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| Distinct Mail Objects : IMAP component frequently asked questions |
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Page 1 of 1 | Product: Distinct Mail Objects | Topic: IMAP component | Last updated: 2/3/2008 | | | | Q.: What can I do with the IMAP4 Fetch command? | A.: The Fetch command gets the data associated with one or more messages. The application can either retrieve the whole message or just part of it. This method is very flexible and powerful. Here are some possible uses:
- Retrieve only the header information (To, From, Subject …);
- Retrieve the message statistics (Unique Identifier, Size or Date Received);
- Retrieve the status of a message (Recent, Answered, Seen, …);
- Retrieve the entire message (with or without the initial header);
- Retrieve information on the contents of a multipart message (Type of message, Section No., Encoding …);
- Retrieve sections of the message (header fields, Content, Attributes);
- Retrieve only a specified number of lines of a message;
- Retrieve the initial header fields for sections of the message;
- Retrieve sections of a MIME multipart message; etc.
Remember if an IMAP4 "vendor" wants to sell you an IMAP4 implementation that does not fully implement the Search and the Fetch commands, just say "no thank you!". It is not IMAP4 unless it implements these most powerful features. Check out the IMAP RFC.
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| | Product: Distinct Mail Objects | Topic: IMAP component | Last updated: 3/10/2008 | | | | Q.: What can I do with the IMAP4 Search command? | | A.: The Search command searches a mailbox for all messages that match the specifications you specify. You can search any message field. For example you can specify a simple criteria "FLAGGED FROM Smith SINCE 1-Feb-2001" to refer to all messages from Smith since February 1, 2001 that have been flagged or more complex nested search criteria like ((From "Tom") (NOT Subject "xyz") (OR (OR (From "Chris") (NOT Subject "confidential")) To "Tom")). | | | | Do you find this information useful ? Yes No Not Sure |
| | Product: Distinct Mail Objects | Topic: IMAP component | Last updated: 3/30/2008 | | | | Q.: When should I use IMAP instead of POP3? | A.: You should use IMAP whenever you have a need to selectively retrieve email messages or manipulate mailboxes. POP3 can be used for more simple email retrieval and is only able to handle a single mailbox, the user’s INBOX.
IMAP4 is a more recent protocol that allows people to access their mailbox on the company server from different computers when travelling or working from home without having to copy these messages around. IMAP4 is a far more powerful protocol, but it is also more complex. It contains a rich set of commands, which allows you to list, preview, search, flag and organize your messages directly on the server. Of course it also allows you to download these messages to any client computer and delete them from the server if this is what you want to do. IMAP4 also supports commands to create, rename and delete mailboxes on the server, move messages between mailboxes and preview them before downloading them to your client system. See also IMAP4 Search and Fetch for a description of the most powerful commands of this protocol.
IMAP is also particularly useful when you want to share the same mailbox among several users. This is the case of a mailbox created for the only purpose of receiving subscriptions to Newsletters. Rather than cluttering the server with many copy of the same document, system administrators can create a single mailbox that can be shared by many subscribers.
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