Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

Explains how to find emails by date using the IMAP protocol. Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

program ChilkatDemo;

// Demonstrates using the Chilkat Pascal wrapper via the C bridge DLL.
// Builds as a console application under Lazarus (FPC) or Delphi.

{$IFDEF FPC}
  {$MODE DELPHI}
{$ENDIF}
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}

uses
  {$IFDEF UNIX}
  cthreads,
  {$ENDIF}
  SysUtils,
  CkDllLoader,
  Chilkat.Imap,
  Chilkat.Email,
  Chilkat.MessageSet;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

procedure RunDemo;
var
  success: Boolean;
  imap: TImap;
  onDate: string;
  betweenDates: string;
  fetchUids: Boolean;
  messageSet: TMessageSet;
  email: TEmail;
  messageCount: Integer;
  i: Integer;

begin
  success := False;

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

  imap := TImap.Create;

  //  Connect to an IMAP server.
  imap.Ssl := True;
  imap.Port := 993;
  success := imap.Connect('imap.example.com');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(imap.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Login
  success := imap.Login('myLogin','myPassword');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(imap.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  Select an IMAP mailbox
  success := imap.SelectMailbox('Inbox');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(imap.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  //  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.
  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.
  betweenDates := 'SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024';

  //  We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
  fetchUids := True;

  messageSet := TMessageSet.Create;
  success := imap.QueryMbx(betweenDates,fetchUids,messageSet);
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(imap.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

  WriteLn(messageSet.ToCompactString());

  //  Download each email in the message set.
  email := TEmail.Create;
  messageCount := messageSet.Count;
  i := 0;
  while i < messageCount do
    begin
      success := imap.FetchEmail(False,messageSet.GetId(i),fetchUids,email);
      if (success = False) then
        begin
          WriteLn(imap.LastErrorText);
          Exit;
        end;

      WriteLn(email.Subject);
      //  ...

      i := i + 1;
    end;

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


  imap.Free;
  messageSet.Free;
  email.Free;

end;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

begin

  try
    RunDemo;
  except
    on E: Exception do
      WriteLn('Unhandled exception: ', E.ClassName, ': ', E.Message);
  end;

  WriteLn;
  {$IFDEF MSWINDOWS}
  WriteLn('Press Enter to exit...');
  ReadLn;
  {$ENDIF}
end.