Visual Basic.NET
Visual Basic.NET

Object to array

Is it possible to turn an object to an array in VB.net?

I have a object from outlook which is a mailitem, and I want to turn all the variables into an array to store in a file.

I know Ill loose the functionality of the object (such as move, copy etc) however i only want to store all the information in the object (in this case mailID, recipents etc).

Usually I could just count the elements and then copy the values one at a time, however the mailitem is a nested array inside a nested array inside a nested array so could be quite confusing.

Any ideas?

tonelm54Asked: 2016-10-12

Who is Participating?

Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by

Enjoy your complimentary solution view.

Get every solution instantly with premium. Start your 7-day free trial.

I wear a lot of hats...

"The solutions and answers provided on Experts Exchange have been extremely helpful to me over the last few years. I wear a lot of hats - Developer, Database Administrator, Help Desk, etc., so I know a lot of things but not a lot about one thing. Experts Exchange gives me answers from people who do know a lot about one thing, in a easy to use platform." -Todd S.

LVL 56

Ryan ChongCommented: 2016-10-12

I have a object from outlook which is a mailitem, and I want to turn all the variables into an array to store in a file.

yes, that's possible. you may want to consider to store it in a List(Of T) or look into the ToArray() method

List(Of T) Class
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6sh2ey19(v=vs.110).aspx
(look for the possible constructors and click on it to see the examples)

List<T>.ToArray Method ()
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/x303t819(v=vs.110).aspx?cs-save-lang=1&cs-lang=vb#code-snippet-1

tonelm54Author Commented: 2016-10-12

Couldnt get these to work :-(

So my code at the moment is:-

            Dim mail As Outlook.MailItem = item
            Dim output() As String = mail.toarray()

            Dim serializer As New JavaScriptSerializer()
            Dim arrayJson As String = serializer.Serialize(output)

            MsgBox(arrayJson)

Open in new window

Any ideas what Im doing wrong?

LVL 56

Ryan ChongCommented: 2016-10-12

what info you wish to read from MailItem and put into JSON array ?

tonelm54Author Commented: 2016-10-13

Problem is, I dont know yet :-S

The data to store in the database (to search) keeps changing, so my plan was to store all the information in a JSON text file, then when a request comes along to add xxx to the search I can simply write some code to look at the JSON file and pull the requested field into the database and build the indexes for searching.

Initially they only wanted the `Date Received` and the `Subject`. Now its the `recipient` and `sender`, and already I've heard rumours they want the `conversationID` and Ive had requests to add `attachments` into the search. Hence store everything in a JSON text file and pull as needed, instead of trying to upload from the PST files again (which takes ages).

tonelm54Author Commented: 2016-10-13

So looking at the element for mail (which is a mailtem from outlook) I get the following elements:-

I did think I could loop through each element and store in an array via:-

Dim objElement As Object
For Each objElement in mail

Next

Open in new window

But I cant figure a way of reading all the elements inside mail.

LVL 56

Ryan ChongCommented: 2016-10-13

perhaps it doesn't make sense if we are looping through all the elements in mailtem since it's quite complex to read through all its content, as back to the basic, we only store useful info into database, and hence we only extract useful info from the source.

LVL 56

Ryan ChongCommented: 2016-10-13

I come out with something like this, not too sure if this is useful for you.

Private Sub Test()
        Dim tempApp As Outlook.Application
        Dim tempInbox As Outlook.MAPIFolder
        Dim InboxItems As Outlook.Items

        tempApp = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
        tempInbox = tempApp.GetNamespace("Mapi").GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolders.olFolderInbox)
        InboxItems = tempInbox.Items

        Dim MailList As New List(Of MyMailItem)

        'Dim newMail As Outlook.MailItem
        For Each newMail In InboxItems
            If TypeOf newMail Is Outlook.MailItem Then
                'You may want to put some conditions here?
                If newMail.Subject.IndexOf("whatever") > 0 Then
                    Dim itm As New MyMailItem
                    itm.Subject = newMail.Subject
                    itm.ReceivedTime = newMail.ReceivedTime
                    itm.SenderName = newMail.SenderName
                    itm.SenderEmailAddress = newMail.SenderEmailAddress

                    For Each x As Outlook.Recipient In newMail.Recipients
                        Dim y As New MyRecipient()
                        y.Name = x.Name
                        y.EmailAddress = x.Address
                        itm.Recipient.Add(y)
                    Next
                    MailList.Add(itm)
                End If
            End If
        Next
        Dim serializer As New JavaScriptSerializer()
        Dim arrayJson As String = serializer.Serialize(MailList)
        MsgBox(arrayJson)
    End Sub

Open in new window

then you would need to have some classes like these:

Class MyRecipient
    Public Name As String
    Public EmailAddress As String
End Class

Class MyMailItem
    Public Subject As String
    Public ReceivedTime As String
    Public SenderName As String
    Public SenderEmailAddress As String
    Public Recipient As New List(Of MyRecipient)
End Class

Open in new window

Experts Exchange Solution brought to you by

Your issues matter to us.

Facing a tech roadblock? Get the help and guidance you need from experienced professionals who care. Ask your question anytime, anywhere, with no hassle.

Start your 7-day free trial