Creating Inbox rules by using the EWS Managed API 2.0
Last modified: October 13, 2012
Applies to: EWS Managed API | Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Note: This content applies to the EWS Managed API 2.0 and earlier versions. For the latest information about the EWS Managed API, see Web services in Exchange.
You can use the Microsoft Exchange Web Services (EWS) Managed API to create Inbox rules, which are sets of conditions and associated actions that enable clients to manipulate incoming e-mail messages. If an incoming e-mail message meets the conditions that are defined in the rule, the specified actions will be taken.
To create an Inbox rule
Create a Rule object that represents the new rule to be created.
Rule newRule = new Rule();Add properties to the rule. The user sets the Conditions property the ContainsSubjectStrings rule. The user sets the Actions property specifies to move the e-mail message to the Junk E-mail folder. In the following example, the DisplayName, Priority, IsEnable, Conditions, and Actions properties are added.
newRule.DisplayName = "MoveInterestingToJunk"; newRule.Priority = 1; newRule.IsEnabled = true; newRule.Conditions.ContainsSubjectStrings.Add("Interesting"); newRule.Actions.MoveToFolder = WellKnownFolderName.JunkEmail;Create a CreateRuleOperation object, as shown in the following example.
CreateRuleOperation createOperation = new CreateRuleOperation(newRule);Update the mailbox with the newly defined rule, as shown in the following example.
service. UpdateInboxRules(new RuleOperation[] { createOperation }, true);
This procedure assumes that a valid ExchangeService object is bound to the primary user's account.
Example
The following example shows how to create an Inbox rule. In this example, the rule specifies that if an e-mail message subject contains the word "Interesting", the message is moved to the Junk E-mail folder.
// Create an Inbox rule.
// If "Interesting" is in the subject, move it to the Junk E-mail folder.
Rule newRule = new Rule();
newRule.DisplayName = "MoveInterestingToJunk";
newRule.Priority = 1;
newRule.IsEnabled = true;
newRule.Conditions.ContainsSubjectStrings.Add("Interesting");
newRule.Actions.MoveToFolder = WellKnownFolderName.JunkEmail;
// Create the CreateRuleOperation object.
CreateRuleOperation createOperation = new CreateRuleOperation(newRule);
service.UpdateInboxRules(new RuleOperation[] { createOperation }, true);
The following example shows the XML request that is sent by the UpdateInboxRules method.
<soap:Envelope xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:m="https://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/messages"
xmlns:t="https://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types"
xmlns:soap="https://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
<soap:Header>
<t:RequestServerVersion Version="Exchange2010_SP1" />
</soap:Header>
<soap:Body>
<m:UpdateInboxRules>
<m:RemoveOutlookRuleBlob>true</m:RemoveOutlookRuleBlob>
<m:Operations>
<t:CreateRuleOperation>
<t:Rule>
<t:DisplayName>MoveInterestingToJunk</t:DisplayName>
<t:Priority>1</t:Priority>
<t:IsEnabled>true</t:IsEnabled>
<t:Conditions>
<t:ContainsSubjectStrings>
<t:String>Interesting</t:String>
</t:ContainsSubjectStrings>
</t:Conditions>
<t:Exceptions />
<t:Actions>
<t:MoveToFolder>
<t:DistinguishedFolderId Id="junkemail" />
</t:MoveToFolder>
</t:Actions>
</t:Rule>
</t:CreateRuleOperation>
</m:Operations>
</m:UpdateInboxRules>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>
The following example shows the XML response that is returned by using the UpdateInboxRules method.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<s:Envelope xmlns:s="https://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
<s:Header>
<h:ServerVersionInfo MajorVersion="14"
MinorVersion="1"
MajorBuildNumber="96"
MinorBuildNumber="0"
Version="Exchange2010_SP1"
xmlns:h="https://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types"
xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" />
</s:Header>
<s:Body xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<UpdateInboxRulesResponse ResponseClass="Success"
xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/messages">
<ResponseCode>NoError</ResponseCode>
</UpdateInboxRulesResponse>
</s:Body>
</s:Envelope>
This example assumes that the ExchangeService object is configured correctly to connect to the user’s Client Access server.
Compiling the code
For information about compiling this code, see Getting started with the EWS Managed API 2.0.
Robust programming
Write appropriate error handling code for common search errors.
Review the client request XML that is sent to the Exchange server.
Review the server response XML that is sent from the Exchange server.
Set the service binding as shown in Setting the Exchange service URL by using the EWS Managed API 2.0. Do not hard code URLs because if mailboxes move, they might be serviced by a different Client Access server. If the client cannot connect to the service, retry setting the binding by using the AutodiscoverUrl(String) method.
Set the target Exchange Web Services schema version by setting the requestedServerVersion parameter of the ExchangeService constructor. For more information, see Versioning EWS requests by using the EWS Managed API 2.0.
Security
Use HTTP with SSL for all communication between client and server.
Always validate the server certificate that is used for establishing the SSL connections. For more information, see Validating X509 certificates by using the EWS Managed API 2.0.
Do not include user names and passwords in trace files.
Verify that Autodiscover lookups that use HTTP GET to find an endpoint always prompt for user confirmation; otherwise, they should be blocked.