(Java) Download and Save Email Attachments (POP3)

See more POP3 Examples

Downloads emails from a POP3 mailbox and saves all attachments.

Chilkat Java Downloads Java Libs for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Alpine Linux, Solaris Java Libs for Android

import com.chilkatsoft.*;

public class ChilkatExample {

  static {
    try {
        System.loadLibrary("chilkat");
    } catch (UnsatisfiedLinkError e) {
      System.err.println("Native code library failed to load.\n" + e);
      System.exit(1);
    }
  }

  public static void main(String argv[])
  {
    // This example assumes the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
    // See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

    // The mailman object is used for receiving (POP3) 
    // and sending (SMTP) email.
    CkMailMan mailman = new CkMailMan();

    // Set the POP3 server's hostname
    mailman.put_MailHost("pop.yourserver.com");

    // Set the POP3 login/password.
    mailman.put_PopUsername("***");
    mailman.put_PopPassword("***");

    // Copy the all email from the user's POP3 mailbox 
    // into a bundle object.  The email remains on the server.
    // CopyMail is a reasonable choice for POP3 maildrops that don't have too many
    // emails. For larger mail drops, one might download emails one at a time..
    CkEmailBundle bundle = mailman.CopyMail();
    if (mailman.get_LastMethodSuccess() != true) {
        System.out.println(mailman.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    // The directory path can be relative or absolute.
    // This shows a Windows style directory path.  On other operating systems, the path
    // would be different..
    String dirPath = "c:/myAttachments";

    boolean success;
    int bundleIndex = 0;
    int numMessages = bundle.get_MessageCount();
    CkEmail email;
    while ((bundleIndex < numMessages)) {
        email = bundle.GetEmail(bundleIndex);

        // Save all attachments to the specified directory.
        // The directory is automatically created if it does not yet exist.
        success = email.SaveAllAttachments(dirPath);
        if (success != true) {
            System.out.println(email.lastErrorText());
            return;
            }

        // The OverwriteExisting property controls whether already-existing files
        // are automatically overwritten.  By default, it is set to true so that existing
        // files will be overwritten.

        // Setting OverwriteExisting = false will cause the attachment-saving methods to generate
        // unique filenames if a file with the same name already exists.  The actual filename(s)
        // saved will be present by calling GetAttachmentFilename for each attachment *after*
        // saving.
        // For example...
        email.put_OverwriteExisting(false);
        success = email.SaveAllAttachments(dirPath);
        if (success != true) {
            System.out.println(email.lastErrorText());
            return;
            }

        int numAttachments = email.get_NumAttachments();
        int attachIndex = 0;
        while ((attachIndex < numAttachments)) {
            // If the attachment filename was changed to prevent overwriting,
            // GetAttachmentFilename will return the new filename.
            System.out.println(email.getAttachmentFilename(attachIndex));
            attachIndex = attachIndex+1;
            }

        // Attachments can also be saved individually.
        attachIndex = 0;
        while ((attachIndex < numAttachments)) {

            System.out.println("Original Filename: " + email.getAttachmentFilename(attachIndex));
            success = email.SaveAttachedFile(attachIndex,dirPath);
            if (success != true) {
                System.out.println(email.lastErrorText());
                return;
                }

            // If OverwriteExisting = true, the saved filename will always equal the original filename,
            // unless there are characters present in the filename that are not allowed by Windows,
            // such as * ? < > | etc.  In those cases the illegal characters are either removed or replaced
            // with underscore characters to allow the file to be saved.
            System.out.println("Saved Filename: " + email.getAttachmentFilename(attachIndex));
            attachIndex = attachIndex+1;
            }

        bundleIndex = bundleIndex+1;
        }
  }
}