Can I set up an autoresponse script via Gmail to target a single person?
March 13, 2011 9:53 PM   Subscribe

Gmail question: Is there a way to set up a script to auto-respond to an email with included attachments? I asked a guy if I could send him my resumé and cover letter so he can circulate to relevant people at a staff meeting tomorrow, but he hasn't responded and I cannot be sure I will be awake to get his response before the meeting. It seems that it would be a faux pas to send them blindly after asking for his go-ahead. If this is possible, is there a way to do it only if a specific person emails you, or will it have to be an automatic response to anyone who emails me during this period?
posted by Alcibiades. to Technology (4 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
My thought is that if his reply tonight / tomorrow morning were along the lines of "Hey, I don't think I'll be able to circulate it at this staff meeting, but maybe you can just send it to so-and-so," then the auto-reply is going to be pretty weird--way, way weirder than sending it now and saying "Hey, I probably should have just included these earlier, but in the event that you might be able to circulate them, here's my resume and cover letter. Thanks again for anything you're able to do."
posted by Monsieur Caution at 10:02 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: I do, but it seems suboptimal when the guy could just flake, not respond, and then I sit here for three hours twiddling my .

you are correct, I should probably just risk the faux pas and send them anyway. however, I can also stand to learn how to do this if. If MeFi has an answer, learning will ensue. and learning rocks.

posted by Alcibiades. at 10:14 PM on March 13, 2011


Which is a bigger faux pas: you sending a "just in case" email, or him saying no, and you sending a "thanks! here they are!" email? Just send the just in case email, I can't even see this being a faux pas at all, whereas if he asks you anything, says no, or whatever else you can't predict, the auto-response that you send could be really bad.
posted by brainmouse at 10:21 PM on March 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


Best answer: You can set up a response to a specific person with filters.

First, open a new email, write the message, and use 'canned responses' drop down to save it as a new Canned Response.

Set up a filter using his address as the from, and choose 'send a canned response', and the response you set up.

Canned responses may be a Labs function, so you may first need to enable that feature in the Labs tab under settings, if you're not seeing canned response as an option when composing a new message. It's under the subject field, to the right of 'attach a file'.

That said, I agree with Monsieur Caution and brainmouse -- send them now rather than trying to codesmith this, because you'll look like an idiot if he says no and you auto-respond by sending them.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:37 PM on March 13, 2011


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