Sending and Receiving Email

Copy link to this sectionExample 1: CreateTextMessage()

The following method creates a simple message and specifies the addresses for it:

ClassMethod CreateTextMessage() As %Net.MailMessage
{
    Set msg = ##class(%Net.MailMessage).%New()
    set msg.From = "test@test.com"
    Do msg.To.Insert("xxx@xxx.com")
    Do msg.Cc.Insert("yyy@yyy.com")
    Do msg.Bcc.Insert("zzz@zzz.com")
    Set msg.Subject="subject line here"
    Set msg.IsBinary=0
    Set msg.IsHTML=0
    Do msg.TextData.Write("This is the message.")
    
    Quit msg
}

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Copy link to this sectionExample 2: SimpleMessage()

You may instead prefer to specify the addresses when you actually send the message (see “Example 3: SendMessage()” in “Using an SMTP Server to Send Email”). The following variation of the preceding example generates a text message with no addresses:

ClassMethod SimpleMessage() As %Net.MailMessage
{
  Set msg = ##class(%Net.MailMessage).%New()
  Set msg.Subject="Simple message "_$h
  Set msg.IsBinary=0
  Set msg.IsHTML=0
  Do msg.TextData.Write("This is the message.")
  Quit msg
}

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There are other examples in the SAMPLES namespace. To find them, search for %Net.MailMessage in that namespace.

Copy link to this sectionSpecifying Basic Email Headers

Set the following properties (only in %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab) to set the most commonly used headers of the message itself:

• To — (Required) The list of email addresses to which this message will be sent. This property is a standard Caché list; to work with it, you use the standard list methods: Insert(), GetAt(), RemoveAt(), Count(), and Clear().

• From — (Required) The email address this message is sent from.

• Date — The date of this message.

• Subject — (Required) A string containing the subject for this message.

• Sender — The actual sender of the message.

• Cc — The list of carbon copy addresses to which this message will be sent.

• Bcc — The list of blind carbon copy addresses to which this message will be sent.

Copy link to this sectionContent-Type Header

When you send the message, the Content-Type header for the message and for each message part is automatically set as follows:

• If the message is plain text (IsHTML equals 0 and IsBinary equals 0), the Content-Type header is set to "text/plain".

• If the message is HTML (IsHTML equals 1 and IsBinary equals 0), the Content-Type header is set to "text/html".

• If the message is binary (IsBinary equals 1), the Content-Type header is set to "application/octet-stream".

• If the message is multipart, the Content-Type header is set as appropriate for the value of the MultiPartType property.

Both %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab and %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab provide the ContentType property, which gives you access to the Content-Type header.

Copy link to this sectionContent-Transfer-Encoding Header

Both %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab and %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab provide the ContentTransferEncoding property, which provides an easy way to specify the Content-Transfer-Encoding header of the message or the message part.

This property can be one of the following: "base64" "quoted-printable" "7bit" "8bit"

The default is as follows:

• For a binary message or message part: "base64"

  Important:

  Note that if the content is "base64" encoded, it cannot contain any Unicode characters. If the content you wish to send includes Unicode characters, then make sure to use $ZCONVERT to convert the content to UTF-8, and then base-64 encode it. For example:

  set BinaryText=$ZCONVERT(UnicodeText,"O","UTF8")
  set Base64Encoded=$system.Encryption.Base64Encode(BinaryText)

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  The recipient must use the reverse process to decode the text:

  set BinaryText=$system.Encryption.Base64Decode(Base64Encoded)
  set UnicodeText=$ZCONVERT(BinaryText,"I","UTF8")

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• For a text message or message part: "quoted-printable"

Also see “Automatic Encoding and Character Translation.”

Copy link to this sectionCustom Headers

With both %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab and %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab, you can set or get custom headers by accessing the Headers property, which is an array with the following structure:

You use this property to contain additional headers such as X-Priority and others. For example:

 do msg.Headers.SetAt(1,"X-Priority")
 do msg.Headers.SetAt("High","X-MSMail-Priority")
 do msg.Headers.SetAt("High","Importance")

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Different email servers and clients recognize different headers, so it can be useful to set multiple similar headers to be sure that the server or client receives a message with a header it can recognize.

