ACC97: Sample Procedure to Attach a Microsoft Outlook Folder (161174)

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: 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.

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.
2. 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
   					

3. 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.