Package javax.mail

Class Message

java.lang.Object
javax.mail.Message
All Implemented Interfaces:
Part
Direct Known Subclasses:
MimeMessage
public abstract class Message extends Object implements Part
This class models an email message. This is an abstract class. Subclasses provide actual implementations.

Message implements the Part interface. Message contains a set of attributes and a "content". Messages within a folder also have a set of flags that describe its state within the folder.

Message defines some new attributes in addition to those defined in the Part interface. These attributes specify meta-data for the message - i.e., addressing and descriptive information about the message.

Message objects are obtained either from a Folder or by constructing a new Message object of the appropriate subclass. Messages that have been received are normally retrieved from a folder named "INBOX".

A Message object obtained from a folder is just a lightweight reference to the actual message. The Message is 'lazily' filled up (on demand) when each item is requested from the message. Note that certain folder implementations may return Message objects that are pre-filled with certain user-specified items. To send a message, an appropriate subclass of Message (e.g., MimeMessage) is instantiated, the attributes and content are filled in, and the message is sent using the Transport.send method.

See Also:

  • Field Details

    • msgnum

      protected int msgnum
      The number of this message within its folder, or zero if the message was not retrieved from a folder.

    • expunged

      protected boolean expunged
      True if this message has been expunged.

    • folder

      protected Folder folder
      The containing folder, if this message is obtained from a folder

    • session

      protected Session session
      The Session object for this Message

  • Constructor Details

    • Message

      protected Message()
      No-arg version of the constructor.

    • Message

      protected Message(Folder folder, int msgnum)
      Constructor that takes a Folder and a message number. Used by Folder implementations.
      Parameters:
      folder - containing folder
      msgnum - this message's sequence number within this folder

    • Message

      protected Message(Session session)
      Constructor that takes a Session. Used for client created Message objects.
      Parameters:
      session - A Session object

  • Method Details

    • getSession

      public Session getSession()
      Return the Session used when this message was created.
      Returns:
      the message's Session
      Since:
      JavaMail 1.5

    • getFrom

      public abstract Address[] getFrom() throws MessagingException
      Returns the "From" attribute. The "From" attribute contains the identity of the person(s) who wished this message to be sent.

      In certain implementations, this may be different from the entity that actually sent the message.

      This method returns null if this attribute is not present in this message. Returns an empty array if this attribute is present, but contains no addresses.

      Returns:
      array of Address objects
      Throws:
      MessagingException

    • setFrom

      public abstract void setFrom() throws MessagingException
      Set the "From" attribute in this Message. The value of this attribute is obtained from the property "mail.user". If this property is absent, the system property "user.name" is used.
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • setFrom

      public abstract void setFrom(Address address) throws MessagingException
      Set the "From" attribute in this Message.
      Parameters:
      address - the sender
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • addFrom

      public abstract void addFrom(Address[] addresses) throws MessagingException
      Add these addresses to the existing "From" attribute
      Parameters:
      addresses - the senders
      Throws:
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.
      MessagingException

    • getRecipients

      public abstract Address[] getRecipients(Message.RecipientType type) throws MessagingException
      Get all the recipient addresses of the given type.

      This method returns null if no recipients of the given type are present in this message. It may return an empty array if the header is present, but contains no addresses.

      Parameters:
      type - the recipient type
      Returns:
      array of Address objects
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also:

    • getAllRecipients

      public Address[] getAllRecipients() throws MessagingException
      Get all the recipient addresses for the message. The default implementation extracts the TO, CC, and BCC recipients using the getRecipients method.

      This method returns null if none of the recipient headers are present in this message. It may Return an empty array if any recipient header is present, but contains no addresses.

      Returns:
      array of Address objects
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also:

    • setRecipients

      public abstract void setRecipients(Message.RecipientType type, Address[] addresses) throws MessagingException
      Set the recipient addresses. All addresses of the specified type are replaced by the addresses parameter.
      Parameters:
      type - the recipient type
      addresses - the addresses
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • setRecipient

      public void setRecipient(Message.RecipientType type, Address address) throws MessagingException
      Set the recipient address. All addresses of the specified type are replaced by the address parameter.

      The default implementation uses the setRecipients method.

      Parameters:
      type - the recipient type
      address - the address
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values

    • addRecipients

      public abstract void addRecipients(Message.RecipientType type, Address[] addresses) throws MessagingException
      Add these recipient addresses to the existing ones of the given type.
      Parameters:
      type - the recipient type
      addresses - the addresses
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • addRecipient

      public void addRecipient(Message.RecipientType type, Address address) throws MessagingException
      Add this recipient address to the existing ones of the given type.

      The default implementation uses the addRecipients method.

      Parameters:
      type - the recipient type
      address - the address
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values

    • getReplyTo

      public Address[] getReplyTo() throws MessagingException
      Get the addresses to which replies should be directed. This will usually be the sender of the message, but some messages may direct replies to a different address.

      The default implementation simply calls the getFrom method.

      This method returns null if the corresponding header is not present. Returns an empty array if the header is present, but contains no addresses.

      Returns:
      addresses to which replies should be directed
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also:

    • setReplyTo

      public void setReplyTo(Address[] addresses) throws MessagingException
      Set the addresses to which replies should be directed. (Normally only a single address will be specified.) Not all message types allow this to be specified separately from the sender of the message.

      The default implementation provided here just throws the MethodNotSupportedException.

