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Delphi - Retrieve email over SSL from IMAP4 server

The following delphi example codes demonstrate how to retrieve email over SSL connection from IMAP4 server. This sample downloads emails from IMAP4 server and deletes the email after the email is retrieved.

SSL and TLS

SSL connection encrypts data between the email component and POP3 server or IMAP4 server to protect user, password and email content in TCP/IP level. Now this technology is commonly used and many email servers are deployed with SSL such as Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail.

There are two ways to deploy SSL on email server:

  • Implicit SSL

    Deploying SSL on another port (POP3: 995 port or IMAP4: 993 port) directly. This is most common way.

  • Explicit SSL (TLS)

    Using STARTTLS or STLS command to switch SSL channel on normal port (POP3: 110 port or IMAP4: 143 port);

TLS 1.2

TLS is the successor of SSL, EAGetMail supports SSL 3.0/TLS1.0 - 1.2 very well. In EAGetMail, ConnectTLS doesn’t mean TLS encryption, it means TLS command in POP3/IMAP protocol.

You don’t have to set any property to enable TLS 1.2 encryption. If your server requires TLS 1.2 encryption, TLS 1.2 encryption is used automatically with ConnectTLS, ConnectSSL or ConnectSSLAuto.

To enable TLS 1.2 on some legacy systems, you have to install required update/packages:

Enable TLS 1.2 on Windows XP/2003/2008/7/2008 R2

Installation

Before you can use the following sample codes, you should download the EAGetMail Installer and install it on your machine at first. Full sample projects are included in this installer.

Add reference

To better demonstrate how to retrieve email and parse email, let’s create a Delphi Standard EXE project at first, then add a TButton on the Form, double-click this button. It is like this:

Delphi console project

To use EAGetMail ActiveX Object in your Delphi project, the first step is “Add Unit file of EAGetMail to your project”. Please go to C:\Program Files\EAGetMail\Include\delphi or C:\Program Files (x86)\EAGetMail\Include\delphi folder, find EAGetMailObjLib_TLB.pas, and then copy this file to your project folder.

// include EAGetMailObjLib_TLB unit to your Delphi Project
unit Unit1;

interface

uses
Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms,
Dialogs, EAGetMailObjLib_TLB, StdCtrls;

Then you can start to use it in your Delphi Project.

You can also create EAGetMailObjLib_TLB.pas manually by Delphi like this:

  • Delphi 7 or eariler version

    First of all, create a standard delphi project: select menu Project -> Import Type Library, checked EAGetMail ActiveX Object and click Create Unit. Then include EAGetMailObjLib_TLB in your project.

    add reference in Delphi

  • Delphi XE or later version

    First of all, create a standard delphi project: select menu Component -> Import component... -> Import a type library -> checked EAGetMail ActiveX Object, have Generate Component Wrapper checked and click “Create Unit”. Then include EAGetMailObjLib_TLB in your project.

Delphi - Retrieve email over SSL from IMAP4 server - example

The following example codes demonstrate retrieving email from IMAP4 server over SSL 993 port. In order to run it correctly, please change email server, user, password, folder, file name value to yours.

Note

To get full sample projects, please download and install EAGetMail on your machine.

unit Unit1;

interface

uses
    Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms,
    Dialogs, StdCtrls, EAGetMailObjLib_TLB;

type
    TForm1 = class(TForm)
        Button1: TButton;
        procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
    private
        { Private declarations }
    public
        { Public declarations }
    end;

const
    MailServerPop3 = 0;
    MailServerImap4 = 1;
    MailServerEWS = 2;
    MailServerDAV = 3;
    MailServerMsGraph = 4;

var
    Form1: TForm1;

implementation

{$R *.dfm}

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
    oServer: TMailServer;
    oClient: TMailClient;
    oTools: TTools;
    oMail: IMail;
    infos: IMailInfoCollection;
    oInfo: IMailInfo;
    localInbox, fileName: WideString;
    i: Integer;
begin

    try
        // set current thread code page to system default code page.
        SetThreadLocale(GetSystemDefaultLCID());
        oTools := TTools.Create(Application);

        // Create a folder named "inbox" under
        // current directory to store the email files
        localInbox := GetCurrentDir() + '\inbox';
        oTools.CreateFolder(localInbox);

        oServer := TMailServer.Create(Application);
        oServer.Server := 'pop3.emailarchitect.net';
        oServer.User := 'test@emailarchitect.net';
        oServer.Password := 'testpassword';
        oServer.Protocol := MailServerImap4;

        // Enable SSL/TLS Connection, most modern email server require SSL/TLS connection by default.
        oServer.SSLConnection := true;
        // Set 993 SSL IMAP4 port
        oServer.Port := 993;

        // If your IMAP doesn't deploy SSL connection
        // Please use
        // oServer.SSLConnection := false;
        // oServer.Port := 143;

        oClient := TMailClient.Create(Application);
        oClient.LicenseCode := 'TryIt';

        oClient.Connect1(oServer.DefaultInterface);
        ShowMessage('Connected!');

        infos := oClient.GetMailInfoList();
        ShowMessage(Format('Total %d email(s)', [infos.Count]));

        for i := 0 to infos.Count - 1 do
        begin
            oInfo := infos.Item[i];

            ShowMessage(Format('Index: %d; Size: %d; UIDL: ' + oInfo.UIDL,
            [oInfo.Index, oInfo.Size]));

            // Generate a random file name by current local datetime,
            // You can use your method to generate the filename if you do not like it
            fileName := localInbox + '\' + oTools.GenFileName(i) + '.eml';

            // Receive email from POP3 server
            oMail := oClient.GetMail(oInfo);

            ShowMessage('From: ' + oMail.From.Address + #13#10 +
                'Subject: ' + oMail.Subject);

            // Save email to local disk
            oMail.SaveAs(fileName, true);

            // Mark email as deleted from POP3 server
            oClient.Delete(oInfo);
        end;

        // Quit and expunge emails marked as deleted from POP3 server
        oClient.Quit;

    except
        on ep:Exception do
        ShowMessage('Error: ' + ep.Message);
    end;

end;

end.

32bit/x64 ActiveX DLL

Seperate builds of run-time dll for 32 and x64 platform

File Platform
Installation Path\Lib\native\x86\EAGetMailObj.dll 32 bit
Installation Path\Lib\native\x64\EAGetMailObj.dll 64 bit

Distribution

  • Standard EXE

    For VB6, C++, Delphi or other standard exe application, you can distribute EAGetMailObj.dll with your application to target machine without COM-registration and installer. To learn more detail, please have a look at Registration-free COM with Manifest File.

  • Script

    For ASP, VBScript, VBA, MS SQL Stored Procedure, you need to install EAGetMail on target machine by EAGetMail installer, both 32bit/x64 DLL are installed and registered.

Appendix

Comments

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See Also