IMAP Component

The IMAP control is used to communicate with IMAP servers using the IMAP (Internet Message Access) protocol. (NOTE: The following is a very short description. For more information, please consult the help files that come with the respective package.)

The IMAP control implements a standard IMAP client as specified in RFC 1730 and RFC 2060.

The first step in using the control is specifying a MailServer, a User to connect as, and a Password to authenticate with. After that, one or more requests may be sent to the server via the Action property. Results are retrieved through events and a number of key properties.

Normally, after connecting to the server, a Mailbox is selected (or examined) using the corresponding Action code. After the Mailbox is selected, MessageCount and RecentMessageCount show the number of messages in the mailbox, and MailboxFlags show the flags pertaining to the mailbox.

A number of operations may be performed by the server in response to commands sent via the Action property. The main arguments for most commands is the Mailbox property or the MessageSet property. The MessageSet property denotes either a single message, or a range of messages. Other arguments are specified through other properties such as SearchCriteria, MessageFlags, etc.

Responses are received through events such as MessageInfo, MailboxList, and also reflected to properties such as MessageText, MessageSubject, etc.

The MessagePart event describes the MIME structure of retrieved messages. One MessagePart event is fired for every message part, giving information about the particular part. Later on, message parts may be retrieved separately through the appropriate Action. This speeds up processing, by avoiding the need to retrieve full messages from the server.

The PITrail event traces the interaction between the client and the server. It includes all exchanges except for transfers of messages, message parts, and message headers.

This control requires a Winsock 1.1 compliant TCP/IP stack. This means that the Winsock stack installed in the system must have a version of at least 1.1. In particular, Windows 95, 98, and NT machines with Winsock 2.0 are fully supported.

PROPERTIES

Action. An action code for the control.

Command. Can be used to send additional commands directly to the IMAP server.

LastReply. The last reply from the server.

LocalFile. The path to a local file for downloading the message body. If the file exists, it is overwritten (optional).

Mailbox. Name of the mailbox selected on the server.

MailboxFlags. Defined flags in the selected mailbox.

MailPort. The port of the IMAP server (default 143).

MailServer. The name or address of the mail server (IMAP server).

MessageBCc. Array property with the list of BCc recipients of the message.

MessageCc. Array property with the list of Cc recipients of the message.

MessageContentEncoding. The ContentEncoding of the selected message.

MessageContentType. The ContentType of the message.

MessageCount. The total number of messages on the Mailbox.

MessageDate. The time the message was created.

MessageDeliveryTime. The time the message was delivered to the mail server.

MessageFlags. Flags of the current message.

MessageFrom. The address of the author of the message.

MessageHeaders. RFC822-encoded headers of the message.

MessageId. The message id of the current message.

MessageInReplyTo. The unique message ID of the message this one is in reply to.

MessageNetId. The globally unique id of the message.

MessageReplyTo. Email address(s) where replies to the message should be sent.

MessageSender. The address of the sender of the message.

MessageSet. The set of messages to operate on.

MessageSize. The size of the selected message.

MessageSubject. The subject of the message.

MessageText. The body of the retrieved message

MessageTo. Array property with the list of direct recipients of the message.

NewMailbox. The new name of the mailbox during a 'Rename Mailbox' operation.

PartId. The PartId of the part to retrieve.

Password. The password used to authenticate to the MailServer.

RecentMessageCount. Number of new messages on the Mailbox.

SearchCriteria. Search criteria to use for search operations.

UIDMode. If true, permanent message id-s are used instead of the default temporary id-s.

User. The user name used to authenticate to the MailServer.

LocalHost. The name of the local host. When connected, the IP address of the interface through which the connection was made.

SocketHandle. The handle of the main socket used by the control.

WinsockInfo. Identifying information about the loaded Winsock stack.

WinsockLoaded. Loads and unloads Winsock on demand.

WinsockMaxDatagramSize. Size in bytes of the largest UDP datagram that can be sent or received.

WinsockMaxSockets. Maximum number of sockets available to a single process.

WinsockPath. The path to the Winsock DLL used.

WinsockStatus. The status of the Winsock stack.

EVENTS

Error. Information about errors during data delivery.

PITrail. Traces the commands sent to the mail server, and the respective replies.

MailboxList. Fired for each mailbox received through the various 'List Mailbox' actions.

MessageInfo. Fired with information for the message(s) retrieved by the server.

MessagePart. Fired for each message part when a 'Get Message Info' action is performed.

EndTransfer. Fired when the message or the part data finishes transferring.

StartTransfer. Fired when the message or the part data starts transferring.

Transfer. Fired while the message gets transferred from the MailServer.