Send an email at a specified time

Support & Help Requests
1

Is there a way to send an email at a specified time without using a cronjob?

Using firefox or Thunderbird.

Thanks, gentlemen and scholars.

1 Like
2

Yes, for instance by using 'at' :

at 6 am <<<'your_command'

See the man page for all the possibilities that 'at' can offer

This should (theoretically) also run (but I've never checked if it does) :

systemd-run --on-calendar='2021-06-22T23:00' your_command

EDIT:
Just tested the systemd-run command,
with a minor change it does indeed work:

systemd-run --user --on-calendar='12:08' touch something

did indeed create a file in my homedirectory at 12:08 named 'something'

5 Likes
3

Assuming traditional email, two ways:

  • If you use an online web mail provider, like Google or Zoho. They might have a "Schedule Send" option near the "Send" button. If you were drafting it in a mail client locally, you could save as a draft and open the email in the browser to do the scheduled send. :mailbox: Server takes care of the delivery.

  • Locally, if you're using Thunderbird, there is a Send Later add-on that extends the existing File → Send Later feature by specifying a time. I haven't used it, but that could work if you prefer a local solution and don't mind leaving the computer running.

6 Likes
4

I edited my post to be more specific.

(My un-treated pain is a real "firetrucking" "bee-otch.")

I struggle just typing this.

5

I dled the addon.

I followed the directions for installing it, but got confused.

I may as well learn how to use Thunderbird instead of yahoo and gmail with Firefox.

My mobile hotspot looks like this.

slow
slow1360×768 9.9 KB

(I know that Roost Mobile is bottom tier, but do you think the network speed is slightly slow? )

6

:warning: Turns out the add-on has a data corruption warning if used between versions 128 and 135.0 beta 1. If your Thunderbird is an older version (should be if you use Ubuntu MATE 22.04):

Installing the add-on can be done easily inside Thunderbird.

  1. Press ALT to reveal the menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc) if it's hidden.
  2. Click Tools → Add-ons and Themes
  3. In the search bar, type "send later"
  4. This will open a tab (web page) with the add-on search results, click "Add to Thunderbird" next to the Send Later extension.
  5. A permission prompt will appear, click "Add" to accept.

After installing:

  1. At first, it asks for anonymous data collection, accept or reject at will.
  2. It also opens a tab with release notes.... then that's where I see a data corruption warning for Thunderbird 128.

To use:

  • It should pop up when you click File → Send Later on a draft email. Since I'm on Thunderbird 128.6.0esr. I'm not risking data corruption by trying it.

Personally, I would use the web mail interface for scheduling emails. It's more reliable server-side. But I understand a local client would work better for you as you're working with bandwidth limits.

Without the extension, File → Send Later still works, it just won't send and sit in the Outbox until you right click the folder and click "Send unsent messages", so it would be a manual way.

2 Likes
7

Here is why I could use that. There are things that interfere with my sleep.

Like a surgery that went wrong and I have to go to the bathroom 15 times a day.

I do not want an email going out at 3:34 a.m. if I forget how late it is due to my 69- ish age.

It can make my recipients upset. :slight_smile: