[ Team LiB ] Recipe 1.10 Connecting toExchangeorOutlook Problem You want to use ADO.NET to extract data from Microsoft Outlookor Microsoft Exchange. Solution Use the OLE DB Jet provider to access Exchange and Outlook data. The sample code contains two event handlers: Form.Load Displays a form that allows the user to specify the mailbox name and mail profile to connect to. Connect Button.Click Creates and opens a connection to OutlookorExchange data using the OLE DB .NET data provider. A DataAdapter is used to fill a table with the Subject and Content of each message in the Inbox. The default view of the table is bound to a data grid on the form. The C# code is shown in Example 1-8 . Example 1-8. File: ConnectExchangeDataForm.cs // Namespaces, variables, and constants using System; using System.Windows.Forms; using System.Data; using System.Data.OleDb; // . . . private void ConnectExchangeDataForm_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { mailboxNameTextBox.Text = "Personal Folders"; profileTextBox.Text = "Outlook"; } private void connectButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { String sqlText = "SELECT Subject, Contents FROM Inbox"; // Build the connection string. String connectionString="Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" + "Outlook 9.0;" + "MAPILEVEL=" + mailboxNameTextBox.Text + "|;" + "PROFILE=" + profileTextBox.Text + ";" + "TABLETYPE=0;" + "DATABASE=" + System.IO.Path.GetTempPath( ); // Create the DataAdapter. OleDbDataAdapter da = new OleDbDataAdapter(sqlText, connectionString); // Create and fill the table. DataTable dt = new DataTable("Inbox"); try { da.Fill(dt); dataGrid.DataSource = dt.DefaultView; } catch(Exception ex) { MessageBox.Show("ERROR: " + ex.Message); return; } } Discussion The .NET data provider for OLE DB does not support OLE DB Version 2.5 interfaces including the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Exchange. The Jet OLE DB provider can access an OutlookorExchange store. An example of the connection string: Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Outlook 9.0;MAPILEVEL=Personal Folders|; PROFILE=Outlook;TABLETYPE=0;DATABASE=c:\temp; The connection string attributes-and-value pairs are described in Table 1-1 . Table 1-1. OutlookorExchange connection string attributes Element Description Database name DATABASE=path With an Identifier of Outlook 9.0, the path to store temporary system tables. With an Identifier of Exchange 4.0, the path and filename to a Microsoft Access database in which to store temporary system tables. Identifier Outlook 9.0 to connect toOutlook 2000 and later. Exchange 4.0 to connect toExchange 4.x and 5.x. Password PASSWORD=password OutlookorExchange password. This parameter is not required if your network logon password is passed to the OutlookorExchange server. This parameter is optional. Profile name PROFILE=profile The name of the OutlookorExchange profile to use. If this not specified, the default profile is used. Table path MAPILEVEL=<storage>|<folderPath> <storage> is the exact mailbox name on the server, a personal folder, or public folder as it appears in the Outlook Folder list. <folderPath> is the path to the folder immediately above the folder to access using the SQL statement. The folder path is required only when accessing folders below the top level of folders within the store; the pipe (|) character is always required. When listing nested folders, separate each folder name with a backslash (\). Table type TABLETYPE=0 for folders (default value). TABLETYPE=1 for address books. [ Team LiB ] . which to store temporary system tables. Identifier Outlook 9.0 to connect to Outlook 2000 and later. Exchange 4.0 to connect to Exchange 4.x and 5.x. Password. Password PASSWORD=password Outlook or Exchange password. This parameter is not required if your network logon password is passed to the Outlook or Exchange