(Xojo Plugin) IMAP Find Emails by Date

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

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

Dim imap As New Chilkat.Imap

// Connect to an IMAP server.
imap.Ssl = True
imap.Port = 993
Dim success As Boolean
success = imap.Connect("imap.example.com")
If (success <> True) Then
    System.DebugLog(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

// Login
success = imap.Login("myLogin","myPassword")
If (success <> True) Then
    System.DebugLog(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

// Select an IMAP mailbox
success = imap.SelectMailbox("Inbox")
If (success <> True) Then
    System.DebugLog(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
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.
Dim betweenDates As String
betweenDates = "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024"

// We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
Dim fetchUids As Boolean
fetchUids = True
Dim messageSet As Chilkat.MessageSet
messageSet = imap.Search(betweenDates,fetchUids)
If (imap.LastMethodSuccess = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(imap.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

System.DebugLog(messageSet.ToCompactString())

// Download each email in the message set.
Dim email As Chilkat.Email
Dim messageCount As Int32
messageCount = messageSet.Count
Dim i As Int32
i = 0
While i < messageCount
    email = imap.FetchSingle(messageSet.GetId(i),fetchUids)
    If (imap.LastMethodSuccess = False) Then
        System.DebugLog(imap.LastErrorText)

        Return
    End If

    System.DebugLog(email.Subject)
    // ...

    i = i + 1
Wend

// Disconnect from the IMAP server.
success = imap.Disconnect()