Copy link to this sectionExample: MessageWithAttachment()

The following example generates a simple email message with one hardcoded attachment. It does not provide any addresses for the message; you can provide that information when you actually send the message (see “Example 3: SendMessage()” in “Using an SMTP Server to Send Email”).

ClassMethod MessageWithAttachment() As %Net.MailMessage
{
  Set msg = ##class(%Net.MailMessage).%New()
  Set msg.Subject="Message with attachment "_$h
  Set msg.IsBinary=0
  Set msg.IsHTML=0
  Do msg.TextData.Write("This is the main message body.")

  //add an attachment
  Set status=msg.AttachFile("c:\", "GNET.pdf")
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status)
    Quit $$$NULLOREF
  }
  
  Quit msg
}

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For other examples, see the class reference for the %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab class.

Copy link to this sectionExample 1: HotPOPAsSMTP() and SendSimpleMessage()

This example consists of two methods that you use together. The first creates an instance of %Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab that uses a test account that has already been set up on the HotPOP SMTP server:

ClassMethod HotPOPAsSMTP() As %Net.SMTP
{
  Set server=##class(%Net.SMTP).%New()
  Set server.smtpserver="smtp.hotpop.com"
  //HotPOP SMTP server uses the default port (25)
  Set server.port=25
  
  //Create object to carry authentication
  Set auth=##class(%Net.Authenticator).%New()
  Set auth.UserName="isctest@hotpop.com"
  Set auth.Password="123pass"
  
  Set server.authenticator=auth
  Set server.AuthFrom=auth.UserName
  Quit server
}

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The next method sends a simple, unique message, using an SMTP server that you provide as the argument:

ClassMethod SendSimpleMessage(server As %Net.SMTP) As %List
{
  Set msg = ##class(%Net.MailMessage).%New()
  Set From=server.authenticator.UserName
  Set:From="" From="xxx@xxx.com"
  Set msg.From = From
  
  Do msg.To.Insert("xxx@xxx.com")
  //Do msg.Cc.Insert("yyy@yyy.com")
  //Do msg.Bcc.Insert("zzz@zzz.com")
  Set msg.Subject="Unique subject line here "_$H
  Set msg.IsBinary=0
  Set msg.IsHTML=0
  Do msg.TextData.Write("This is the message.")
  
  Set status=server.Send(msg)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status)
    Write server.Error
    Quit ""
  }
  Quit server.FailedSend
}

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Copy link to this sectionExample 2: YPOPsAsSMTP()

This example creates an instance of an instance of %Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab that uses YPOPs, which is client software that provides SMTP and POP3 access to a Yahoo email account. It uses a test account that has already been set up for this purpose:

ClassMethod YPOPsAsSMTP() As %Net.SMTP
{
  Set server=##class(%Net.SMTP).%New()
  //local host acts as the server
  Set server.smtpserver="127.0.0.1"
  //YPOPs uses default port, apparently
  Set server.port=25
  
  //Create object to carry authentication
  Set auth=##class(%Net.Authenticator).%New()
  //YPOPs works with a Yahoo email account
  Set auth.UserName="isc.test@yahoo.com"
  Set auth.Password="123pass"
  
  Set server.authenticator=auth
  Set server.AuthFrom=auth.UserName
  Quit server
}

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You can use this with the SendSimpleMessage method shown in the previous example.

