EWS operations in Exchange

Find information about the EWS operations that are available in Exchange.

Exchange Web Services (EWS) provides many operations that enable you to access information from the Exchange store. The articles in this section provide information about the overall structure of the requests, responses, and error response messages for EWS operations, as well as XML examples for each operation. They provide an overview of the message structures that are sent between the client and the server. You can use this information to debug message structures and to find information about what you can do in an EWS request. For more information about what the XML structure represents, see - EWS XML elements in Exchange.

All EWS functionality is associated with a version of the schema. New EWS schema versions are introduced in new releases of Exchange Server or Exchange Online. The RequestServerVersion element contains a Version attribute that maps the server version to the schema version. This article provides information about when each operation was introduced. Specific functionality within an operation might require a later version of the service. The versioned schemas are implemented so that clients that are designed against an older version of EWS will work with a newer version of EWS.

These operations can target the EWS endpoint that services your mailbox. You can browse to the EWS endpoint by using a URL that is similar in structure to http://<clientaccessserver>.com/ews/exchange.asmx, where <clientaccessserver> is the Exchange Client Access server that services your mailbox. You can use Autodiscover to get the URL to the Client Access server that services your mailbox. For more information about Autodiscover, see Autodiscover for Exchange.

eDiscovery operations

The eDiscovery operations provide search operations for legal holds and identify mailbox data that cannot be indexed and returned in discovery search results.

The following table lists the eDiscovery operations.

Operation name Introduced in
GetDiscoverySearchConfiguration operation
Exchange 2013
GetHoldOnMailboxes operation
Exchange 2013
GetNonIndexableItemDetails operation
Exchange 2013
GetNonIndexableItemStatistics operation
Exchange 2013
GetSearchableMailboxes operation
Exchange 2013
SearchMailboxes operation
Exchange 2013
SetHoldOnMailboxes operation
Exchange 2013

Exchange mailbox data operations

The Exchange mailbox data operations enable clients to handle and organize items, folders, and attachments, as well as ambiguous name resolution and distribution list expansion. Exchange mailbox data operations include item, folder, attachment, and utilities operations.

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox data operations.

Operation name Introduced in
ArchiveItem operation
Exchange 2013
CreateItem operation
Exchange 2007
CopyItem operation
Exchange 2007
DeleteItem operation
Exchange 2007
FindItem operation
Exchange 2007
GetItem operation
Exchange 2007
MarkAllItemsAsRead operation
Exchange 2013
MoveItem operation
Exchange 2007
SendItem operation
Exchange 2007
UpdateItem operation
Exchange 2007

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox data folder operations.

Operation name Introduced in
CreateFolder operation
Exchange 2007
CreateFolderPath operation
Exchange 2013
CreateManagedFolder operation
Exchange 2007. This functionality has been deemphasized in versions of Exchange starting with Exchange 2010. For more information about how to migrate to using retention tags and policies for messaging records management, see Migrate from Managed Folders.
CopyFolder operation
Exchange 2007
DeleteFolder operation
Exchange 2007
EmptyFolder operation
Exchange 2010
FindFolder operation
Exchange 2007
GetFolder operation
Exchange 2007
MoveFolder operation
Exchange 2007
UpdateFolder operation
Exchange 2007

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox data attachment operations.

Operation name Introduced in
CreateAttachment operation
Exchange 2007
GetAttachment operation
Exchange 2007
DeleteAttachment operation
Exchange 2007

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox reminder operations.

Operation name Introduced in
GetReminders operation
Exchange 2013
PerformReminderAction operation
Exchange 2013

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox data conversation operations.

Operation name Introduced in
ApplyConversationAction operation
Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
FindConversation operation
Exchange 2010 SP1
GetConversationItems operation
Exchange 2013

The following table lists the Exchange mailbox data utilities operations.

Operation name Introduced in
ConvertId operation
Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1
ExpandDL operation
Exchange 2007
GetUserPhoto operation
Exchange 2013. This operation has both a REST and a SOAP implementation.
MarkAsJunk operation
Exchange 2013
ResolveNames operation
Exchange 2007
GetPasswordExpirationDate operation
Exchange 2010 SP1

Availability operations

The availability operations improve the calendar and free/busy sharing experience by providing more secure, up-to-date, and rich free/busy information. Free/busy data is a critical component of scheduling meetings. The availability operations provide a reliable foundation for effective scheduling.

The following table lists the availability operations.

Operation name Introduced in
GetUserAvailability operation
Exchange 2007
GetRoomLists operation
Exchange 2010
GetRooms operation
Exchange 2010
GetUserOofSettings operation
Exchange 2007
SetUserOofSettings operation
Exchange 2007

Bulk transfer operations

The bulk transfer operations enable clients to stream items into and out of a mailbox.

The following table lists the bulk transfer operations.

Operation name Introduced in
UploadItems operation
Exchange 2010 SP1
ExportItems operation
Exchange 2010 SP1

Delegate management operations

The delegate management operations enable clients to add, get, update, and remove delegates from their mailboxes.

The following table lists the delegate management operations.

Operation name Introduced in
AddDelegate operation
Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
GetDelegate operation
Exchange 2007 SP1
UpdateDelegate operation
Exchange 2007 SP1
RemoveDelegate operation
Exchange 2007 SP1

Inbox rules operations

The Inbox rules operations enable clients to get Inbox rules and update them for messages on the server. Inbox rules are sets of conditions and associated actions that enable clients to automatically organize, categorize, and act on messages as the messages are delivered to a folder.

