Android™

IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

Explains how to find emails by date using the IMAP protocol. Android™

// Important: Don't forget to include the call to System.loadLibrary
// as shown at the bottom of this code sample.
package com.test;

import android.app.Activity;
import com.chilkatsoft.*;

import android.widget.TextView;
import android.os.Bundle;

public class SimpleActivity extends Activity {

  private static final String TAG = "Chilkat";

  // Called when the activity is first created.
  @Override
  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    boolean success = false;

    //  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
    //  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

    CkImap imap = new CkImap();

    //  Connect to an IMAP server.
    imap.put_Ssl(true);
    imap.put_Port(993);
    success = imap.Connect("imap.example.com");
    if (success == false) {
        Log.i(TAG, imap.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    //  Login
    success = imap.Login("myLogin","myPassword");
    if (success == false) {
        Log.i(TAG, imap.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    //  Select an IMAP mailbox
    success = imap.SelectMailbox("Inbox");
    if (success == false) {
        Log.i(TAG, imap.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    //  In the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) protocol, criteria strings are used to search for emails matching specific criteria on the mail server. 
    //  When searching for emails by date, you can use criteria strings to specify the date range you're interested in.
    //  
    //  IMAP provides several options for searching emails by date using criteria strings. Here are the commonly used ones:
    //  
    //  1. BEFORE: Searches for emails sent before a specific date.
    //     Example: BEFORE 01-Apr-2022
    //  
    //  2. ON: Searches for emails sent on a specific date.
    //     Example: ON 01-Apr-2022
    //  
    //  3. SINCE: Searches for emails sent after a specific date.
    //     Example: SINCE 01-Apr-2022
    //  
    //  4. SENTBEFORE: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is before a specific date.
    //     Example: SENTBEFORE 01-Apr-2022
    //  
    //  5. SENTON: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is on a specific date.
    //     Example: SENTON 01-Apr-2022
    //  
    //  6. SENTSINCE: Searches for emails whose date header (sent date) is after a specific date.
    //     Example: SENTSINCE 01-Apr-2022
    //  

    //  The date format used in IMAP criteria strings is typically a specific format like "DD-Mon-YYYY" (e.g., "01-Apr-2022"), but some servers may also accept other formats 
    //  such as "YYYY-MM-DD". It's essential to check the documentation or specifications of the IMAP server you're working with to ensure compatibility with the 
    //  date format you're using.
    //  
    //  By combining these date criteria strings with other search criteria (such as sender, recipient, subject, etc.), 
    //  you can effectively filter and retrieve emails based on various conditions.
    //  

    //  Search for messages on a specific date.
    //  The date string is DD-Month-YYYY where Month is
    //  Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, or Dec.
    String onDate = "SENTON 15-Apr-2024";

    //  Search for messages between two dates.  SENTBEFORE
    //  finds emails sent before a date, and SENTSINCE finds
    //  email sent on or after a date.  The "AND" operation
    //  is implied by joining criteria, separated by spaces.
    String betweenDates = "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024";

    //  We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
    boolean fetchUids = true;

    CkMessageSet messageSet = new CkMessageSet();
    success = imap.QueryMbx(betweenDates,fetchUids,messageSet);
    if (success == false) {
        Log.i(TAG, imap.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    Log.i(TAG, messageSet.toCompactString());

    //  Download each email in the message set.
    CkEmail email = new CkEmail();
    int messageCount = messageSet.get_Count();
    int i = 0;
    while (i < messageCount) {
        success = imap.FetchEmail(false,messageSet.GetId(i),fetchUids,email);
        if (success == false) {
            Log.i(TAG, imap.lastErrorText());
            return;
            }

        Log.i(TAG, email.subject());
        //  ...

        i = i + 1;
        }

    //  Disconnect from the IMAP server.
    success = imap.Disconnect();

  }

  static {
      System.loadLibrary("chilkat");

      // Note: If the incorrect library name is passed to System.loadLibrary,
      // then you will see the following error message at application startup:
      //"The application <your-application-name> has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."
  }
}