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How to use the Rule.dll sample to create an inbox rule in Visual Basic


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Summary

This article describes how to use the Rule.dll sample to add a set of rules to the Inbox of a mailbox. Rules are a powerful technique that can be applied to many mailboxes without the drawbacks associated with server event scripts.

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More information

The rules that are added in this sample function review all incoming messages. If the message subject includes the word "test", a reply message is sent and the original message is deleted.

The Platform Software Development Kit (SDK) includes a Rules COM component. The documentation in the SDK provides examples of using the Rules component in the context of an Active Server Pages (ASP) application. You can, however, also use this sample in applications using the Collaborative Data Objects (CDO) library.

Note The Rule.dll must be compiled before use. Compiling the Rule.dll library requires skill in Visual C++ and is beyond the scope of this article. See the documentation listed in the "References" section of this article for more information.

This function creates three items in the HiddenMessages collection of the Inbox folder:
  • The reply rule
  • The template for the reply message
  • The delete rule
To run this sample program, follow these steps:
  1. In Visual Basic, create a new Standard EXE project.
  2. Add a reference to the Microsoft CDO 1.21 Library, and to the Rule.dll library. (You will need to browse to the location where you built Rule.dll.)
  3. Copy the following function to the code module of the default form:
    Option Explicit
    Const SUBJECT_TO_SEARCH = "Test"
    Public Function AddReplyAndDeleteRule(ByVal strProfileInfo As String) As Long
    
    Dim objCDOSession As MAPI.Session                ' CDO Session.
    Dim objInbox As MAPI.Folder                      ' Folder to set rule.
    Dim colRules As MSExchange.Rules                 ' Rules collection.
    Dim objReplyMsg As MAPI.Message                  ' Reply template.
    Dim objReplyRule As MSExchange.Rule
    Dim objDeleteRule As MSExchange.Rule
    Dim objPropVal As MSExchange.PropVal             ' Property value.
    Dim objContCond As MSExchange.ContentCondition   ' Condition.
    Dim objReplyAction As MSExchange.Action
    Dim objDeleteAction As MSExchange.Action
    
    Const SUBSTRING = 1
    Const IGNORECASE = &H10000
    Const ACTION_DELETE = 3
    Const ACTION_REPLY = 4
    Const CdoPR_SUBJECT = &H37001E
    
    On Error GoTo Error_Handler
    
    ' Create and log on to session object.
    Set objCDOSession = New MAPI.Session
    objCDOSession.Logon , , False, True, True, True, strProfileInfo
    Set objInbox = objCDOSession.Inbox
    
    'Each folder has a Rules collection.
    Set colRules = New MSExchange.Rules
    colRules.Folder = objInbox
    
    ' Create condition for rules.
    Set objPropVal = New MSExchange.PropVal
    objPropVal.Tag = CdoPR_SUBJECT  'looks in Subject property
    objPropVal.Value = SUBJECT_TO_SEARCH 'looks for this string
    
    ' Create ContentCondition
    Set objContCond = New MSExchange.ContentCondition
    objContCond.Value = objPropVal
    objContCond.PropertyType = CdoPR_SUBJECT
    objContCond.Operator = SUBSTRING + IGNORECASE
    ' Previous line ignores case and other text.
    
    ' Create reply message and store in HiddenMessages collection.
    Set objReplyMsg = objInbox.HiddenMessages.Add
    
    ' Set reply message properties.
    objReplyMsg.Type = "IPM.Note.Rules.ReplyTemplate.Microsoft"
    objReplyMsg.Text = "Please do not send messages to this address"
    objReplyMsg.Update
    
    ' Create Reply Rule first.
    Set objReplyRule = New MSExchange.Rule
    
    ' Set reply action.
    Set objReplyAction = New MSExchange.Action
    objReplyAction.ActionType = ACTION_REPLY
    
    Dim vntArgs(1) As Variant
    vntArgs(0) = objReplyMsg.ID       ' ID of template
    vntArgs(1) = objReplyMsg.FolderID ' folder ID of template
    objReplyAction.Arg = vntArgs      ' Set the args
    
    ' Set other reply rule properties.
    objReplyRule.Name = "Reply Test"
    objReplyRule.Condition = objContCond
    objReplyRule.Actions.Add , objReplyAction
    
    ' Add reply rule to rules collection.
    colRules.Add , objReplyRule
    
    ' Create Delete Rule object.
    Set objDeleteRule = New MSExchange.Rule
    
    ' Create delete action.
    Set objDeleteAction = New MSExchange.Action
    objDeleteAction.ActionType = ACTION_DELETE
    
    ' Set delete rule properties.
    objDeleteRule.Name = "Delete Test"
    objDeleteRule.Condition = objContCond  'reuse condition
    objDeleteRule.Actions.Add , objDeleteAction
    colRules.Add , objDeleteRule
    colRules.Update
    
    ' Wrap up.
    objCDOSession.Logoff
    AddReplyAndDeleteRule = 0  'successful
    
    Set objPropVal = Nothing
    Set objContCond = Nothing
    Set objReplyAction = Nothing
    Set objDeleteAction = Nothing
    Set objReplyRule = Nothing
    Set objDeleteRule = Nothing
    Set objReplyMsg = Nothing
    Set colRules = Nothing
    Set objInbox = Nothing
    Set objCDOSession = Nothing
    
    Exit Function
    
    Error_Handler:
    AddReplyAndDeleteRule = Err.Number
    
    End Function
  4. Add a command button to the default form, and paste the following code to the button click event procedure (note that you must change the ServerName and MailBox to the appropriate names):
    Dim lResult As Long
    ' TODO Change the ServerName and MailBox to the appropriate names.
    lResult = AddReplyAndDeleteRule("ServerName" & vbLf & "MailBox")
    MsgBox "Call to function: " & lResult
  5. Run the project and then click the command button. If the message box displays a "0" (zero), the process worked and the rules were added; otherwise, an error value is displayed.
  6. Using Microsoft Outlook or another mail client, send a message with the subject "Test" to the mailbox. The rules on the mailbox will reply back and delete the message.
Note The rules that are added by the Rule.dll COM component do not appear in the Outlook user interface; the only way to manipulate them is through the code. This is a limitation of the COM interfaces used to create rules, not a limitation of the sample itself. Therefore, it is recommended that all testing be done on a mailbox that you create for this purpose.

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To download the Microsoft Exchange Development Kit (EDK) 5.5, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Microsoft no longer supports Microsoft EDK 5.5 with versions of Microsoft Exchange Server later than 5.5. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
815365 The Microsoft EDK 5.5 is not supported with versions of Microsoft Exchange Server later than 5.5

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References

For more information, see the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) topics:

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Keywords: KB251125, kbhowto

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Article Info
Article ID : 251125
Revision : 8
Created on : 11/3/2005
Published on : 11/3/2005
Exists online : False
Views : 485