      Parameters:
      addresses - addresses to which replies should be directed
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.
      MethodNotSupportedException - if the underlying implementation does not support setting this attribute

    • getSubject

      public abstract String getSubject() throws MessagingException
      Get the subject of this message.
      Returns:
      the subject
      Throws:
      MessagingException

    • setSubject

      public abstract void setSubject(String subject) throws MessagingException
      Set the subject of this message.
      Parameters:
      subject - the subject
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • getSentDate

      public abstract Date getSentDate() throws MessagingException
      Get the date this message was sent.
      Returns:
      the date this message was sent
      Throws:
      MessagingException

    • setSentDate

      public abstract void setSentDate(Date date) throws MessagingException
      Set the sent date of this message.
      Parameters:
      date - the sent date of this message
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.

    • getReceivedDate

      public abstract Date getReceivedDate() throws MessagingException
      Get the date this message was received.
      Returns:
      the date this message was received
      Throws:
      MessagingException

    • getFlags

      public abstract Flags getFlags() throws MessagingException
      Returns a Flags object containing the flags for this message.

      Modifying any of the flags in this returned Flags object will not affect the flags of this message. Use setFlags() to do that.

      Returns:
      Flags object containing the flags for this message
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also:

    • isSet

      public boolean isSet(Flags.Flag flag) throws MessagingException
      Check whether the flag specified in the flag argument is set in this message.

      The default implementation uses getFlags.

      Parameters:
      flag - the flag
      Returns:
      value of the specified flag for this message
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also:

    • setFlags

      public abstract void setFlags(Flags flag, boolean set) throws MessagingException
      Set the specified flags on this message to the specified value. Note that any flags in this message that are not specified in the given Flags object are unaffected.

      This will result in a MessageChangedEvent being delivered to any MessageChangedListener registered on this Message's containing folder.

      Parameters:
      flag - Flags object containing the flags to be set
      set - the value to be set
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values.
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.
      See Also:

    • setFlag

      public void setFlag(Flags.Flag flag, boolean set) throws MessagingException
      Set the specified flag on this message to the specified value. This will result in a MessageChangedEvent being delivered to any MessageChangedListener registered on this Message's containing folder.

      The default implementation uses the setFlags method.

      Parameters:
      flag - Flags.Flag object containing the flag to be set
      set - the value to be set
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values.
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.
      See Also:

    • getMessageNumber

      public int getMessageNumber()
      Get the Message number for this Message. A Message object's message number is the relative position of this Message in its Folder. Note that the message number for a particular Message can change during a session if other messages in the Folder are deleted and expunged.

      Valid message numbers start at 1. Messages that do not belong to any folder (like newly composed or derived messages) have 0 as their message number.

      Returns:
      the message number

    • setMessageNumber

      protected void setMessageNumber(int msgnum)
      Set the Message number for this Message. This method is invoked only by the implementation classes.

    • getFolder

      public Folder getFolder()
      Get the folder from which this message was obtained. If this is a new message or nested message, this method returns null.
      Returns:
      the containing folder

    • isExpunged

      public boolean isExpunged()
      Checks whether this message is expunged. All other methods except getMessageNumber() are invalid on an expunged Message object.

      Messages that are expunged due to an explict expunge() request on the containing Folder are removed from the Folder immediately. Messages that are externally expunged by another source are marked "expunged" and return true for the isExpunged() method, but they are not removed from the Folder until an explicit expunge() is done on the Folder.

      See the description of expunge() for more details on expunge handling.

      See Also:

    • setExpunged

      protected void setExpunged(boolean expunged)
      Sets the expunged flag for this Message. This method is to be used only by the implementation classes.
      Parameters:
      expunged - the expunged flag

    • reply

      public abstract Message reply(boolean replyToAll) throws MessagingException
      Get a new Message suitable for a reply to this message. The new Message will have its attributes and headers set up appropriately. Note that this new message object will be empty, that is, it will not have a "content". These will have to be suitably filled in by the client.

      If replyToAll is set, the new Message will be addressed to all recipients of this message. Otherwise, the reply will be addressed to only the sender of this message (using the value of the getReplyTo method).

      The "Subject" field is filled in with the original subject prefixed with "Re:" (unless it already starts with "Re:").

      The reply message will use the same session as this message.

      Parameters:
      replyToAll - reply should be sent to all recipients of this message
      Returns:
      the reply Message
      Throws:
      MessagingException

    • saveChanges

      public abstract void saveChanges() throws MessagingException
      Save any changes made to this message into the message-store when the containing folder is closed, if the message is contained in a folder. (Some implementations may save the changes immediately.) Update any header fields to be consistent with the changed message contents. If any part of a message's headers or contents are changed, saveChanges must be called to ensure that those changes are permanent. If saveChanges is not called, any such modifications may or may not be saved, depending on the message store and folder implementation.

      Messages obtained from folders opened READ_ONLY should not be modified and saveChanges should not be called on such messages.

      Throws:
      MessagingException
      IllegalStateException - if this message is obtained from a READ_ONLY folder.
      IllegalWriteException - if the underlying implementation does not support modification of existing values.

    • match

      public boolean match(SearchTerm term) throws MessagingException
      Apply the specified Search criterion to this message.
      Parameters:
      term - the Search criterion
      Returns:
      true if the Message matches this search criterion, false otherwise.
      Throws:
      MessagingException
      See Also: