UPDATED – Bug fix version forthcoming!
I kinda mentioned this program in an earlier entry, but I’ve been using it a lot lately, so I figure it’s worth going a little more in-depth about it.
SnailMail is a program that lets you print the addresses from the built in Mac OS X Address Book. You can print either a list of addresses, or you can create envelope layouts with defined areas for mailing address and return address. Those are the basics… The program has other features that make it really interesting.
You can choose which addresses to print either by selecting them from a list, or by adding them to a different group in the Address Book. I did run into an odd bug when printing batches of envelopes…
Basically, I had created two layouts, a large envelope for an invitation and a smaller return-envelope layout that swapped the two addresses from the large one. For the large layout I could select a group of addresses and print all the selected envelopes, but when I tried to print the same selection of addresses with the small, swapped layout, all it would produce was an error window saying that “No pages were printed.” The small envelopes printed fine when selected individually though…
I had one other minor quibble: when you switch envelope settings, it maintains the previous envelope’s font settings. It’d be nice if it treated the settings more like templates, maintaining alignment and font size along with the envelope’s dimensions and layout.
Those two things aside, the program has a marvelous selection of features. The preview window alone is a treat. You can set simple rules to customize nearly every aspect of the envelope’s layout, and you can use the cursor keys to wander through your addresses to see how they affect the output. Plus, you can have it print either USPS or Australian postal barcodes, so your local postal employees won’t cringe if you bring in a huge batch of envelopes.
Overall, I’d give the program an 8 out of 10. It’s fast, easy, and reliable.
UPDATE – Good things happen when you register shareware… I sent a bug note in to the author of the program and got a really quick response:
I’ve been able to reproduce the bug with my own install when I got home last night. It was (thankfully) an easy one to fix. Hopefully I’ll be able to release an updated version in a few days time (I just want to get the user manual moved into online help first).