How to Add Zip Compression to Your Python Mailing Script

Learn how to modify your Python mailing script to add `zip compression` for large attachments, ensuring your reports get delivered even if they exceed email size limits.
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Adding Zip Compression to Your Python Mailing Script: A Step-by-Step Guide

When working with Python scripts to send emails, handling large file attachments can be a challenge. Limits set by email providers on attachment sizes mean that files exceeding a certain size, such as 25MB, can often get dropped, leading to frustrations when sending reports. This post addresses this common problem by introducing how you can modify your Python mailing script to automatically compress oversized attachments using zip before sending.

The Problem: Attachment Size Limits

Many email services impose strict limits on the size of attachments. For example, you might be limited to files no larger than 25MB. If your attachment exceeds this size—even just slightly—it won't be sent.

In our case, we want to ensure that reports in JSON format do not get lost due to their size. The solution is to add a zip option, automatically compressing files that exceed a specific size (in this case, 15MB) before sending.

The Solution: Modifying the Email Script

We will modify the existing Python email script by incorporating a zip compression feature. Here’s a breakdown of how we can achieve this.

Step 1: Import Necessary Libraries

Make sure you have the required libraries at the top of your script:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Set Constants

Define a constant for the maximum attachment size:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Check Attachment Size and Compress if Necessary

Within the send_mail function, you will want to read the attachment and conditionally compress it if it exceeds our defined threshold:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Code:

Reading the File: The script reads the file in binary mode.

Checking the Size: It checks if the attachment's byte length exceeds the MAX_ATTACHMENT_SIZE.

Compression: If the file size is too large, it uses an in-memory buffer (BytesIO) to create a zip file. The original file is written into this zip file.

Setting the New Attachment: The newly zipped attachment's name is set by appending .zip to the original file name.

Step 4: Sending the Mail

Finally, the modified attachment (either zipped or original) is attached to the email message and sent through the configured SMTP server.

Conclusion

Adding zip compression to your Python mailing script can be a straightforward process that significantly enhances your ability to send larger files. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your email attachments don't get dropped due to size constraints, thereby maintaining the integrity and delivery of your reports.

Now give it a try! Modify your script and see just how easy it can be to send those larger files effortlessly.