. System runs batch job
  2. HTTP request calls file
  3. Take Screen-shot (jpg); Crop-Screenshot
  4. Save screen shot
    Repeat steps 2-4
  5. Send emails with images
Improve this question
10
  • 3
    Please edit your question. Your title is very misleading, because it has nothing to do with screenshots. You probably meant 'snapshots', but you will have to give a much better description of the data you will have to send: "that day's data" and "lots of reports in a diferent format" is too vague. What kind of data formats, where is its source? Also: what OS, price? Read meta.softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/336/…
    – user416
    Mar 20, 2015 at 18:43
  • 1
    And do you really have to convert everything into an HTML email formatted email without attachments? Than your actual issue is how to do that, not how to send email. Please read meta.stackexchange.com/questions/66377/what-is-the-xy-problem/…
    – user416
    Mar 20, 2015 at 18:44
  • @JanDoggen - I mean a screenshot (a jpg).
    – Mayo
    Mar 20, 2015 at 20:29
  • 1
    @RockPaperLizard - I have steps 1,2 and 5. I can call a chron job, and send out an HTML formatted email with the required data. It would be very time consuming to write the table based HTML for the email. However if a "screenshot" can be taken, saved as a jpg and then insert the img src into the email then "VOILA" business people are happy and we don't spend weeks writing table based layouts. (There are a LOT of reports.)
    – Mayo
    Mar 20, 2015 at 22:24
  • 1
    @Agostino - You're correct a .png would be better than a .jpg; and the image is, except for graphs and the logo, entirely text.
    – Mayo
    Mar 23, 2015 at 16:27

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

You say in a comment above, "I have steps 1,2 and 5.

Then you only need 3 & 4 - something that you can run from the command line (as a cron job) to take a screenshot of a given URL ...

"webkit2png is a command line tool that creates screenshots of webpages".

The program is for Linux (which I am inferring from your mention of a cron job). I am sure that there is a Windows equivalent, if needed)

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.