(Tcl) Download and Save Email Attachments (POP3)

See more POP3 Examples

Downloads emails from a POP3 mailbox and saves all attachments.

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load ./chilkat.dll

# 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.
set mailman [new_CkMailMan]

# Set the POP3 server's hostname
CkMailMan_put_MailHost $mailman "pop.yourserver.com"

# Set the POP3 login/password.
CkMailMan_put_PopUsername $mailman "***"
CkMailMan_put_PopPassword $mailman "***"

# 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..
# bundle is a CkEmailBundle
set bundle [CkMailMan_CopyMail $mailman]
if {[CkMailMan_get_LastMethodSuccess $mailman] != 1} then {
    puts [CkMailMan_lastErrorText $mailman]
    delete_CkMailMan $mailman
    exit
}

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

set bundleIndex 0
set numMessages [CkEmailBundle_get_MessageCount $bundle]
# email is a CkEmail

while {$bundleIndex < $numMessages} {
    set email [CkEmailBundle_GetEmail $bundle $bundleIndex]

    # Save all attachments to the specified directory.
    # The directory is automatically created if it does not yet exist.
    set success [CkEmail_SaveAllAttachments $email $dirPath]
    if {$success != 1} then {
        puts [CkEmail_lastErrorText $email]
        delete_CkMailMan $mailman
        exit
    }

    # The OverwriteExisting property controls whether already-existing files
    # are automatically overwritten.  By default, it is set to 1 so that existing
    # files will be overwritten.

    # Setting OverwriteExisting = 0 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...
    CkEmail_put_OverwriteExisting $email 0
    set success [CkEmail_SaveAllAttachments $email $dirPath]
    if {$success != 1} then {
        puts [CkEmail_lastErrorText $email]
        delete_CkMailMan $mailman
        exit
    }

    set numAttachments [CkEmail_get_NumAttachments $email]
    set attachIndex 0
    while {$attachIndex < $numAttachments} {
        # If the attachment filename was changed to prevent overwriting,
        # GetAttachmentFilename will return the new filename.
        puts [CkEmail_getAttachmentFilename $email $attachIndex]
        set attachIndex [expr $attachIndex + 1]
    }

    # Attachments can also be saved individually.
    set attachIndex 0
    while {$attachIndex < $numAttachments} {

        puts "Original Filename: [CkEmail_getAttachmentFilename $email $attachIndex]"
        set success [CkEmail_SaveAttachedFile $email $attachIndex $dirPath]
        if {$success != 1} then {
            puts [CkEmail_lastErrorText $email]
            delete_CkMailMan $mailman
            exit
        }

        # If OverwriteExisting = 1, 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.
        puts "Saved Filename: [CkEmail_getAttachmentFilename $email $attachIndex]"
        set attachIndex [expr $attachIndex + 1]
    }
    delete_CkEmail $email

    set bundleIndex [expr $bundleIndex + 1]
}

delete_CkEmailBundle $bundle


delete_CkMailMan $mailman