(DataFlex) IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

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

Chilkat ActiveX Downloads ActiveX for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows

Use ChilkatAx-win32.pkg

Procedure Test
    Handle hoImap
    Boolean iSuccess
    String sOnDate
    String sBetweenDates
    Boolean iFetchUids
    Variant vMessageSet
    Handle hoMessageSet
    Variant vEmail
    Handle hoEmail
    Integer iMessageCount
    Integer i
    String sTemp1
    Integer iTemp1
    Boolean bTemp1

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

    Get Create (RefClass(cComChilkatImap)) To hoImap
    If (Not(IsComObjectCreated(hoImap))) Begin
        Send CreateComObject of hoImap
    End

    // Connect to an IMAP server.
    Set ComSsl Of hoImap To True
    Set ComPort Of hoImap To 993
    Get ComConnect Of hoImap "imap.example.com" To iSuccess
    If (iSuccess <> True) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoImap To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    // Login
    Get ComLogin Of hoImap "myLogin" "myPassword" To iSuccess
    If (iSuccess <> True) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoImap To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    // Select an IMAP mailbox
    Get ComSelectMailbox Of hoImap "Inbox" To iSuccess
    If (iSuccess <> True) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoImap To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    // 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.
    Move "SENTON 15-Apr-2024" To sOnDate

    // 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.
    Move "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024" To sBetweenDates

    // We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
    Move True To iFetchUids
    Get ComSearch Of hoImap sBetweenDates iFetchUids To vMessageSet
    If (IsComObject(vMessageSet)) Begin
        Get Create (RefClass(cComChilkatMessageSet)) To hoMessageSet
        Set pvComObject Of hoMessageSet To vMessageSet
    End
    Get ComLastMethodSuccess Of hoImap To bTemp1
    If (bTemp1 = False) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoImap To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    Get ComToCompactString Of hoMessageSet To sTemp1
    Showln sTemp1

    // Download each email in the message set.

    Get ComCount Of hoMessageSet To iMessageCount
    Move 0 To i
    While (i < iMessageCount)
        Get ComGetId Of hoMessageSet i To iTemp1
        Get ComFetchSingle Of hoImap iTemp1 iFetchUids To vEmail
        If (IsComObject(vEmail)) Begin
            Get Create (RefClass(cComChilkatEmail)) To hoEmail
            Set pvComObject Of hoEmail To vEmail
        End
        Get ComLastMethodSuccess Of hoImap To bTemp1
        If (bTemp1 = False) Begin
            Get ComLastErrorText Of hoImap To sTemp1
            Showln sTemp1
            Send Destroy of hoMessageSet
            Procedure_Return
        End

        Get ComSubject Of hoEmail To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        // ...
        Send Destroy of hoEmail
        Move (i + 1) To i
    Loop

    // Disconnect from the IMAP server.
    Get ComDisconnect Of hoImap To iSuccess

    Send Destroy of hoMessageSet


End_Procedure