Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .

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Programming samples
that can reference items
and folders in Outlook
by using Visual Basic
.NET

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This article was previously published under Q313800

SUMMARY

The Microsoft Outlook object model is generally used to access various types of items
in folders. This article contains samples of the methods, the properties, and the
objects that you can use to refer to Outlook items and Outlook folders by using
Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/313800[18/09/2015 11:36:59 p. m.]

Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

IN THIS TASK
INTRODUCTION
Create a new Visual Basic .NET console application
Reference existing folders
GetDefaultFolder method
Folders object
Parent property
GetSharedDefaultFolder method
CurrentFolder method
GetFolderFromID method
Create and reference new folders
Folders.Add method
Create and reference new items
CreateItem method
Items.Add method
CreateItemFromTemplate method
Reference existing items
Items(i) and For Each...Next method
Items("This is the subject") method
Find method
Restrict method
Selection method
GetItemFromID method
REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
This article describes the various methods, properties, and objects that you can use to refer
to Microsoft Outlook items and folders when you are using Visual Basic .NET. This article
also includes code samples that you can use to refer to the Outlook items and folders

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

when you are using Visual Basic .NET.

Create a new Visual Basic .NET console application

To use these code samples, you must create a new Visual Basic .NET console application:
1. Start Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.
2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Project.
3. Under Project Types, click Visual Basic Projects.
4. Under Templates, click Console Application, and then click OK.
By default, Module1.vb is created.
5. Add a reference to the Microsoft Outlook 10.0 Object Library. To do this, follow these
steps:
a. On the Project menu, click Add Reference.
b. Click the COM tab, locate Microsoft Outlook 10.0 Object Library, and
then click Select.
c. In the Add References dialog box, click OK.
In the code window, you can see an empty Sub Main() procedure that you can use for the
code samples:

Module Module1
Sub Main()
End Sub
End Module

Note When you use the Write method or the WriteLine method to write to the console,
you can add a breakpoint to the End Sub line of the code so that you can read the
console before the console closes.

Reference existing folders

GetDefaultFolder method
Default folders are folders that exist at the same level as the Inbox and that receive
incoming mail. If you have more than one Inbox in your profile, press CTRL+SHIFT+I to
select the default Inbox. The default folders are the folders that most users work with
regularly, such as the Calendar folder, the Contacts folder, and the Tasks folder. You can
easily refer to these folders by using the GetDefaultFolder method. The
GetDefaultFolder method takes one argument that defines the type of folder that you

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

want to refer to. An Outlook object has an enumeration that you can select. This
enumeration is defined in the Outlook.OlDefaultFolders enumeration type. The following
example assigns the objFolder object variable to the default Contacts folder and then
writes the name of the folder to the console window:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
objFolder = objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultF
olders.olFolderContacts)
Console.Write(objFolder.Name)
End Sub

Folders object

You can use the Folders object to refer to any folder that is visible in the Outlook folder
list. This object is typically used to refer to an Exchange public folder or to any other folder
that is not a default Outlook folder.
The following example demonstrates how to refer to a public folder that is named My
Public Folder. Note that you typically start at the top-most folder and work your way down
to the folder that you want to reference. Also note that the folder names are casesensitive. The folder names must exactly match the folder names as they appear in the
Outlook folders list.

s")
)

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.Folders.Item("Public Folders")
objFolder = objFolder.Folders.Item("All Public Folder
objFolder = objFolder.Folders.Item("My Public Folder"

Console.Write(objFolder.Name)
End Sub

Parent property
If you already have a reference to an Outlook item or folder, you can use its Parent
property to create a reference to the folder that contains the item or the folder. The
following example returns the name of the parent folder for a particular item:

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objMessage As Outlook._MailItem
objMessage = objOutlook.CreateItem(Outlook.OlItemType
.olMailItem)
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = objMessage.Pare
nt
Console.Write(objFolder.Name)
End Sub

GetSharedDefaultFolder method
You can use this method if another user has granted you permission to one of their default
folders.
You use the GetSharedDefaultFolder method as you use the GetDefaultFolder
method, except that you must also specify the name of the user whose folder you want to
reference. The following example first resolves the name of the other user to verify that the
name is a valid name that can be used with the GetSharedDefaultFolder method:

