Xbase++ Requires Chilkat v11.0.0+

IMAP Find Emails by Date

See more IMAP Examples

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

LOCAL nSuccess
LOCAL oImap
LOCAL cOnDate
LOCAL cBetweenDates
LOCAL nFetchUids
LOCAL oMessageSet
LOCAL oEmail
LOCAL nMessageCount
LOCAL i

nSuccess := 0

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

oImap := CreateObject("Chilkat.Imap")

//  Connect to an IMAP server.
oImap:Ssl := 1
oImap:Port := 993
nSuccess := oImap:Connect("imap.example.com")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oImap:LastErrorText
    oImap:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  Login
nSuccess := oImap:Login("myLogin", "myPassword")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oImap:LastErrorText
    oImap:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  Select an IMAP mailbox
nSuccess := oImap:SelectMailbox("Inbox")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oImap:LastErrorText
    oImap:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

//  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.
cOnDate := "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.
cBetweenDates := "SENTSINCE 12-Apr-2024 SENTBEFORE 15-Apr-2024"

//  We can choose to fetch UIDs or sequence numbers.
nFetchUids := 1

oMessageSet := CreateObject("Chilkat.MessageSet")
nSuccess := oImap:QueryMbx(cBetweenDates, nFetchUids, oMessageSet)
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oImap:LastErrorText
    oImap:destroy()
    oMessageSet:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

? oMessageSet:ToCompactString()

//  Download each email in the message set.
oEmail := CreateObject("Chilkat.Email")
nMessageCount := oMessageSet:Count
i := 0
DO WHILE i < nMessageCount
    nSuccess := oImap:FetchEmail(0, oMessageSet:GetId(i), nFetchUids, oEmail)
    IF (nSuccess == 0)
        ? oImap:LastErrorText
        oImap:destroy()
        oMessageSet:destroy()
        oEmail:destroy()
        RETURN
    ENDIF

    ? oEmail:Subject
    //  ...

    i := i + 1
ENDDO

//  Disconnect from the IMAP server.
nSuccess := oImap:Disconnect()

oImap:destroy()
oMessageSet:destroy()
oEmail:destroy()