The following table lists the Inbox rules operations.

Operation name Introduced in
GetInboxRules operation
Exchange 2010 SP1
UpdateInboxRules operation
Exchange 2010 SP1

Mail app management operations

The mail app management operations enable you to manage mail apps for Outlook. You can use these operations to install, uninstall, disable, and get information about mail apps that are available for Outlook Web App and Outlook 2013.

The following table lists the mail app management operations.

Operation name Introduced in
DisableApp operation
Exchange 2013
GetAppManifests operation
Exchange 2013
GetAppMarketplaceUrl operation
Exchange 2013
GetClientAccessToken operation
Exchange 2013
InstallApp operation
Exchange 2013
UninstallApp operation
Exchange 2013

Mail tips operation

The mail tips operation enables clients to request information from the server about recipient mailboxes when an author is composing a message. The following table lists the mail tips operation.

Operation name Introduced in
GetMailTips operation
Exchange 2010

Message tracking operations

The message tracking operations enable clients to find messages that meet specified criteria and to get detailed tracking information about each message in a message tracking report.

The following table lists the message tracking operations.

Operation name Introduced in
FindMessageTrackingReport operation
Exchange 2010
GetMessageTrackingReport operation
Exchange 2010

Notification operations

The notification operations notify the client application of events that are associated with items and folders a specified mailbox. The subscription model can be push-based, pull-based, or streaming-based.

The following table lists the notification operations.

Operation name Introduced in
GetEvents operation
Exchange 2007
GetStreamingEvents operation
Exchange 2010 SP1
Subscribe operation
Exchange 2007
Unsubscribe operation
Exchange 2007

Persona operations

The persona operations provide an interface to find and get information about a linked contact. The following table lists the persona operations.

Operation name Introduced in
FindPeople operation
Exchange 2013
GetPersona operation
Exchange 2013

Retention policy operation

The retention policy operation provides a list of all the retention tags that are linked to a user's retention policy.

The following table lists the retention policy operation.

Operation name Introduced in
GetUserRetentionPolicyTags operation
Exchange 2013

Service configuration operation

The service configuration operation enables clients to get configuration information for the Unified Messaging, Protection Rules, Policy Tips, and Mail Tips services.

The following table lists the service configuration operation.

Operation name Introduced in
GetServiceConfiguration operation
Exchange 2010

Sharing operations

The sharing operations enable clients to share calendar data and contacts data.

The following table lists the sharing operations.

Operation name Introduced in
CreateItem (AcceptSharingInvitation)
Exchange 2010. Although the CreateItem operation is applicable to all versions of EWS, the AcceptSharingInvitation response object is only applicable to EWS in versions of Exchange starting with Exchange 2010.
GetSharingFolder operation
Exchange 2010
GetSharingMetadata operation
Exchange 2010
RefreshSharingFolder operation
Exchange 2010

Synchronization operations

The synchronization operations provide a one-way synchronized cached copy of a user's folders and items.

The following table lists the synchronization operations.

Operation name Introduced in
SyncFolderHierarchy operation
Exchange 2007
SyncFolderItems operation
Exchange 2007

Time zone operation

The time zone operation enables clients to get a list of time zone definitions that are supported by the server.

The following table lists the time zone operation.

Operation name Introduced in
GetServerTimeZones operation
Exchange 2010

Unified Messaging operations

The Unified Messaging operations enable clients to read information about Unified Messaging properties and to play voice mail messages over the phone.

The following table lists the Unified Messaging operations.

Operation name Introduced in
DisconnectPhoneCall operation
Exchange 2010
GetPhoneCallInformation operation
Exchange 2010
PlayOnPhone operation (EWS)
Exchange 2010

Use the GetServiceConfiguration operation to get the Unified Messaging configuration information for a mailbox. Use the Unified Messaging web service for Unified Messaging applications that target Exchange 2007. For more information, see Unified Messaging web service reference for Exchange.

Unified Contact Store operations

The Unified Contact Store provides a consistent contact experience across Office products and acts as an integration point for third-party applications to use the same contact store. It enables users and applications to store, manage, and access contact information and make it available globally among Lync, Exchange 2013, Outlook, Outlook Web App, and any other application that implements access to the Unified Contact Store. Exchange is the content store for the Unified Contact Store experience.

The following table lists the Unified Contact Store operations.

Operation name Introduced in
AddNewImContactToGroup operation
Exchange 2013
AddImContactToGroup operation
Exchange 2013
AddImGroup operation
Exchange 2013
AddNewTelUriContactToGroup operation
Exchange 2013
AddDistributionGroupToImList operation
Exchange 2013
GetImItemList operation
Exchange 2013
GetImItems operation
Exchange 2013
RemoveContactFromImList operation
Exchange 2013
RemoveImContactFromGroup operation
Exchange 2013
RemoveDistributionGroupFromImList operation
Exchange 2013
RemoveImGroup operation
Exchange 2013
SetImGroup operation
Exchange 2013

User configuration operations

The user configuration operations enable clients to create, delete, get, and update user configuration information.

The following table lists the user configuration operations.

Operation name Introduced in
CreateUserConfiguration operation
Exchange 2010
DeleteUserConfiguration operation
Exchange 2010
GetUserConfiguration operation
Exchange 2010
UpdateUserConfiguration operation
Exchange 2010

See also