Copy link to this sectionExample 3: SendMessage()

The following, more flexible method accepts both an SMTP server and an email message. The email message should already include a subject line (if required by the SMTP server), but does not have to include addresses. This method then sends the email message to a set of hardcoded test destinations:

ClassMethod SendMessage(server As %Net.SMTP, msg as %Net.MailMessage) as %Status
{
  Set From=server.authenticator.UserName
  //make sure From: user is same as used in authentication
  Set msg.From = From
  
  //finish addressing the message
  Do msg.To.Insert("xxx@xxx.com")
  //send the message to various test email addresses
  Do msg.To.Insert("isctest@hotpop.com")
  Do msg.To.Insert("isc_test@hotmail.com")
  Do msg.To.Insert("isctest001@gmail.com")
  Do msg.To.Insert("isc.test@yahoo.com")
  
  Set status=server.Send(msg)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status)
    Write server.Error
    Quit $$$ERROR($$$GeneralError,"Failed to send message")
  }
  Quit $$$OK
}

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This example is meant for use with the example methods SimpleMessage and MessageWithAttachment described in “Adding Attachments to a Message”.

Copy link to this sectionOther Properties of %Net.SMTP

The %Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab class also has some other properties that you might need, depending on the SMTP server you are using:

• AllowHeaderEncoding specifies whether the Send() method encodes non-ASCII header text. The default is 1, which means that non-ASCII header text is encoded as specified by RFC 2047Opens in a new tab.

• ContinueAfterBadSend specifies whether to continue trying to send a message after detecting a failed email address. If ContinueAfterBadSend is 1, the system will add the failed email address to the list in the FailedSend property. The default is 0.

• ShowBcc specifies whether the Bcc headers are written to the email message. These will normally be filtered out by the SMTP server.

Copy link to this sectionCommunicating with a POP3 Server

If you have the needed permissions and if the mail server is running, you can download and process email messages from it using the POP3 protocol. In general, to communicate with a POP3 server, you log in, perform a series of actions that affect a mailbox, and then either commit or roll back any changes. To do this in Caché:

1. Create an instance of %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab. This object describes the POP3 server you will use.

2. Optionally specify the following properties of your instance of %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab:

   • port — Specifies the port you will use; the default is 110.

   • timeout — Specifies the read timeout in seconds; the default is 30 seconds.

   • StoreAttachToFile — Specifies whether to save each attachment to a file, when a message is read (when the message includes the content-disposition; attachment header). The default is false.

     Note that this setting does nothing unless AttachDir is also set.

   • StoreInlineToFile — Specifies whether to save each inline attachment to a file, when a message is read (when the message includes the content-disposition; inline header). The default is false.

     Note that this setting does nothing unless AttachDir is also set.

   • AttachDir — Specifies the directory into which the attachment are saved. There is no default. Make sure to terminate the name of the directory with a slash (/) or backslash (\), as appropriate for the operating system. Also make sure that this is directory already exists, and the users have write access to it.

   • IgnoreInvalidBase64Chars — Specifies whether to ignore invalid characters found during base–64 decoding. The default is false (and invalid characters result in an error). Note that RFC 2045Opens in a new tab is ambiguous about whether unexpected characters should be ignored or should result in an error during base–64 decoding.

3. To use an SSL/TLS connection to the POP3 server:

   1. Set the SSLConfiguration property to the name of the activated SSL/TLS configuration to use.

      For information on creating and managing SSL/TLS configurations, see “Using SSL/TLS with Caché” in the Caché Security Administration Guide. The SSL/TLS configuration includes an option called Configuration Name, which is the string to use in this setting.

   2. Set the UseSTARTTLS property to either 0 or 1.

      In most cases, use the value 0. Use the value 1 for the case in which the server interaction begins on a normal TCP socket and then switches to TLS on the same port as the normal socket. For details, see RFC 2595Opens in a new tab.

   3. Optionally set the SSLCheckServerIdentity property to 1. Do this if you want to verify the host server name in the certificate.

4. Call the Connect() method of your instance. This method takes three arguments, in order:

   1. The name of the POP3 server

   2. A username

   3. A password

5. Use the methods of your instance to examine the mailbox, retrieve messages, and delete messages. The following sections provide details.

6. Optionally, to prevent the connection from timing out, call the Ping() method of your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance.

7. Optionally, if you have marked messages for deletion but now choose not to delete them, call the RollbackDeletes() method of your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance.