GetSharedDefaultFolder:
Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objRecipient As Outlook.Recipient = _
objNS.CreateRecipient("John Smith")
If objRecipient.Resolve Then
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetSharedDefaultFolder(objRecipient, _
Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.olFolderCalendar)
Console.Write(objFolder.Name)
Else
Console.Write("Recipient could not be resolved.")
End If
End Sub

CurrentFolder method
This method is used to reference or to set the currently selected folder in an Outlook
Explorer window. The following example uses the CurrentFolder method to set the
Outlook Today page as the currently selected folder in the ActiveExplorer window:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()

Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
objFolder = objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultF
olders.olFolderInbox)
objFolder = objFolder.Parent
objOutlook.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder = objFolder
End Sub

For more information about how to access other people's folders, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
290824
How to open another user's calendar or another folder in Outlook 2002

GetFolderFromID method
This method is typically used only in more complex solutions. These solutions keep track of
both the StoreID field and the EntryID field of a folder so that the folder can be quickly
referenced later.

For more information about how to use the GetFolderFromID method, click the following
article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
293152
Programming with EntryIDs and StoreIDs

Create and reference new folders

Folders.Add method
When you use the Add method of the Folders collection, you can create a new folder.
The first argument specifies the name of the folder, and the second argument specifies the
type of the folder. The following example adds a Personal Tasks subfolder to your default
Tasks folder:

Folders.Add Method:
Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objTasks As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderTasks)
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objTasks.Folders.Add("Personal Tasks", _
Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.olFolderTasks)
End Sub

Create and reference new items

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

CreateItem method
The CreateItem method creates a new default Outlook item. If you want to create an item
that is based on a custom form that you have created, use the Items.Add method that is
described in the "Items.Add method" section. The CreateItem method is located off the
top-level application object in the Outlook object model. This method takes only one
argument. The argument is a constant that indicates the type of item to create:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objTask As Outlook._TaskItem
objTask = objOutlook.CreateItem(Outlook.OlItemType.ol
TaskItem)
objTask.Subject = "Test Item"
objTask.Display()
End Sub

Items.Add method
When you use the Add method on the Items collection, you can create a new item that is
based on any message class. The message class can be a default Outlook message class,
such as the IPM.Contact message class, or the message class can be a message class for
a custom form, such as the IPM.Contact.MyForm message class. To use the Items.Add
method, you must first reference the folder where you want to create a new item.

The following example uses the Items.Add method to create a new item that is based on
a custom contact form that is named MyForm:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objContacts As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.
olFolderContacts)
Dim objItems As Outlook._Items = objContacts.Items
Dim objContact As Outlook._ContactItem = objItems.Add
("IPM.Contact.MyForm")
objContact.Display()
End Sub

The following example uses the Items.Add method to create a new item in the Contacts
folder that is based on the default form for the folder. You can set the default form by
changing the When posting to this folder, use setting in the folder Properties dialog
box:
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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objContacts As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.
olFolderContacts)
Dim objItems As Outlook._Items = objContacts.Items
Dim objContact As Outlook._ContactItem = objItems.Add
objContact.Display()
End Sub

Note If you use the Items.Add method, the default form for the folder is not important.
You can specify any valid message class as long as it has been published in the folder, in
the personal forms library, or in the organizational forms library.

For more information about message classes, click the following article numbers to view
the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
290657
Description of form definitions and one-off forms in Outlook 2002
290659 How to update existing items to use a new custom form

CreateItemFromTemplate method
Use the CreateItemFromTemplate method to create a new item that is based on an
Outlook template file (.oft) or on a message file (.msg) format. Because most forms are
published in a folder or in a forms library, this method is not generally used. You may want
to use this method if you are creating a Setup program to install forms for an Outlook
solution. You typically do this for users who do not have network access or who typically
work offline in Outlook. You may want to use the Setup program for the following reasons:
The Setup program can be used to automate Outlook.
The Setup program uses the CreateItemFromTemplate method to open a custom
form from a network share or from a disk.
The Setup program uses the Outlook object model to publish the form for later use.

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objContacts As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderContacts)
Dim objContact As Outlook._ContactItem = _
objOutlook.CreateItemFromTemplate("C:\Contact.oft
")

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

Dim objForm As Outlook.FormDescription = objContact.F

ormDescription
objForm.Name = "My Contact"
objForm.PublishForm(Outlook.OlFormRegistry.olFolderRe
gistry, objContacts)
End Sub

Reference existing items

Items(i) and For Each...Next method

Typically, these methods are used to loop through all the items in a folder. The Items
collection contains all the items in a particular folder, and you can specify which item to
reference by using an index with the Items collection. This is typically used with the For
loop construct.

