B4X Requires Chilkat v11.0.0+

IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

Explains how to find emails by date using the IMAP protocol. B4X

Dim success As Boolean = False

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

Dim imap As ChilkatImap
imap.Initialize("imap")

'  Connect to an IMAP server.
imap.Ssl = True
imap.Port = 993
success = imap.Connect("imap.example.com")
If success = False Then
    Log(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If


'  Login
success = imap.Login("myLogin", "myPassword")
If success = False Then
    Log(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If


'  Select an IMAP mailbox
success = imap.SelectMailbox("Inbox")
If success = False Then
    Log(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If


'  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.
Dim onDate As String = "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.
Dim betweenDates As String = "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024"

'  We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
Dim fetchUids As Boolean = True

Dim messageSet As ChilkatMessageSet
messageSet.Initialize
success = imap.QueryMbx(betweenDates, fetchUids, messageSet)
If success = False Then
    Log(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If


Log(messageSet.ToCompactString)

'  Download each email in the message set.
Dim email As ChilkatEmail
email.Initialize
Dim messageCount As Int = messageSet.Count
Dim i As Int = 0
Do While i < messageCount
    success = imap.FetchEmail(False, messageSet.GetId(i), fetchUids, email)
    If success = False Then
        Log(imap.LastErrorText)
        Return
    End If


    Log(email.Subject)
    '  ...

    i = i + 1
Loop

'  Disconnect from the IMAP server.
success = imap.Disconnect