TI MailMerge
TI MailMerge
Embedded Files
Team Innovate MailMerge
Team Innovate MailMerge
TIMM is a G Suite Add-On for Google Sheets that is available now for lacity.org. TIMM is used to send customized emails to a list of addresses using Gmail and Google Sheets. This 10 minute video covers installation and usage of TIMM, as well as applications and limitations.
TIMM Installation
TIMM Installation
Open a new or existing Google Sheet.
In the menu, click Add-ons > Get Add-ons.. (you may have to wait a few seconds and try again)
Click the dropdown in the top-left and select For lacity.org
If you don't see it yet, search: TI MailMerge
Click TI MailMerge, then click +Free or Install
Choose the account to install it on.
Review permissions. TIMM is trustworthy, as it is published by lacity.org. Scroll down and click Allow.
Now all of your sheets will have a TI MailMerge menu under Add-ons.
Using TI MailMerge
Using TI MailMerge
Compose Draft Template in Gmail
Before you start, you'll need a draft email to Merge. Compose a new email in Gmail. Fill in the subject and body as you wish. Variables in double curly braces like {{variable}} {{firstname}} {{appt time}} {{pronoun}} {{score}} will be a field you can fill out on the spreadsheet. At least one variable is required, in the body or subject. The draft email can include attachments, html, inline images, and some emoji. The recipient fields are not used. Don't click Send; the draft can be closed when it is composed.
Open TI MailMerge Sidebar
Open any Google Sheet or create a new Sheet.
In the menu: Add-ons > TIMM > Open Sidebar
If you have hundreds of Drafts, TIMM might take a minute to load up.
Fill out TIMM Sidebar and Spreadsheet
1. In the sidebar: Select the draft you created. The first dropdown is a list of subject lines from your Gmail drafts. If your draft isn't there, make sure it is in Gmail Drafts and has at least 1 {{variable}} in the body or subject, then reload the sheet.
2. Click the Get Draft Fields button. This will create a tab on the spreadsheet called TIMM and set the column headers on that sheet to the {{variables}} found in the Draft you selected.
3. Pick your "Send From" address in the second dropdown, which has a list of your email address, any aliases, and groups that you can send mail from.
4. Your "Send As" name is the name displayed on emails TIMM sends and can be anything you want. If you leave this blank, only your email address will be shown. Example Send As <Send.From@lacity.org>
5. The Reserve Quota should be set to a number higher than the number of emails you send per day. Gmail allows you to send up to 1500 per 24 hours. If your MailMerge job is to more than 1500 addresses, this field will prevent TIMM from using up your entire Gmail quota.
6. Fill out the spreadsheet. You should first test sending one to yourself to make sure your draft looks right. Don't fill out the TIMMStatus column.
7. Click Start MailMerge at the bottom of the sidebar.
8. Status is updated in the top of the sidebar, the TIMM Status column, and cell A1. You can also see the emails in your Sent box in Gmail.
9. Watch as your rows go from Queued to Sent. TIMM will process about 1 row per 5 seconds and updates the sheet when it finishes a batch. The first batch will finish after 1 minute, the following batches will start every hour and run for 5 minutes. The 1 hour per batch is a G Suite add-on limitation. You can speed up large batches by pressing the Continue MailMerge button every 5 minutes.
10. If you performed a test run, verify that the message looks as expected in gmail. Then you can remove the row for your test email and return to Step 6.
If you need to re-run your MailMerge, be aware that the status of all rows will reset to Queued and be sent again, even if they sent correctly the first time. If you want to preserve the status of your first MailMerge, you can rename the TIMM sheet tab to something else and click Get Draft Fields to make a new TIMM sheet tab, then copy the rows you want to send from your old tab to the new tab.
Report abuse