C++

Search an IMAP Mailbox

Demonstrates the Chilkat Imap.QueryMbx method, which searches the selected mailbox using IMAP search criteria and stores the matching message identifiers in a MessageSet. If bUid is true, the identifiers are UIDs; otherwise they are sequence numbers. This example finds unseen messages and lists their UIDs.

Background: IMAP search runs on the server, so you can find matching messages without downloading them. The criteria string is standard IMAP search syntax — for example UNSEEN, FROM "alice@example.com", SUBJECT "invoice", or SINCE 1-Jan-2026 — and terms can be combined. The result is a MessageSet of identifiers you then fetch, flag, copy, or move. Requesting UIDs (bUid = true) is preferred because UIDs remain valid across sessions.

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C++

#include <CkImap.h>
#include <CkMessageSet.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    bool success = false;

    //  Demonstrates the Imap.QueryMbx method, which searches the selected mailbox using IMAP
    //  search criteria and stores the matching message identifiers in a MessageSet.  If bUid is
    //  true, the identifiers are UIDs; otherwise they are sequence numbers.

    CkImap imap;

    imap.put_Ssl(true);
    imap.put_Port(993);

    success = imap.Connect("imap.example.com");
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << imap.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    success = imap.Login("user@example.com","myPassword");
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << imap.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    success = imap.SelectMailbox("Inbox");
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << imap.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    //  Search for unseen (unread) messages, returning their UIDs.
    CkMessageSet msgSet;
    success = imap.QueryMbx("UNSEEN",true,msgSet);
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << imap.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    //  Iterate the matching message identifiers.
    int n = msgSet.get_Count();
    std::cout << "Matching messages: " << n << "\r\n";
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i <= n - 1; i++) {
        std::cout << "UID: " << msgSet.GetId(i) << "\r\n";
    }

    success = imap.Disconnect();
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << imap.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }
    }