8. When you are done making changes to the mailbox, call one of the following methods:

   • QuitAndCommit() — Commits your changes and logs out of the mail server.

   • QuitAndRollback() — Rolls back your changes and logs out of the mail server.

Each of these methods returns a status, which you should check before continuing. Also see the class reference for %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab for complete method signatures.

The examples in the following sections use two different free POP3 services that were available at the time this manual was written. No particular endorsement is implied by the selection of these services. Also note that the examples do not show the actual passwords.

Copy link to this sectionExample 1: HotPOPAsPOP3()

The following method logs into the HotPOP POP3 server using an account that was previously set up for this purpose:

ClassMethod HotPOPAsPOP3() As %Net.POP3
{
  Set server=##class(%Net.POP3).%New()
  
  //HotPOP POP3 server uses the default port
  //but let's set it anyway
  Set server.port=110

  //just in case we plan to fetch any messages
  //that have attachments
  Set server.StoreAttachToFile=1
  Set server.StoreInlineToFile=1
  Set server.AttachDir="c:\DOWNLOADS\"

  Set servername="pop.hotpop.com"
  Set user="isctest@hotpop.com"
  Set pass="123pass"
  
  Set status=server.Connect(servername,user,pass)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
    Quit $$$NULLOREF
  }
  Quit server
}

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This method returns the %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab server instance. Many of the examples later in this chapter accept the %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance as an argument.

Copy link to this sectionExample 2: YPOPsAsPOP3()

The following method also returns a %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab server instance. In this case, we are using YPOPs, which is client software that provides SMTP and POP3 access to a Yahoo email account. It uses a test account that has already been set up for this purpose:

ClassMethod YPOPsAsPOP3() As %Net.POP3
{
  Set server=##class(%Net.POP3).%New()
  
  //YPOPs uses the default port 
  //but let's set it anyway
  Set server.port=110

  //just in case we plan to fetch any messages
  //that have attachments
  Set server.StoreAttachToFile=1
  Set server.StoreInlineToFile=1
  Set server.AttachDir="c:\DOWNLOADS\"
  
  //local host acts as the server
  Set servername="127.0.0.1"
  //YPOPs works with a Yahoo email account
  Set user="isc.test@yahoo.com"
  Set pass="123pass"
  
  Set status=server.Connect(servername,user,pass)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
    Quit $$$NULLOREF
  }
  Quit server
}

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Copy link to this sectionGetting Information about the Mailbox

While you are connected to a POP3 server, you are logged into a user account and have access to the mailbox for that user account. Use the following methods to find what the mailbox contains:

Each of these methods returns a status, which you should check before continuing. Also see “Other Message Retrieval Methods” for more details on these methods.

Copy link to this sectionExample: ShowMailbox()

For example, the following method writes information about the mailbox that we are currently accessing:

ClassMethod ShowMailbox(server as %Net.POP3) 
{
    Set status=server.GetMailBoxStatus(.count,.size)
    If $$$ISERR(status) {
       Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
       Quit 
    }
    Write "Mailbox information *****",!
    Write "Number of messages in mailbox: ",count,!
    Write "Size of messages: ",size,!

    Set status=server.GetMessageUIDArray(,.uids)
    Set status=server.GetSizeOfMessages(,.sizes)
    
    //iterate through messages, get info, and write it
    For i=1:1:count {
        Set uid=uids.GetAt(i)
        Set size=sizes.GetAt(i)
        Write "Msg number:", i,"   UID:",uid, "   size:",size,!
    }

}

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This method generates output similar to the following:

Mailbox information *****
Number of messages in mailbox: 4
Size of messages: 18634
Msg number:1   UID:6ef78df6fd660391   size:7245
Msg number:2   UID:7410041a6faf4a87   size:5409
Msg number:3   UID:5555af7fa489e406   size:5121
Msg number:4   UID:299ad2b54c01a6be   size:859

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Copy link to this sectionFetching Messages from the Mailbox

To simply get a message, use one of the following methods of the %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab class:

Each of these methods returns a status, which you should check before continuing. Note that these methods return an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

Also see “Other Message Retrieval Methods,” which shows the complete method signatures for Fetch() and FetchMessage()

Copy link to this sectionExample: FetchMailbox()

The following example is a variation of the ShowMailbox example described in “Getting Information about the Mailbox”. This method uses the Fetch() method, examines each message, and writes the subject line of each message:

ClassMethod FetchMailbox(server As %Net.POP3)
{
  Set status=server.GetMailBoxStatus(.count,.size)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
    Quit $$$NULLOREF
  }
  Write "Mailbox information *****",!
  Write "Number of messages in mailbox: ",count,!
  Write "Size of messages: ",size,!

  Set status=server.GetMessageUIDArray(,.uids)
  Set status=server.GetSizeOfMessages(,.sizes)
  
  //iterate through messages, get info, and write it
  For i=1:1:count {
    Set uid=uids.GetAt(i)
    Set size=sizes.GetAt(i)
    Set status=server.Fetch(i,.msg)
    If $$$ISERR(status) {
      Set subj="***error***"
    } else{
      Set subj=msg.Subject
    }
    Write "Msg number:", i,"  UID:",uid, "  Size:",size
    Write "  Subject: ",subj,!
  }
}

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Copy link to this sectionSaving Attachments as Files

The Content-Disposition header might specify attachment, with or without a filename. For example:

Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=genome.jpeg;

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If the Content-Disposition header does specify attachment, your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance can save all attachments in the message to files. To make this happen:

1. Specify the following properties of your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance:

   • Specify StoreAttachToFile as 1.

   • Specify StoreInlineToFile as 1.

   • Specify a valid directory for AttachDir. Make sure to terminate the name of the directory with a slash (/) or backslash (\), as appropriate for the operating system. Also make sure that this is directory already exists, and the users have write access to it.

2. Call Fetch() or FetchMessage() of your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance.

Each filename is determined as follows:

1. If the Content-Disposition header specifies a filename, that filename is used.

2. Otherwise, if the Content-Type header specifies a filename, that filename is used.

3. Otherwise, the system creates a name of the form ATTxxxxxx.dat.

Note the following points:

• If the file already exists, the attachment is not downloaded.

• There is no default for AttachDir.

• The size of the attachment is not limited by Caché but might be limited by the file system.

• The Dir and FileName properties are not used here. They are relevant only when you upload an attachment to a mail message, as described in “Adding Attachments to a Message”.

Copy link to this sectionExample: GetMsg()

The following example method retrieves an entire message, given an instance of %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab and a message number:

ClassMethod GetMsg(server as %Net.POP3,msgno as %Integer) as %Net.MailMessage 
{
    Set status=server.Fetch(msgno,.msg)
    If $$$ISERR(status) {
       Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
       Quit $$$NULLOREF
    }
    Quit msg
}

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If the message had attachments, and if you specified the StoreAttachToFile, StoreInlineToFile, and AttachDir properties of the %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab server, those attachments would be saved to the given directory when you called this method.

Copy link to this sectionGetting Attached Email Messages

While you are connected to a mailbox, you can download any email messages that are attached to the email messages in the inbox. To do so, use the GetAttachedEmail() method of your %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab instance to retrieve the contents of the enclosed email.

Given an instance of %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab, this method returns a single-part message that has contents of that message part. Specifically, it returns (as an output parameter) an instance of %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab initialized with the data taken from the attached email message.

Copy link to this sectionOther Message Retrieval Methods

This section lists all the methods of %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab that you can use to examine and retrieve messages.

Fetch()

method Fetch(MessageNumber As %Integer, 
             ByRef MailMsg As %Net.MailMessage,
             Delete As %Boolean = 0,
             messageStream As %BinaryStream) as %Status

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Returns (by reference) the message indicated by MessageNumber and optionally marks the message for deletion. Note that this method returns an error status if the message is already marked for deletion.

If messageStream is specified, then the original message is written to this binary stream.

