VO2Outlook the Fast track.
Some history and motivation
Frans de Wit and I started our =
COM
project a long time ago. Back then the trigger was the poor support for CO=
M and
OLE in VO and some things we wanted to do with Outlook that VO did not sup=
port.
Mainly to do with events and data types that were not supported such as the
Date-time values Outlook needs to set things like reminders. As it turned =
out
Frans got very interested in the COM-concepts and ended up writing a very
complete COM Class library called the COMSDK. On top of that VO2Outlook was
born allowing us to do what we needed but admittedly also very technical.
Although we did provide some Getting Started documentation and Samples, be=
cause
of the complexity of the COM libraries it was not real easy to get started=
.
Also VO 2.7 came along requiring
some changes so there were a few good reasons to re-think VO2Outlook a bit=
to
see if we could change it to support a larger audience. This is why I deci=
ded
to write a new sample application and this article as well as work with Fr=
ans
to create a COMSDK version that would be easy to use. It is also the next
incarnation of the COMSDK not only based on VO 2.7 but also support for wr=
iting
com-servers (Out of proc (.exe) and In proc(.
Getting Started
So now for the good news; it is=
very
easy to start using VO2Outlook now. You need only two DLL’s and their
prototypes. I’ve taken the liberty to rename them for the sake of
simplicity. The COMSDK, which used to be several libra=
ries
is now compacted into one: SOCOMSDK.DLL with the accompanying prototype. So
copy the DLL into you bin-directory and import SOCOMSDK DLL.Aef.
The same for VO2Outlook, copy the DLL into the
bin-directory and import VO2Outlook DLL.AEF. Add both to your list of libr=
aries
and you are good to go. This way it is also much easier when we update our
DLL’s, you should be able to just replace them.
I have not bothered about a set=
up or
install, I figure every VO developer know how to handle two DLL’s and
three AEF-files. Three AEF’s you say? Yes three, the third AEF,
VO2OutlookDemo.aef is a demo application that shows how to Send or display
emails, create appointment items and create task items or task requests.
The DLL’s have been compi=
led
using VO 2.7 build 2741 (=3D2.7b1), if you are using an earlier version of=
2.7
(not recommended!) I have included SOCOMSDK.AEF and VO2Outlook.AEF so you =
can
import and compile the DLL’s yourself.
VO2Outlook Demo
The demo application assumes Ou=
tlook
is installed and setup properly. So this means that you have verified you =
can
use Outlook to receive and send mail and you have a default Task folder and
Calendar.
The app is just one single Dial=
og
that hosts a tab control with several tab pages for the different tasks th=
at
are demonstrated. The most obvious use for VO2Outlook is sending mail mess=
ages
but it goes without saying that you actually have access to the full object
model that Outlook exposes which can actually do a lot more than just send=
ing
mail. The first thing an application needs to do is create a reference to =
the
Outlook application object. You can do this yourself, or use the one provi=
ded
for you in VO2Outlook. Of course this is what the Demo app does. Here̵=
7;s the
Compose method for the Mail page, responsible for the actual creation of t=
he
Mail Item using that method:
METHOD Compose=
Mail() CLASS MailPage<=
span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareas=
t-font-family:
"Times New Roman"'>
LOCAL oOutlook AS TS_UIOutlook
// Reference to outlook automation object
LOCAL oMailItem AS TS_OutlookMailItem
// VO2Outlook class for MaitItems<=
/span>
BEGIN SEQUENCE
oOutL=
ook:=3DTS_UIOutlook{} =
&n=
bsp; =
;
IF oOutlook <> NULL_O=
BJECT
//
Create a new Item in default 'Outbox' (Calling =
// CMSave on it will store it in Drafts folder=
)
=
; oMailItem
:=3D oOutlook:Application:CreateMailItem()
=
; IF oMailItem<=
/span><>NULL_OBJECT
=
; =
oMailItem:CABody :=3D SEL=
F:oDCBody:Textvalue
=
; =
oMailItem:CASubject :=3D
SELF:oDCSubject:Textvalue
=
; I=
F !
