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Searching for a Message

Searching for a Message

To access a message, you can search for it using one of the following techniques:

  • Call the Session object’s GetMessage method with a string parameter that specifies the MessageID, a unique identifier for the message.
  • Use the Get methods to navigate through the folder’s Messages collection. Search for a specific message by comparing the current Message object’s properties with the desired properties.
  • Obtain a MessageFilter object from the Filter property of the Messages collection. Set the desired properties for filtering, and then use the Get methods, which return only the messages matching the filter settings.

Using the Session Object’s GetMessage Method

When you know the unique identifier for the message you are looking for, you can call the Session object’s GetMessage method.

The message identifier specifies a unique identifier that is created for the Message object at the time it is created. The identifier is accessible through the Message object’s ID property.

The following code fragment contains code that saves the identifier for the message, then uses it in a subsequent GetMessage call:

' Function: Session_GetMessage
' Purpose: Demonstrate how to set a message object using GetMessage
' See documentation topic: GetMessage method (Session object)
Function Session_GetMessage()
    On Error GoTo error_olemsg

    If objSession Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "No active session, must log on"
        Exit Function
    End If
    If strMessageID = "" Then
        MsgBox ("Must first set Message ID variable; see Message->ID")
        Exit Function
    End If
    Set objOneMsg = objSession.GetMessage(strMessageID)
    If objOneMsg Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "Unable to retrieve message with specified ID"
        Exit Function
    End If
    MsgBox "GetMessage returned msg with subject: " & objOneMsg.Subject
    Exit Function

error_olemsg:
    MsgBox "Error " & Str(Err) & ": " & Error$(Err)
    Set objOneMsg = Nothing
    MsgBox "Message is no longer available"
    Exit Function
End Function
 

Using the Get Methods

When you are looking for a message within a Messages collection, you can navigate through the collection, examining properties of each Message object to determine if it is the message you want.

The CDO Library supports the GetFirst, GetNext, GetLast, and GetPrevious methods for the Messages collection object. You can also use the Visual Basic For Each construction to traverse the collection.

Note that, with the CDO Library version 1.1 and later, you can use a MessageFilter object to restrict a search with the Get methods. Obtain the message filter through the Messages collection’s Filter property, set the filter’s properties to the values desired for the search, and then proceed with the Get methods. Only the messages passing the filter criteria are returned for your inspection. For more information on message filtering, see Filtering Messages in a Folder.

The following sample demonstrates how to use the Get methods to search for the specified message:

' Function: TestDrv_Util_GetMessageByName
' Purpose: Call the utility function Util_GetMessageByName
' See documentation topic: Item property (Message object)
Function TestDrv_Util_GetMessageByName()
Dim fFound As Boolean
    On Error GoTo error_olemsg

    fFound = Util_GetMessageByName("Junk mail")
    If fFound Then
        MsgBox "Message named 'Junk mail' found"
    Else
        MsgBox "Message named 'Junk mail' not found"
    End If
    Exit Function

error_olemsg:
    MsgBox "Error " & Str(Err) & ": " & Error$(Err)
    Resume Next
End Function

' Function: Util_GetMessageByName
' Purpose: Use Get* methods to search for a message
' See documentation topic:  Searching for a message
' Search through the messages for one with a specific subject
Function Util_GetMessageByName(strSearchName As String) As Boolean
Dim objOneMessage As Message ' local; temp version of message object

    On Error GoTo error_olemsg
    Util_GetMessageByName = False ' default; assume failure
    If objFolder Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "Must first select a folder such as Session->Inbox"
        Exit Function
    End If
    Set objMessages = objFolder.Messages
    Set objOneMessage = objMessages.GetFirst
    If objOneMessage Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "No messages in the folder"
        Exit Function
    End If
    ' loop through all the messages in the collection
    Do While Not objOneMessage Is Nothing
        If objOneMessage.Subject = strSearchName Then
            Exit Do ' found it, leave the loop
        Else ' keep searching
            Set objOneMessage = objMessages.GetNext
        End If
    Loop
    ' exit from the Do While loop comes here
    ' if objOneMessage is valid, the message was found
    If Not objOneMessage Is Nothing Then
        Util_GetMessageByName = True ' success
    End If
    Exit Function

error_olemsg:
    MsgBox "Error " & Str(Err) & ": " & Error$(Err)
    Resume Next

End Function
 

See Also

Searching for a Folder

See Also

Concepts

Programming Tasks