FetchFromStream()

method FetchFromStream(messageStream As %BinaryStream, ByRef Msg As %Net.MailMessage) as %Status

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This method is for use when you specify the messageStream argument for Fetch().

Retrieves a single email message from the given binary stream. messageStream must be a binary stream containing the message. The message is returned by reference in Msg. This could be a multipart message.

FetchMessage()

method FetchMessage(MessageNumber As %Integer, 
                    ByRef From As %String, 
                    ByRef To As %String, 
                    ByRef Date As %String, 
                    ByRef Subject As %String, 
                    ByRef MessageSize As %Integer, 
                    ByRef MsgHeaders As %ArrayOfDataTypes, 
                    ByRef MailMsg As %Net.MailMessage, 
                    Delete As %Boolean = 0) as %Status

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Returns (by reference) specific message headers, the message size, the message header array, and the message itself and optionally marks the message for deletion. Note that this method returns an error status if the message is already marked for deletion.

FetchMessageHeaders()

method FetchMessageHeaders(MessageNumber As %Integer, 
                           ByRef MsgHeadersArray As %String) as %Status

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Given a message number, this method returns (by reference) an array containing all the headers of that message. This method returns an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

FetchMessageInfo()

method FetchMessageInfo(MessageNumber As %Integer, 
                        Lines As %Integer, 
                        ByRef From As %String, 
                        ByRef To As %String, 
                        ByRef Date As %String, 
                        ByRef Subject As %String, 
                        ByRef MessageSize As %Integer, 
                        ByRef MsgHeaders As %ArrayOfDataTypes, 
                        ByRef MessageText As %String) as %Status

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Given a message number, this method returns (by reference) specific message headers, the message size, the message header array, and the given number of lines of text from this message. This method returns an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

GetAttachedEmail()

method GetAttachedEmail(msgpart As %Net.MailMessagePart, 
       Output mailmsg As %Net.MailMessage) as %Status

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Given a message part, this method returns (as an output parameter) a single-part email message that is initialized with the data from the message part.

GetMessageUID()

method GetMessageUID(MessageNumber As %Integer, 
                     ByRef UniqueID As %String) as %Status

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Returns, by reference, the UID of a message, given a message number. See the previous section for details on message numbers and UIDs. This method returns an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

GetMessageUIDArray()

method GetMessageUIDArray(MessageNumber As %String = "", 
                          ByRef ListOfUniqueIDs As %ArrayOfDataTypes) as %Status

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If given an empty string as the first argument, this method returns, by reference, an array of information about the messages in the mailbox (excluding any that are currently marked for deletion). Each element in this array contains the following information about one message:

Array Key	Array Item
Number of the message, within the mailbox in its current state. The first message is number 1, and so on. The message number of a given message is not guaranteed to be the same in all sessions.	Unique message identifier (UID), which is the permanent identifier of this message available in all sessions. UIDs are unique to each mailbox.

Or, given a message number, this method returns a one-element array that contains the UID of that message. In this case, the method returns an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

GetSizeOfMessages()

method GetSizeOfMessages(MessageNumber As %String = "", 
                         ByRef ListOfSizes As %ArrayOfDataTypes) as %Status

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If given an empty string as the first argument, this method returns, by reference, an array of information about the messages in the mailbox (excluding any that are currently marked for deletion). Each element in this array contains the following information about one message:

Array Key	Array Item
Number of the message, within the mailbox in its current state.	Size of this message, in bytes.

Or, given a message number, this method returns a one-element array that contains the size (in bytes) of that message. In this case, this method returns an error status if the message is currently marked for deletion.

Copy link to this sectionDeleting Messages

While you are connected to a mailbox, you can mark messages for deletion in the mailbox that you are logged into. You can do this in a couple of ways.

• You can use the DeleteMessage() method. This method takes one argument, the message number to delete.

• When you retrieve a message with the Fetch() or FetchMessage() method, you can specify an optional argument that tells the POP3 server to mark the message for deletion after you have retrieved it.

