(Objective-C) IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

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

Chilkat Objective-C Library Downloads MAC OS X (Cocoa) Libs iOS Libs

#import <CkoImap.h>
#import <NSString.h>
#import <CkoMessageSet.h>
#import <CkoEmail.h>

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

CkoImap *imap = [[CkoImap alloc] init];

// Connect to an IMAP server.
imap.Ssl = YES;
imap.Port = [NSNumber numberWithInt:993];
BOOL success = [imap Connect: @"imap.example.com"];
if (success != YES) {
    NSLog(@"%@",imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

// Login
success = [imap Login: @"myLogin" password: @"myPassword"];
if (success != YES) {
    NSLog(@"%@",imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

// Select an IMAP mailbox
success = [imap SelectMailbox: @"Inbox"];
if (success != YES) {
    NSLog(@"%@",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.
NSString *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.
NSString *betweenDates = @"SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024";

// We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
BOOL fetchUids = YES;
CkoMessageSet *messageSet = [imap Search: betweenDates bUid: fetchUids];
if (imap.LastMethodSuccess == NO) {
    NSLog(@"%@",imap.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

NSLog(@"%@",[messageSet ToCompactString]);

// Download each email in the message set.
CkoEmail *email = 0;
int messageCount = [messageSet.Count intValue];
int i = 0;
while (i < messageCount) {
    email = [imap FetchSingle: [messageSet GetId: [NSNumber numberWithInt: i]] bUid: fetchUids];
    if (imap.LastMethodSuccess == NO) {
        NSLog(@"%@",imap.LastErrorText);

        return;
    }

    NSLog(@"%@",email.Subject);
    // ...

    i = i + 1;
}

// Disconnect from the IMAP server.
success = [imap Disconnect];