The following example uses the Items(i) method to loop through all the contacts in the
Contacts folder and to write the FullName field to the console window:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objContacts As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderContacts)
Dim objItems As Outlook._Items = objContacts.Items
Dim iCount As Int16 = objItems.Count
Dim i As Int16
For i = 1 To iCount
If TypeOf (objItems.Item(i)) Is Outlook.ContactIt
em Then
Console.WriteLine(objItems.Item(i).Fullname)
End If
Next
End Sub

The following example uses the For Each...Next construct to loop through all the contacts
in the Contacts folder and to write the FullName field to the console window:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objContacts As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderContacts)
Dim objItems As Object = objContacts.Items
Dim objItem As Object
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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

For Each objItem In objItems

If TypeOf (objItem) Is Outlook.ContactItem Then
Console.WriteLine(objItem.FullName)
End If
Next
End Sub

Items("This is the subject") method

You can also use the Items collection to specify a text string that matches the Subject field
of an item. This method is not generally used. The following sample code displays an item
in the Inbox with a subject line that contains "Please help on Friday!"

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objInbox As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderInbox)
Dim objItems As Outlook._Items = objInbox.Items
Dim objMessage As Outlook._MailItem = objItems.Item("
Please help on Friday!")
objMessage.Display()
End Sub

Find method

Use the Find method to search for an item in a folder based on the value of one of its
fields. If the Find method is successful, you can then use the FindNext method to find
additional items that meet the same criteria. The following example searches for highpriority tasks:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderTasks)
Dim objTasks As Outlook._Items = objFolder.Items
Dim objTask As Outlook._TaskItem = _
objTasks.Find("[Importance] = 'High'")
If objTask Is Nothing Then
MsgBox("Nothing Important. Go party!")
Else
MsgBox("You have something important to do!")

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

End If
End Sub

Restrict method
The Restrict method is similar to the Find method, but instead of returning a single item,
the Restrict method returns a collection of items that meet the search criteria. For
example, you can use this method to find all contacts who work at the same company.
The
following example displays the FullName property of all the contacts who work at the A.
Datum Corporation:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objNS As Outlook._NameSpace = objOutlook.Session
Dim objFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
objNS.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.o
lFolderContacts)
Dim objContacts As Outlook._Items = objFolder.Items
Dim strCriteria As String = _
"[CompanyName] = 'A. Datum Corporation'"
Dim objADatumitems As Object = objContacts.Restrict(s
trCriteria)
Dim objADatumitem As Outlook.ContactItem
For Each objADatumitem In objADatumitems
Console.WriteLine(objADatumitem.FullName)
Next
End Sub

Selection method

The Selection method is used to return a collection of items based on the currently
selected items in an Outlook Explorer window. The following example displays the subject
for each item that is selected in the ActiveExplorer window:

Sub Main()
Dim objOutlook As Outlook._Application
objOutlook = New Outlook.Application()
Dim objSelection As Outlook.Selection = _
objOutlook.ActiveExplorer.Selection
Dim iCount As Int16 = objSelection.Count
Dim i As Int16
For i = iCount To 1 Step -1
Console.WriteLine(objSelection.Item(i).Subject)
Next
End Sub

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Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

GetItemFromID method

This method is typically used only in more complex solutions. These solutions keep track of
both the StoreID field and the EntryID field of an item so that you can quickly reference
the item later.
For more information about using the GetItemFromID method, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
293152
Programming with EntryIDs and StoreIDs

REFERENCES

For more information about available resources and for answers to frequently asked
questions about Outlook solutions, click the following article number to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
287530
Frequently asked questions about custom forms and Outlook solutions

Properties
Article ID: 313800 - Last Review: 03/22/2006 20:45:07 - Revision: 4.3
Applies to

Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard Edition

Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2002 Standard Edition

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition

Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition

Keywords:

kbhowto kbcode KB313800

Feedback

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/313800[18/09/2015 11:36:59 p. m.]

Programming samples that can reference items and folders in Outlook by using Visual Basic .NET

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/313800[18/09/2015 11:36:59 p. m.]