Remember the following points:

• These methods do not delete a message; they mark it for deletion. The message is not deleted until you complete the POP3 transaction with QuitAndCommit(). If you simply disconnect from the server, your changes are discarded.

• You can call the RollbackDeletes() method to change the messages so that they are no longer marked for deletion.

• Each of these methods returns a status, which you should check.

Copy link to this sectionExample: GetMsgAndDelete() and CommitChanges()

The following example retrieves a message and marks it for deletion:

ClassMethod GetMsgAndDelete(ByRef server As %Net.POP3, msgno As %Integer) As %Net.MailMessage
{
  //third argument to Fetch says whether to 
  //mark for deletion
  Set status=server.Fetch(msgno,.msg,1)
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
    Quit $$$NULLOREF
  }
  
  Quit msg
}

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Note that this message returns (by reference) an altered version of the %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab; the altered version contains the information about which message is marked for deletion.

You would use the preceding method with a method like the following:

ClassMethod CommitChanges(server As %Net.POP3) As %Status
{
  //commit all changes and log out
  Set status=server.QuitAndCommit()
  If $$$ISERR(status) {
    Do $System.Status.DisplayError(status) 
    Quit $$$ERROR($$$GeneralError,"Failed to commit changes")
  }
  Quit $$$OK
}

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Alternatively you would roll back the changes with RollbackDeletes() or QuitAndRollback().

Copy link to this sectionMessage Basics

After you retrieve an email message (%Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab), you generally start by determining what kind of message it is and how to read it; that is, whether it is a multipart message and whether the parts are binary. In this step, you can use the ContentType property. Or you can use the IsBinary, IsHTML, and IsMultiPart properties, which indirectly provide the same information as ContentType.

If the message is a multipart message, each part is an instance of %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab.

Copy link to this sectionMessage Headers

Both the message itself and each part of a message has a set of headers.

The %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab and %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab classes provide properties that give you easy access to the most commonly used headers. For example, %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab provides properties such as To, From, Subject, and Date. The Headers array property lets you access any custom header; see “Specifying Email Message Headers.”

Also, if you have retrieved a message via %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab, you can use the GetAttribute() method. Given a header name and an attribute, this method returns the value of that attribute.

Copy link to this sectionMessage Contents

Once you know what the general message structure is, use the following techniques to retrieve the contents:

• For a multipart message, use the Parts property, which is an array of the parts. Parts.Count() gives you the number of parts. The key for each part is an integer, starting with 1. Use the GetAt() method to retrieve a given part. A message part is an instance of %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab.

  For information on the relationship of %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab and %Net.MailMessagePartOpens in a new tab, see “How Caché Represents MIME Email Messages.”

• For a binary message (or message part), use the BinaryData property.

• For a text message (or message part), use the TextData property.

  • If IsHTML is 0, the TextData property is an ordinary text string.

  • If IsHTML is 1, the TextData property is an HTML text string.

Note that the email client that sends a message determines any wrapping in the message. The mail server has no control over this; nor does Caché.

Copy link to this sectionOther Message Information

The MessageSize property indicates the total length of the message, apart from any attached email messages.

The following methods provide additional information about the message:

The following class methods are also available for time/date conversion:

Copy link to this sectionExample 1: ShowMsgInfo()

Given an instance of %Net.MailMessageOpens in a new tab, the following method writes information about the message to the current device:

ClassMethod ShowMsgInfo(msg as %Net.MailMessage)
{
    Write "Message details *****",!
    Write "To (count): ", msg.To.Count(),!
    Write "From: ", msg.From,!
    Write "Cc (count): ", msg.Cc.Count(),!
    Write "Bcc (count): ", msg.Bcc.Count(),!
    Write "Date: ", msg.Date,!
    Write "Subject: ", msg.Subject,!
    Write "Sender: ", msg.Sender,!
    Write "IsMultipart: ", msg.IsMultiPart,!
    Write "Number of parts: ", msg.Parts.Count(),!
    Write "Number of headers: ", msg.Headers.Count(),!
    Write "IsBinary: ", msg.IsBinary,!
    Write "IsHTML: ", msg.IsHTML,!
    Write "TextData: ", msg.TextData.Read(),!
    Write "BinaryData: ", msg.BinaryData.Read(),!
}

