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Objective-C

Outlook -- Search Multiple Folders

See more Outlook Examples

I don't yet see how it's possible to do a recursive search of Outlook folders using the Microsoft Graph API. My best guess is to somehow use OData v4.0's $expand query option, but the hierarchical structure of the "mailFolder" and "messages" Microsoft Graph resources don't quite fit. Suggestions are welcome and can be sent to support@chilkatsoft.com.

This example will iterate over a list of folder previously obtained by a recursive traversal of the Outlook mail folders. (See the link in the example code below.)

A separate search is performed on each desired folder, and the results are combined into a single result set.

Note: This example requires Chilkat v9.5.0.68 or greater.

This example applies to: Exchange Online | Office 365 | Hotmail.com | Live.com | MSN.com | Outlook.com | Passport.com

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Objective-C
#import <CkoHttp.h>
#import <CkoXml.h>
#import <CkoJsonObject.h>
#import <CkoStringBuilder.h>

BOOL success = NO;

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

CkoHttp *http = [[CkoHttp alloc] init];

// Use your previously obtained access token here:
// See the following examples for getting an access token:
//    Get Microsoft Graph OAuth2 Access Token (Azure AD v2.0 Endpoint).
//    Get Microsoft Graph OAuth2 Access Token (Azure AD Endpoint).
//    Refresh Access Token (Azure AD v2.0 Endpoint).
//    Refresh Access Token (Azure AD Endpoint).

http.AuthToken = @"MICROSOFT_GRAPH_ACCESS_TOKEN";

// This example will iterate over the folders previously discovered by recursively traversing the Outlook folders
// as shown in this example:  Outlook Recursive Folder Traversal)

// The XML map produced by the recursive traversal looks like this:

// 	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
// 	<hashtable>
// 	<e><k>/Sent Items</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEJAAAA</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEMAAAA</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Junk Email</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEiAAAA</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox/xyz</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwEAAAA=</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox/abc/subFolderA/a</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwIAAAA=</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox/abc</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huv8AAAA=</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Outbox</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgELAAAA</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox/abc/subFolderA</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwAAAQ==</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Inbox/abc/subFolderB</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwMAAAA=</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Archive</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAG8XunwAAAA=</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Deleted Items</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEKAAAA</v></e>
// 	<e><k>/Drafts</k><v>AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEPAAAA</v></e>
// 	</hashtable>

// We'll iterate over the folders, and search all folders beginning with "/Inbox" (effectively, we're recursively searching
// everything under Inbox)
CkoXml *xmlMap = [[CkoXml alloc] init];
success = [xmlMap LoadXmlFile: @"qa_data/outlook/folderMap.xml"];
if (success != YES) {
    NSLog(@"%@",@"Failed to load XML folder map.");
    return;
}

// We're going to return just the message id, subject, and FROM name/address.
[http SetUrlVar: @"select" value: @"id,subject,from"];

// Our search will be for emails with the word "sample" in the subject.
[http SetUrlVar: @"filter" value: @"contains(subject,'sample')"];

CkoJsonObject *json = [[CkoJsonObject alloc] init];
json.EmitCompact = NO;

CkoJsonObject *jsonCombined = [[CkoJsonObject alloc] init];
jsonCombined.EmitCompact = NO;

CkoStringBuilder *sbResponse = [[CkoStringBuilder alloc] init];
CkoStringBuilder *sbPath = [[CkoStringBuilder alloc] init];
int numFolders = [xmlMap.NumChildren intValue];
int i = 0;
int j = 0;
int k = 0;
while (i < numFolders) {
    xmlMap.I = [NSNumber numberWithInt: i];
    [sbPath SetString: [xmlMap GetChildContent: @"e[i]|k"]];

    if ([sbPath StartsWith: @"/Inbox" caseSensitive: YES] == YES) {

        NSLog(@"%@",@"------------------------------------------------------------------");
        NSLog(@"%@%@",@"Searching ",[sbPath GetAsString]);

        // Search this mail folder..
        [http SetUrlVar: @"folder_id" value: [xmlMap GetChildContent: @"e[i]|v"]];

        [sbResponse Clear];
        success = [http QuickGetSb: @"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/mailFolders/{$folder_id}/messages?$filter={$filter}&$select={$select}" sbContent: sbResponse];
        if ((success != YES) && ([http.LastStatus intValue] == 0)) {
            NSLog(@"%@",http.LastErrorText);
            return;
        }

