ACC97: Sample Procedure to Attach a Microsoft Outlook Folder
ID: Q161174
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The information in this article applies to:
SUMMARY
Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.
This article shows you how to create a sample procedure to link a Microsoft
Outlook folder as a table in a Microsoft Access database.
This article assumes that you are familiar with Visual Basic for
Applications and with creating Microsoft Access applications using the
programming tools provided with Microsoft Access. For more information
about Visual Basic for Applications, please refer to the "Building
Applications with Microsoft Access 97" manual.
MORE INFORMATION
The example in this article uses the Microsoft Messaging Driver, which you
can install from the Microsoft Data Access Pack in the Office 97 ValuPack.
For more information about obtaining and installing the Microsoft
Messaging Driver, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
Q159322
ACC97: Paradox, Lotus, & MS Exchange/Outlook ISAMs in
ValuPack
Q161173
ACC97: MS Exchange ISAM Driver Requires Manual Registration
The Microsoft Messaging Driver gives you programmatic access to Microsoft
Outlook and Microsoft Exchange mail items. Note that you cannot use this
driver through the user interface in Microsoft Access 97. You must use it
in a Visual Basic for Applications procedure.
There are some issues to consider when you use a linked Microsoft Outlook
folder in Microsoft Access:
- You cannot select which fields appear in the linked table; a subset of the total number of Microsoft Outlook fields appears in the table, and they are pre-programmed in the Microsoft Messaging Driver. However, you can rearrange or hide the fields in Datasheet view of the table to customize its appearance.
- You can add and delete records, but you cannot modify any records in the table.
- You cannot enter data into some fields in the linked table, even when
you are adding a new record.
- If items in the linked Microsoft Outlook folder use a special form, you must enter the correct form type in the Message Class field when you add new records to the table. If you do not specify a Message Class,
Microsoft Outlook uses the default mail form to display your data. The
Message Classes for the standard Microsoft Outlook folders are:
Folder Message Class
----------------------------
Calendar IPM.Appointment
Contacts IPM.Contact
Inbox IPM.Note
Journal IPM.Activity
Notes IPM.StickyNote
Tasks IPM.Task
The following sample procedure creates a table linked to a folder in a
Microsoft Outlook mailbox. To use the procedure, you must do the following:
- Set up Microsoft Outlook on your computer.
- Set the SourceTableName property in the procedure to the name of the
mail folder you want to attach to your database.
- Substitute valid Connect property parameters for the linked table in
the procedure:
Parameter Value
--------------------------------------------------------------------
MAPILEVEL The path to the parent of the folder you want to link.
DATABASE The path and file name of the current database.
PROFILE A valid Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange
profile.
You can open a table that is linked to a Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft
Exchange folder if that table's Connect property doesn't contain a
profile parameter. However, when you open the table, you may have to
supply profile information multiple times instead of just once.
- Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
- Create a module and type the following procedure:
Function AttachMail()
Dim db As Database
Dim td As TableDef
On Error GoTo Errorhandler
Set db = CurrentDb()
Set td = db.CreateTableDef("tblInbox")
' Substitute your own MAPILEVEL, DATABASE and PROFILE arguments.
td.Connect = "Exchange 4.0;MAPILEVEL=Mailbox - Nancy Davolio|;"
td.Connect = td.Connect & "DATABASE=C:\Program Files\Microsoft "
td.Connect = td.Connect & "Office\Office\Samples\Northwind.mdb;"
td.Connect = td.Connect & "PROFILE=Microsoft Outlook"
' Substitute the name of the folder you want to attach.
td.SourceTableName = "Inbox"
db.TableDefs.Append td
Application.RefreshDatabaseWindow
MsgBox "Table Appended!"
Exit Function
Errorhandler:
Msgbox "Error " & Err & " " & Error
Exit Function
End Function
- Press CTRL+G to open the Debug window, type the following line, and
then press ENTER:
?AttachMail()
After the procedure runs, the Inbox mail folder appears as a linked,
read-only table in the database.
REFERENCES
For more information about using the Microsoft Messaging Driver, refer to
the Microsoft Exchange/Outlook Driver section of the Acread80.wri file in
the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder.
For more information about setting the Connect property for a linked
Microsoft Exchange/Microsoft Outlook mail folder, search the Help index
for "Connect property."
Additional query words:
mail mapi mailbox
Keywords : kbole kbusage AccCon IsmOthr
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto