# Create email list from database **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** ignition79\ **Created:** [February 25, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568 "2022-02-25T13:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Mike_W_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568/1 "2022-02-25T13:38:37Z")
I am trying to use the system.net.sendEmail to distribute emails dynamically from email addresses stored in DB. I can type them in manually and the function works. When I try to dynamically build the list I get the following error “GatewayException: Could not send email because none of the recipients had valid email addresses.” I see exactly why this is happening and so here is where I need help: - database has email addresses stored in the following format: [bob@gmail.com](mailto:bob@gmail.com) - I run a scalar query to get the items and it returns the following format: “[bob@gmail.com](mailto:bob@gmail.com)”,"tom@gmail.com" [query code] email = system.db.runScalarQuery(""“SELECT STUFF (( SELECT ',”’ + Email+ ‘"’ FROM SYS\_EWO\_Email where pillar = ‘%s’ FOR XML PATH (’’)),1,1,’’) as email"""%(pillar),“MFG\_SVCS”) here is where I need help. I don’t know how to turn this into a list. What I am attempting to do is just add brackets to the unicode string: to = “[”+email+"]" this gives me [“[bob@gmail.com](mailto:bob@gmail.com)”,"tom@gmail.com"] type unicode. My overall question is how do I make a list (an email list) from the database? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568/2 "2022-02-25T15:30:30Z")
Stop running a _scalar_ query (which returns a single value). If you switch to `sytem.db.run(Prep)Query`, you will get a PyDataset of results back. PyDatasets act roughly the same as a nested Python list-of-lists; see [the user manual](https://docs.inductiveautomation.com/display/DOC81/Datasets#Datasets-AccessingDatainaPyDataset). So you can iterate your returned list directly and extract the list of email addresses that way. I mentioned `runPrepQuery` above because any string substitution using `%s` is potentially subject to a SQL injection attack. `runPrepQuery` avoids this problem by issuing a proper prepared statement to the DB. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Mike_W_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568/3 "2022-02-25T15:46:15Z")
Thanks. I was running a prepQuery up until this morning but for some reason I was stuck in my mind of needing to return them all in one query - hence the ‘for xml’. I did as you advised and it is working. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Mike\_W\_Mahoney](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Mike_W_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568/4 "2022-02-25T16:12:57Z")
OK - ultimately I was trying to get to where I was sending a report out using the system.report.executeAndDistribute() In the manual it clearly calls out " Note: _To_ , _cc_ , _bcc_ , and _replyTo_ must be Python lists.". Using the code that worked for system.net.sendEmail fails with an error stating “$PyDataSet cannot be cast to org.python.core.PyList”. -Just for clarification, I can type the emails in manually and the script works and sends email. Any advice for this scripting function? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/create-email-list-from-database/56568/5 "2022-02-25T16:17:55Z")
7.9 is worse at this in a couple crucial ways: for one, PyDatasets and PyRows don’t pretend to be lists very well, and most scripting functions don’t do very intelligent type-checking on what you pass into them. The first thing I would try is `list(yourData)` to try to coerce it into a list. The second thing I’d try, if that doesn’t work, is a list comprehension: `[value for value in yourData]`.