        [json LoadSb: sbResponse];

        if ([http.LastStatus intValue] != 200) {
            NSLog(@"%@%d",@"HTTP response status = ",[http.LastStatus intValue]);
            NSLog(@"%@",[json Emit]);
            NSLog(@"%@",@"Failed.");
            return;
        }

        NSLog(@"%@",[json Emit]);

        // Each mail folder search will return JSON with a value array, which is non-empty if any matching messages were found:

        // 			{
        // 			  "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEMAAAA')/messages(id,subject,from)",
        // 			  "value": [
        // 				Individual messages, if any, are listed here.
        // 			  ]
        // 			}

        int numMessages = [[json SizeOfArray: @"value"] intValue];
        j = 0;
        while (j < numMessages) {
            json.J = [NSNumber numberWithInt: j];

            // Add this message to the final result set.
            jsonCombined.K = [NSNumber numberWithInt: k];
            [jsonCombined UpdateString: @"value[k].folderPath" value: [sbPath GetAsString]];
            [jsonCombined UpdateString: @"value[k].id" value: [json StringOf: @"value[j].id"]];
            [jsonCombined UpdateString: @"value[k].subject" value: [json StringOf: @"value[j].subject"]];
            [jsonCombined UpdateString: @"value[k].from.emailAddress.name" value: [json StringOf: @"value[j].from.emailAddress.name"]];
            [jsonCombined UpdateString: @"value[k].from.emailAddress.address" value: [json StringOf: @"value[j].from.emailAddress.address"]];
            k = k + 1;

            j = j + 1;
        }

    }

    i = i + 1;
}

// Show the final combined JSON search result.
NSLog(@"%@",@"------------------------------------------------------------------");
NSLog(@"%@",@"Combined Search Results:");
NSLog(@"%@",[jsonCombined Emit]);

// Sample output for the above program:

// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEMAAAA')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//     {
//       "@odata.etag": "W/\"CQAAABYAAADn68XtMop0TpsYJGpfKXY9AADOpwfr\"",
//       "id": "AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgBGAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAcA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEMAAAA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAM6Jj10AAAA=",
//       "subject": "A sample email with Amazon in the body",
//       "from": {
//         "emailAddress": {
//           "name": "Chilkat Software",
//           "address": "support@chilkatsoft.com"
//         }
//       }
//     }
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox/xyz
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwEAAAA%3D')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox/abc/subFolderA/a
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwIAAAA%3D')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//     {
//       "@odata.etag": "W/\"CQAAABYAAADn68XtMop0TpsYJGpfKXY9AADOpzfb\"",
//       "id": "AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgBGAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAcA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwIAAADn68XtMop0TpsYJGpfKXY9AAAAzombFQAAAA==",
//       "subject": "Sample email from admin@chilkat.io",
//       "from": {
//         "emailAddress": {
//           "name": "Chilkat Software",
//           "address": "admin@chilkat.io"
//         }
//       }
//     }
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox/abc
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huv8AAAA%3D')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox/abc/subFolderA
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwAAAQ%3D%3D')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Searching /Inbox/abc/subFolderB
// {
//   "@odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#users('me')/mailFolders('AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgAuAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAEA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwMAAAA%3D')/messages(id,subject,from)",
//   "value": [
//   ]
// }
// 
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Combined Search Results:
// {
//   "value": [
//     {
//       "folderPath": "/Inbox",
//       "id": "AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgBGAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAcA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAgEMAAAA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAM6Jj10AAAA=",
//       "subject": "A sample email with Amazon in the body",
//       "from": {
//         "emailAddress": {
//           "name": "Chilkat Software",
//           "address": "support@chilkatsoft.com"
//         }
//       }
//     },
//     {
//       "folderPath": "/Inbox/abc/subFolderA/a",
//       "id": "AQMkADAwATM0MDAAMS1iNTcwLWI2NTEtMDACLTAwCgBGAAADsVyfxjDU406Ic4X7ill8xAcA5_vF7TKKdE6bGCRqXyl2PQAAAL8huwIAAADn68XtMop0TpsYJGpfKXY9AAAAzombFQAAAA==",
//       "subject": "Sample email from admin@chilkat.io",
//       "from": {
//         "emailAddress": {
//           "name": "Chilkat Software",
//           "address": "admin@chilkat.io"
//         }
//       }
//     }
//   ]
// }
//