if name == 'main':

to test me: html2text.py media\html2text-test\htmlmail1.html

parse file name in commandline, display result in tkinter Text

file assumed to be in Unicode platform default, but text need not be

import sys, tkinter
text = open(sys.argv[1], 'r').read()
text = html2text(text)
t = tkinter.Text()
t.insert('1.0', text)
t.pack()
t.mainloop()

After this example and chapter had been written and finalized, I did a

search for HTML-to-text translators on the Web to try to find better

options, and I discovered a Python-coded solution which is much more

complete and robust than the simple prototype script here. Regrettably,

I also discovered that this system is named the same as the script

listed here!

This was unintentional and unforeseen (alas, developers are predis-

posed to think alike). For details on this more widely tested and much

better alternative, search the Web for html2text. It’s open source, but

follows the GPL license, and is available only for Python 2.X at this

writing (e.g., it uses the 2.X sgmllib which has been removed in favor

of the new html.parser in 3.X). Unfortunately, its GPL license may raise

copyright concerns if shipped with PyMailGUI in this book’s example

package or otherwise; worse, its 2.X status means it cannot be used at

all with this book’s 3.X examples today.

There are additional plain-text extractor options on the Web worth

checking out, including BeautifulSoup and yet another named

html2text.py (no, really!). They also appear to be available for just 2.X

today, though naturally, this story may change by the time you read this

note. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel, unless existing wheels

don’t fit your cart!

mailconfig: User Configurations

In Example 14-9, PyMailGUI’s mailconfig user settings module is listed. This program
has its own version of this module because many of its settings are unique for PyMail-
GUI. To use the program for reading your own email, set its initial variables to reflect
your POP and SMTP server names and login parameters. The variables in this module
also allow the user to tailor the appearance and operation of the program without
finding and editing actual program logic.

As is, this is a single-account configuration. We could generalize this module’s code to
allow for multiple email accounts, selected by input at the console when first imported;

PyMailGUI Implementation| 1105