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This method produces output similar to the following:

Message details *****
To (count): 1
From: "XXX XXX" <XXX@XXX.com>
Cc (count): 0
Bcc (count): 0
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:57:46 -0500
Subject: test 5
Sender:
IsMultipart: 0
Number of parts: 0
Number of headers: 16
IsBinary: 0
IsHTML: 0
TextData: This is test number 5, which is plain text.
BinaryData:

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Copy link to this sectionExample 2: ShowMsgPartInfo()

The following method writes information about a part of a message:

ClassMethod ShowMsgPartInfo(msg as %Net.MailMessage, partno as %Integer)
{
    Set part=msg.Parts.GetAt(partno)
    Write "Message part details *****",!
    Write "Message part: ", partno,!
    Write "IsMultipart: ", part.IsMultiPart,!
    Write "Number of parts: ", part.Parts.Count(),!
    Write "Number of headers: ", part.Headers.Count(),!
    Write "IsBinary: ", part.IsBinary,!
    Write "IsHTML: ", part.IsHTML,!
    Write "TextData: ", part.TextData.Read(),!
    Write "BinaryData: ", part.BinaryData.Read(),!
}

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This produces output similar to the following (given a different message than previously shown):

Message part details *****
Message part: 1
IsMultipart: 0
Number of parts: 0
Number of headers: 2
IsBinary: 0
IsHTML: 0
TextData: 1 test string
 
 
BinaryData:

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Copy link to this sectionExample 3: ShowMsgHeaders()

The following method writes information about the headers of a message; you could write a similar method that did the same for a message part.

ClassMethod ShowMsgHeaders(msg as %Net.MailMessage)
{
    Set headers=msg.Headers
    Write "Number of headers: ", headers.Count(),!
    
    //iterate through the headers
    Set key=""
    For {
        Set value=headers.GetNext(.key) 
        Quit:key=""  
        Write "Header:",key,!
        Write "Value: ",value,!!
    }
}

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This produces output similar to the following:

Number of headers: 16
Header: content-class
Value: urn:content-classes:message
 
Header: content-type
Value: multipart/alternative; boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C8286D.D9A7F3B1"
 
Header: date
Value: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:29:24 -0500
 
Header: from
Value: "XXX XXX" <XXX@XXX.com>
 
Header: message-id
Value: <895A9EF10DBA1F46A2DDB3AAF061ECD501801E86@Exchange1_backup>
 
Header: mime-version
Value: 1.0
 
...

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Copy link to this sectionOutgoing Email

%Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab checks the Charset property of each part and then applies the appropriate translation table.

If you do not specify the Charset property for a given part, when you send the message, the following defaults are used for this part:

• On Unicode systems, the default is UTF-8.

• On 8–bit systems, the default is the system default character set.

%Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab also checks the ContentTransferEncoding property. If this property is "base64" or "quoted-printable", then when it creates the message, %Net.SMTPOpens in a new tab encodes the body as needed. (If the content transfer encoding is "7bit" or "7bit", no encoding is needed.)

Important:

Note that if the content is "base64" encoded, it cannot contain any Unicode characters. If the content you wish to send includes Unicode characters, then make sure to use $ZCONVERT to convert the content to UTF-8.

set BinaryText=$ZCONVERT(UnicodeText,"O","UTF8")
set Base64Encoded=$system.Encryption.Base64Encode(BinaryText)

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Copy link to this sectionIncoming Email

%Net.POP3Opens in a new tab checks the Content-Transfer-Encoding header of each message part and decodes the body as needed.

Then %Net.POP3Opens in a new tab checks the Content-Type header of each message part. This affects the Charset property of the message part and also controls the translation table used when the message part is created in Caché.