HOWTO: Use PROPPATCH in WebDAV to Change a Property Value of a Word Document (289870)

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The following Visual C++ code sample uses the HTTPRequest object to send a PROPPATCH request to the Exchange server for the Author property of the Word document and get a response back stating if the value was changed.

This sample uses the following namespaces: This sample requires Msxml.dll version 2.0 or later.

To run this sample, follow these steps:

1. Under Public folders, create a new folder and name it "Testfolder".
2. In Testfolder, create a new Word document and name it "Test.doc".
3. In Visual C++, create a new Win32 console application and name it "Mysample".
4. Replace the code in the Mysample.cpp file with the following code:

   #include<stdio.h>
   
   //TODO: Change the path here if your Msxml.dll file is in a different location.
   
   // for xml 4.0
   #import "c:\winnt\system32\msxml4.dll"
   using namespace MSXML2;
   
   // for xml 2.0
   // #import "c:\winnt\system32\msxml2.dll"
   // using namespace MSXML;
   
   int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   {
      CoInitialize(NULL);
      try
      {
   //TODO: Change the line below to reflect your server.
         bstr_t yourServerName = "myserver1";
   
         bstr_t sUrl = "http://" + yourServerName +
           "/public/testfolder/test.doc";
         bstr_t sMethod = "PROPPATCH";
            
   //TODO: Change the 2 lines below to reflect your user name and password.
         _variant_t vUser = L"myserver1\\User1";
         _variant_t vPassword = L"password";
            
   // for xml 4.0
         MSXML2::IXMLHTTPRequestPtr pXMLHttpReq=NULL; 
         // for xml 2.0
         MSXML::IXMLHTTPRequestPtr pXMLHttpReq=NULL; 
   
         HRESULT hr = ::CoCreateInstance(
   			CLSID_XMLHTTPRequest,
                           NULL, 
                           CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER, 
   			IID_IXMLHttpRequest,
                          (LPVOID*)&pXMLHttpReq);
         if (S_OK != hr)
         {
            printf("XML Http Request pointer creation failed\n");
            return 0;
         }
   
         // Call open function.
         _variant_t vAsync = (bool)FALSE;
         pXMLHttpReq->open(sMethod, 
           sUrl, 
           vAsync, 
           vUser, 
           vPassword);
   
         pXMLHttpReq->setRequestHeader((bstr_t)"Content-Type", 
            (bstr_t)"text/xml");
         bstr_t sReq;
         sReq =  "<?xml version='1.0'?>";
         sReq = sReq + "<a:propertyupdate xmlns:a='DAV:' xmlns:o=" +
            "'urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office'>";
         sReq = sReq + "<a:set><a:prop>";
         sReq = sReq + "<o:Author>someone else</o:Author>";
         sReq = sReq + "</a:prop></a:set></a:propertyupdate>";
    
         // Send the request to set the search criteria.
         pXMLHttpReq->send(sReq);
   
         // OK, get response.      
         long lStatus;
         pXMLHttpReq->get_status(&lStatus);
   
         printf("\n~~~~~~~~\n%d\n", lStatus);
         BSTR bstrResp;
         pXMLHttpReq->get_statusText(&bstrResp);
         printf("\n~~~~~~~~\n%s\n", (char*)(bstr_t)bstrResp);
   
         _bstr_t bstrAllHeaders;
         bstrAllHeaders = pXMLHttpReq->getAllResponseHeaders();
         printf("\n~~~~~~~~\n%s\n", (char*)bstrAllHeaders);
   
         BSTR bstrResponseText;
         pXMLHttpReq->get_responseText(&bstrResponseText);
         printf("\n~~~~~~~~\n%s\n", (char*)(bstr_t)bstrResponseText);   
      }
      catch(_com_error &e)
      {
         printf("Error\a\a\n\tCode = %08lx\n"
            "\tCode meaning = %s\tSource = %s\n\tDescription = %s\n",
            e.Error(), 
            e.ErrorMessage(), 
            (char*)e.Source(), 
            (char*)e.Description());
      }
   
      CoUninitialize(); 
      
      return 0;
   }
   					

5. Make the changes marked by "TODO:" in the code.
6. Compile and then run the code.
7. At the end, you will see the Status as "200 OK". The StatusText will display the status as "HTTP/1.1 200 OK" if the value was changed.
8. You can then use PROPFIND to look up this property and you will see that it has changed to "Someone Else".