Creating a helper class in C# to access common Outlook item members
In Microsoft Outlook, items such as MailItem, ContactItem and AppointmentItem have similar properties and methods. For example, the Application, Attachments, Body, Categories, and Class properties, and Close, Copy, and Display methods are common to all Outlook item objects. The COM-based Outlook object model returns the generic Visual Basic Object instead of the exact item type for many members. For instance, the _Inspector.CurrentItem property returns a generic Object. On the other hand, the strongly typed managed code environment requires you to cast the Object representing an Outlook item to the exact Outlook type such as MailItem. You can create a helper class to use reflection to expose properties and methods that are common to all items. This blog describes an OutlookItem helper class that helps you cast the object to the exact type and provides the convenience of directly using common item properties or methods on the OutlookItem object.
The OutlookItem helper class is a very useful technique that is described in the book Programming Applications for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 by Randy Byrne and Ryan Gregg, from Microsoft Press (ISBN 9780735622494, copyright Microsoft Press 2007, all rights reserved). A few examples in the Outlook 2010 Primary Interop Assembly Reference make use of this helper class, and the next refresh of that Reference will also include this helper class. See the following how-to topics that use the OutlookItem class:
How to: Open and Display the Contents of an iCalendar File
How to: Use SetColumns to Efficiently Enumerate Items in a Folder
How to: Assign Categories to an Item
How to: Implement a Wrapper for Inspectors and Track Item-Level Events in Each Inspector
The following lists the OutlookItem class, as excerpted from the Programming Applications for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 book.
using System;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace SampleCodeAddinCS
{
class OutlookItem
{
private object m_item; // the wrapped Outlook item
private Type m_type; // type for the Outlook item
private object[] m_args; // dummy argument array
private System.Type m_typeOlObjectClass;
#region OutlookItem Constants
private const string OlActions = "Actions";
private const string OlApplication = "Application";
private const string OlAttachments = "Attachments";
private const string OlBillingInformation = "BillingInformation";
private const string OlBody = "Body";
private const string OlCategories = "Categories";
private const string OlClass = "Class";
private const string OlClose = "Close";
private const string OlCompanies = "Companies";
private const string OlConversationIndex = "ConversationIndex";
private const string OlConversationTopic = "ConversationTopic";
private const string OlCopy = "Copy";
private const string OlCreationTime = "CreationTime";
private const string OlDisplay = "Display";
private const string OlDownloadState = "DownloadState";
private const string OlEntryID = "EntryID";
private const string OlFormDescription = "FormDescription";
private const string OlGetInspector = "GetInspector";
private const string OlImportance = "Importance";
private const string OlIsConflict = "IsConflict";
private const string OlItemProperties = "ItemProperties";
private const string OlLastModificationTime = "LastModificationTime";
private const string OlLinks = "Links";
private const string OlMarkForDownload = "MarkForDownload";
private const string OlMessageClass = "MessageClass";
private const string OlMileage = "Mileage";
private const string OlMove = "Move";
private const string OlNoAging = "NoAging";
private const string OlOutlookInternalVersion = "OutlookInternalVersion";
private const string OlOutlookVersion = "OutlookVersion";
private const string OlParent = "Parent";
private const string OlPrintOut = "PrintOut";
private const string OlPropertyAccessor = "PropertyAccessor";
private const string OlSave = "Save";
private const string OlSaveAs = "SaveAs";
private const string OlSaved = "Saved";
private const string OlSensitivity = "Sensitivity";
private const string OlSession = "Session";
private const string OlShowCategoriesDialog = "ShowCategoriesDialog";
private const string OlSize = "Size";
private const string OlSubject = "Subject";
private const string OlUnRead = "UnRead";
private const string OlUserProperties = "UserProperties";
#endregion
#region Constructor
public OutlookItem(object item)
{
m_item = item;
m_type = m_item.GetType();
m_args = new Object[] { };
}
#endregion
#region Public Methods and Properties
public Outlook.Actions Actions
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlActions) as Outlook.Actions;
}
}
public Outlook.Application Application
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlApplication) as Outlook.Application;
}
}
public Outlook.Attachments Attachments
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlAttachments) as Outlook.Attachments;
}
}
public string BillingInformation
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlBillingInformation).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlBillingInformation, value);
}
}
public string Body
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlBody).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlBody, value);
}
}
public string Categories
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlCategories).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlCategories, value);
}
}
public void Close(Outlook.OlInspectorClose SaveMode)
{
object[] MyArgs = { SaveMode };
this.CallMethod(OlClose);
}
public string Companies
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlCompanies).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlCompanies, value);
}
}
public Outlook.OlObjectClass Class
{
get
{
if (m_typeOlObjectClass == null)
{
// Note: instantiate dummy ObjectClass enumeration to get type.
