I have a folder full of email files. I have an applescript that changes all the extensions to .txt so I can import them into my FMP file. I have two fields in my FMP file, the filename and the email text.

Everything works perfectly except the carriage returns that are in the email text seem to evaporate, making all the text run together.

I had done this same thing using email files from Entourage and all the carriage returns came over in the import. I am now trying to do the samething with email files from Mail and though I can see that they are there in the email files, they are not there when imported.

Any ideas? I am frustrated that it worked before with the other email system but doesn't work with this one.

Here is a technique to convert the line endings. I'm taking it from this info about AppleScript and the shell, from the Apple site:

By default, do shell script transforms all the line endings in the result to Mac-style carriage returns ("r" or ASCII character 13)...

This means, for example, that the result of do shell script "echo foo; echo bar" is "foorbar", not the "foonbarn" that echo actually returned. You can suppress both of these behaviors by adding the without altering line endings parameter.

I'm using "read" to get the contents of the file. It does not care whether its extension is "txt" or "emlx" (Mail). So I'm getting both.*

There is both an AppleScript file, just for viewing the full script (in pretty colors :-), and a FileMaker script, using Perform AppleScript. The script inside FileMaker is both shorter and faster.

The reason I put the tell app "FileMaker Pro Advanced" inside its own subroutine is so you don't have an FM tell inside a Finder tell block. So the tell FileMaker can be removed for Perform AppleScript.

* I realized that it is actually 2 steps to "read" with AppleScript, then convert with do shell script. It can be done in 1 step by reading the file with the shell command "cat". So this new file has both (I hope). They seem to both be fast; can't tell which is faster.

Unix_Text_files.zip

Unix_Text_files.zip

Edited October 4, 200619 yr by Guest
added cat

Fenton,

You are wonderful!! It works exactly like I want it to work. You helped me save hours of work!!! I wish I understood everything you did in that Applescript! But I know it works. Thanks again.

Bev at Our Town