Message Object (Encode and Decode MIME messages)

The Message simple COM object represents a MIME email message, decoding MIME email into an object representation you can easily manipulate. Every attachment, part, and label element is presented as an object, giving you unsurpassed processing control. Performs encoding too, so you can pass messages between the Pop, Imap, and Smtp controls. Can also be used independently as a general purpose MIME encoder and decoder. Features include:

Detailed knowledge of MIME is not required to use the Message object.
The Message object provides an object representation of any email message. This formatting object supports easy manipulation of simple and complex (even nested) MIME messages.
Additional features of the MIME object include persistence to disk in two formats: transport ready (encoded) message format and a quick loading (decoded) object format.
Encoded/decoded data need not be spooled to disk, making this product a real performer for messages buffered in memory.
One method call builds a message.
Create a ready-to-send HTML message with a single line of code.

Looking for the .NET version of this object?

Development Environments

Visual Studio .NET (.NET Framework)
Visual Basic (VB)
Visual C++ (VC++)
FoxPro
PowerBuilder
Delphi
C++ Builder
ASP
Office 97/2000

Interface Members

Public Properties
AttachmentDefaults	When an attachment is added to a message, header fields are included that describe the attachment. This property provides default header fields for common attachment file types. These strings may be modified or more added so subsequent calls to the AddAttachment method use the header fields you provide.
AttachmentDirectory	Decoded message attachments are created in this directory.
AttachmentOverwrite	Specifies whether decoded message attachments are overwritten if the filename is the same.
Attribute	Server-related attributes of the message.
Bcc	Collection of recipient address strings that are not disclosed to other recipients (Blind Carbon Copy).
Charset	Gets and sets the character set used for string/byte array conversions.
Cc	Collection of address strings for the secondary recipients (Carbon Copy).
Content	Read from this property to encode the message or write to this property to initialize the object.
From	Specifies the author of the message.
Header	Collection of header fields contained in a Message Object or a Part Object.
PartList	Collection of all Part Objects in a multipart message.
Parts	Collection of "sibling" Part Objects existing at a single level in the message.
QuotedPrintable	When set to True, Quoted-Printable encoding is applied to textual parts of the message when it is encoded. When set to False, textual parts of the message are sent "as-is".
Size	Returns the size of the encoded message.
Subject	Subject of the message.
Text	Text contained in a non-multipart message.
To	Collection of recipient address strings.
Public Methods
AddAttachment	Attach a file to the message.
AddDigest	Create a digest message such as that used to archive newsgroup or mailing list correspondence.
AddHtml	Create a ready-to-send HTML email message.
AddMessage	Attach an existing message to the message.
AddText	Add a text body part, optionally specifying a character set.
Browse	Activate the edit window. This is a debugging feature that supports run-time access for message browsing and editing.
Decode	Decode a message from consecutive buffers of encoded data.
DecodeBuf	Decode a single buffer.
Encode	Generate consecutive segments of the encoded message stream.
EncodeBuf	Encode a buffer.
d>Forward	Create a "forwarded" message to the specified recipient.
Load	Load a message file.
Reply	Create a "reply" message to sender or all recipients.
Store	Store a message in a file.

Code Example

How easy is the Message object to use? Check out the VB example below which demonstrates creating a message with an attachment using the Message object.

' Smtp1.Message is a Message object
Smtp1.Message.To.Add "you@test.com" ' Specify the recipient
Smtp1.Message.From = "me@test.com" ' Specify the sender
Smtp1.Message.Subject = "Test Message" ' Specify the subject
Smtp1.Message.Text = "This is a test." ' Add message body
Smtp1.Message.AddAttachment "C:\company.gif" ' Add attachment
Smtp1.Login "mail.dart.com" ' Start the mail session
Smtp1.Send ' Send message
Smtp1.Logout ' End session