Empty( SELF:oDCToAddresses=
:TextValue
)
=
; =
;
oMailItem:CARecipie=
nts:CMAdd(;
=
SELF:oDCToAddresses:TextValue)
=
; ENDIF
=
;
=
; ENDIF
ENDIF
END SEQUENCE
RETURN oMailItem
:=3DTS_UIOutlook{} =
Is
the code that creates the our object and has a reference to Outlook. The
property called Application is the actual reference to the Outook
Appplication class as document in the Outlook
VBA-documentation. It is the top-level class in the Outlook object model.<=
/span>
In VO2Outlook we have added a m=
ethod
that creates a new Mail item, CreateMailItem. =
This
returns a reference to an Outlook mail item object, again documented in the
Outlook VBA-helpfile (for Outlook 2003 this is
VBAOL11.CHM). There is only one difference, the
methods in VO2Outlook are prefixed by “CM”, the access and ass=
igns
by “CA”. So assigning the Body property becomes oMailItem:C=
ABody
:=3D “TEXT” and calling the Add method, for
example on the Recipients collection is oMailItem:CARecipients:CMAdd( SELF:oDCToAd=
dresses:TextValue).
Which is how you add a TO-email
address to an Outlook mailitem.<=
span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast-fon=
t-family:
"Times New Roman"'> Adding CC’s or BCC’s requires a reference =
to
the just added object and setting the appropriate properties:
oRec<=
/span>
:=3D oMailItem:CARecipients:CMAdd(Ed@comsdk.com)
oRec:=
CAType
:=3D 2 // (olCC)
I have copied all Outlook const=
ants
into a separate module in the Demo app, but you can also look them up in t=
he
before mentioned helpfile.
If you are not sure of the vali=
dity
of the entered email addresses you can also call Resol=
ve
(so CMResolve in VO2Outlook) on them to check =
if
Outlook thinks they are Ok. When Ok the property (CA)Resolved will return t=
rue.
After resolving all recipients and composing the email by setting the other
properties you are ready to either send or display the item. You can also =
Save the item without sending which will store the it=
em in
the draft folder. Below are the Display and Send
methods. &nbs=
p; =
;
=
;
METHOD Display( ) CLASS MailPage
LOCAL oMailItem AS TS_O=
utlookMailItem // VO2Outlook class for MaitItems
oMail=
Item
:=3D SELF:ComposeMail()
IF oMailItem # NULL_OBJECT<=
/span>
=
; oMailItem:CMDisplay()
ENDIF
RETURN SELF =
=
;
METHOD SendMai=
l( ) CLASS MailPage=
LOCAL oMailItem AS TS_O=
utlookMailItem // VO2Outlook class for MaitItems
oMail=
Item
:=3D SELF:ComposeMail()
IF oMailItem # NULL_OBJECT<=
/span>
=
; oMailItem:CMSend()
ENDIF
RETURN SELF
=
;
This is how easy it is to start
sending emails from your VO application using Outlook. The other options
demonstrated in the app are creating a calendar item and creating tasks. <=
span
class=3DGramE>Calendar items because of the special handling of date-time =
values.
I’m sure the code for that will be self explanatory. Tasks are part =
of
the demo because of the dual nature tasks can have in Outlook. You can cre=
ate a
simple task for yourself, to keep track and set reminders for example but =
you
can also send a task request to someone else. This will create the task in=
your
task-folder but sends an email to the recipient putting in their task-list=
when
they accept and automatically sending the sender updates when this task ge=
ts
updated. This way you will automatically receive messages indicating progr=
ess
or completion. This is a very nice and useful feature that can also be very
interesting to integrate into your application.
I hope this article triggers yo=
u to
go and try the comsdk and VO2Outlook and remem=
ber
that The C=
OMSDK provides
you with a full blown version including all of the so=
urcecode.
Ed Richard -
Ed@SoftwareObjectives.com.au