// type = System.Type.GetType("Outlook.OlObjectClass") doesn't seem to work
Outlook.OlObjectClass objClass = Outlook.OlObjectClass.olAction;
m_typeOlObjectClass = objClass.GetType();
}
return (Outlook.OlObjectClass)System.Enum.ToObject(m_typeOlObjectClass, this.GetPropertyValue(OlClass));
}
}
public string ConversationIndex
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlConversationIndex).ToString();
}
}
public string ConversationTopic
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlConversationTopic).ToString();
}
}
public object Copy()
{
return (this.CallMethod(OlCopy));
}
public System.DateTime CreationTime
{
get
{
return (System.DateTime)this.GetPropertyValue(OlCreationTime);
}
}
public void Display()
{
this.CallMethod(OlDisplay);
}
public Outlook.OlDownloadState DownloadState
{
get
{
return (Outlook.OlDownloadState)this.GetPropertyValue(OlDownloadState);
}
}
public string EntryID
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlEntryID).ToString();
}
}
public Outlook.FormDescription FormDescription
{
get
{
return (Outlook.FormDescription)this.GetPropertyValue(OlFormDescription);
}
}
public Object InnerObject
{
get
{
return this.m_item;
}
}
public Outlook.Inspector GetInspector
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlGetInspector) as Outlook.Inspector;
}
}
public Outlook.OlImportance Importance
{
get
{
return (Outlook.OlImportance)this.GetPropertyValue(OlImportance);
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlImportance, value);
}
}
public bool IsConflict
{
get
{
return (bool)this.GetPropertyValue(OlIsConflict);
}
}
public Outlook.ItemProperties ItemProperties
{
get
{
return (Outlook.ItemProperties)this.GetPropertyValue(OlItemProperties);
}
}
public System.DateTime LastModificationTime
{
get
{
return (System.DateTime)this.GetPropertyValue(OlLastModificationTime);
}
}
public Outlook.Links Links
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlLinks) as Outlook.Links;
}
}
public Outlook.OlRemoteStatus MarkForDownload
{
get
{
return (Outlook.OlRemoteStatus)this.GetPropertyValue(OlMarkForDownload);
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlMarkForDownload, value);
}
}
public string MessageClass
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlMessageClass).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlMessageClass, value);
}
}
public string Mileage
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlMileage).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlMileage, value);
}
}
public object Move(Outlook.Folder DestinationFolder)
{
object[] myArgs = { DestinationFolder };
return this.CallMethod(OlMove, myArgs);
}
public bool NoAging
{
get
{
return (bool)this.GetPropertyValue(OlNoAging);
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlNoAging, value);
}
}
public long OutlookInternalVersion
{
get
{
return (long)this.GetPropertyValue(OlOutlookInternalVersion);
}
}
public string OutlookVersion
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlOutlookVersion).ToString();
}
}
public Outlook.Folder Parent
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlParent) as Outlook.Folder;
}
}
public Outlook.PropertyAccessor PropertyAccessor
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlPropertyAccessor) as Outlook.PropertyAccessor;
}
}
public void PrintOut()
{
this.CallMethod(OlPrintOut);
}
public void Save()
{
this.CallMethod(OlSave);
}
public void SaveAs(string path, Outlook.OlSaveAsType type)
{
object[] myArgs = { path, type };
this.CallMethod(OlSaveAs, myArgs);
}
public bool Saved
{
get
{
return (bool)this.GetPropertyValue(OlSaved);
}
}
public Outlook.OlSensitivity Sensitivity
{
get
{
return (Outlook.OlSensitivity)this.GetPropertyValue(OlSensitivity);
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlSensitivity, value);
}
}
public Outlook.NameSpace Session
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlSession) as Outlook.NameSpace;
}
}
public void ShowCategoriesDialog()
{
this.CallMethod(OlShowCategoriesDialog);
}
public long Size
{
get
{
return (long)this.GetPropertyValue(OlSize);
}
}
public string Subject
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlSubject).ToString();
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlSubject, value);
}
}
public bool UnRead
{
get
{
return (bool)this.GetPropertyValue(OlUnRead);
}
set
{
SetPropertyValue(OlUnRead, value);
}
}
public Outlook.UserProperties UserProperties
{
get
{
return this.GetPropertyValue(OlUserProperties) as Outlook.UserProperties;
}
}
#endregion
#region Private Helper Functions
private object GetPropertyValue(string propertyName)
{
try
{
// An invalid property name exception is propagated to client
return m_type.InvokeMember(
propertyName,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.GetField | BindingFlags.GetProperty,
null,
m_item,
m_args);
}
catch (SystemException ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(
string.Format(
"OutlookItem: GetPropertyValue for {0} Exception: {1} ",
propertyName, ex.Message));
throw;
}
}
private void SetPropertyValue(string propertyName, object propertyValue)
{
try
{
m_type.InvokeMember(
propertyName,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.SetField | BindingFlags.SetProperty,
null,
m_item,
new object[] { propertyValue });
}
catch (SystemException ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(
string.Format(
"OutlookItem: SetPropertyValue for {0} Exception: {1} ",
propertyName, ex.Message));
throw;
}
}
private object CallMethod(string methodName)
{
try
{
// An invalid property name exception is propagated to client
return m_type.InvokeMember(
methodName,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
null,
m_item,
m_args);
}
catch (SystemException ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(
string.Format(
"OutlookItem: CallMethod for {0} Exception: {1} ",
methodName, ex.Message));
throw;
}
}
private object CallMethod(string methodName, object[] args)
{
try
{
// An invalid property name exception is propagated to client
return m_type.InvokeMember(
methodName,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
null,
m_item,
args);
}
catch (SystemException ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(
string.Format(
"OutlookItem: CallMethod for {0} Exception: {1} ",
methodName, ex.Message));
throw;
}
}
#endregion
}
}