public abstract class

Folder

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ com.google.code.javax.mail.Folder
Known Direct Subclasses
Known Indirect Subclasses

Class Overview

GmailFolder is an abstract class that represents a folder for mail messages. Subclasses implement protocol specific Folders.

Folders can contain Messages, other Folders or both, thus providing a tree-like hierarchy rooted at the Store's default folder. (Note that some GmailFolder implementations may not allow both Messages and other Folders in the same GmailFolder).

The interpretation of folder names is implementation dependent. The different levels of hierarchy in a folder's full name are separated from each other by the hierarchy delimiter character.

The case-insensitive full folder name (that is, the full name relative to the default folder for a Store) INBOX is reserved to mean the "primary folder for this user on this server". Not all Stores will provide an INBOX folder, and not all users will have an INBOX folder at all times. The name INBOX is reserved to refer to this folder, when it exists, in Stores that provide it.

A GmailFolder object obtained from a Store need not actually exist in the backend store. The exists method tests whether the folder exists or not. The create method creates a GmailFolder.

A GmailFolder is initially in the closed state. Certain methods are valid in this state; the documentation for those methods note this. A GmailFolder is opened by calling its 'open' method. All GmailFolder methods, except open, delete and renameTo, are valid in this state.

The only way to get a GmailFolder is by invoking the getFolder method on Store, GmailFolder, or Session, or by invoking the list or listSubscribed methods on GmailFolder. GmailFolder objects returned by the above methods are not cached by the Store. Thus, invoking the getFolder method with the same folder name multiple times will return distinct GmailFolder objects. Likewise for the list and listSubscribed methods.

The Message objects within the GmailFolder are cached by the GmailFolder. Thus, invoking getMessage(msgno) on the same message number multiple times will return the same Message object, until an expunge is done on this GmailFolder.

Message objects from a GmailFolder are only valid while a GmailFolder is open and should not be accessed after the GmailFolder is closed, even if the GmailFolder is subsequently reopened. Instead, new Message objects must be fetched from the GmailFolder after the GmailFolder is reopened.

Note that a Message's message number can change within a session if the containing GmailFolder is expunged using the expunge method. Clients that use message numbers as references to messages should be aware of this and should be prepared to deal with situation (probably by flushing out existing message number references and reloading them). Because of this complexity, it is better for clients to use Message objects as references to messages, rather than message numbers. Expunged Message objects still have to be pruned, but other Message objects in that folder are not affected by the expunge.

Summary

Constants
int HOLDS_FOLDERS This folder can contain other folders
int HOLDS_MESSAGES This folder can contain messages
int READ_ONLY The GmailFolder is read only.
int READ_WRITE The state and contents of this folder can be modified.
Fields
private Vector connectionListeners
private Vector folderListeners
private Vector messageChangedListeners
private Vector messageCountListeners
protected int mode The open mode of this folder.
private EventQueue q
private Object qLock
protected Store store The parent store.
Protected Constructors
Folder(Store store)
Constructor that takes a Store object.
Public Methods
synchronized void addConnectionListener(ConnectionListener l)
Add a listener for Connection events on this GmailFolder.
synchronized void addFolderListener(FolderListener l)
Add a listener for GmailFolder events on this GmailFolder.
synchronized void addMessageChangedListener(MessageChangedListener l)
Add a listener for MessageChanged events on this GmailFolder.
synchronized void addMessageCountListener(MessageCountListener l)
Add a listener for MessageCount events on this GmailFolder.
abstract void appendMessages(Message[] msgs)
Append given Messages to this folder.
abstract void close(boolean expunge)
Close this GmailFolder.
void copyMessages(Message[] msgs, Folder folder)
Copy the specified Messages from this GmailFolder into another GmailFolder.
abstract boolean create(int type)
Create this folder on the Store.
abstract boolean delete(boolean recurse)
Delete this GmailFolder.
abstract boolean exists()
Tests if this folder physically exists on the Store.
abstract Message[] expunge()
Expunge (permanently remove) messages marked DELETED.
void fetch(Message[] msgs, FetchProfile fp)
Prefetch the items specified in the FetchProfile for the given Messages.
synchronized int getDeletedMessageCount()
Get the number of deleted messages in this GmailFolder.
abstract Folder getFolder(String name)
Return the GmailFolder object corresponding to the given name.
abstract String getFullName()
Returns the full name of this GmailFolder.
abstract Message getMessage(int msgnum)
Get the Message object corresponding to the given message number.
abstract int getMessageCount()
Get total number of messages in this GmailFolder.
synchronized Message[] getMessages(int[] msgnums)
Get the Message objects for message numbers specified in the array.
synchronized Message[] getMessages()
Get all Message objects from this GmailFolder.
synchronized Message[] getMessages(int start, int end)
Get the Message objects for message numbers ranging from start through end, both start and end inclusive.
int getMode()
Return the open mode of this folder.
abstract String getName()
Returns the name of this GmailFolder.
synchronized int getNewMessageCount()
Get the number of new messages in this GmailFolder.
abstract Folder getParent()
Returns the parent folder of this folder.
abstract Flags getPermanentFlags()
Get the permanent flags supported by this GmailFolder.
abstract char getSeparator()
Return the delimiter character that separates this GmailFolder's pathname from the names of immediate subfolders.
Store getStore()
Returns the Store that owns this GmailFolder object.
abstract int getType()
Returns the type of this GmailFolder, that is, whether this folder can hold messages or subfolders or both.
URLName getURLName()
Return a URLName representing this folder.
synchronized int getUnreadMessageCount()
Get the total number of unread messages in this GmailFolder.
abstract boolean hasNewMessages()
Returns true if this GmailFolder has new messages since the last time this indication was reset.
abstract boolean isOpen()
Indicates whether this GmailFolder is in the 'open' state.
boolean isSubscribed()
Returns true if this GmailFolder is subscribed.
Folder[] list()
Convenience method that returns the list of folders under this GmailFolder.
abstract Folder[] list(String pattern)
Returns a list of Folders belonging to this GmailFolder's namespace that match the specified pattern.
Folder[] listSubscribed()
Convenience method that returns the list of subscribed folders under this GmailFolder.
Folder[] listSubscribed(String pattern)
Returns a list of subscribed Folders belonging to this GmailFolder's namespace that match the specified pattern.
abstract void open(int mode)
Open this GmailFolder.
synchronized void removeConnectionListener(ConnectionListener l)
Remove a Connection event listener.
synchronized void removeFolderListener(FolderListener l)
Remove a GmailFolder event listener.
synchronized void removeMessageChangedListener(MessageChangedListener l)
Remove a MessageChanged listener.
synchronized void removeMessageCountListener(MessageCountListener l)
Remove a MessageCount listener.
abstract boolean renameTo(Folder f)
Rename this GmailFolder.
Message[] search(SearchTerm term)
Search this GmailFolder for messages matching the specified search criterion.
Message[] search(SearchTerm term, Message[] msgs)
Search the given array of messages for those that match the specified search criterion.
synchronized void setFlags(int start, int end, Flags flag, boolean value)
Set the specified flags on the messages numbered from start through end, both start and end inclusive.
synchronized void setFlags(Message[] msgs, Flags flag, boolean value)
Set the specified flags on the messages specified in the array.
synchronized void setFlags(int[] msgnums, Flags flag, boolean value)
Set the specified flags on the messages whose message numbers are in the array.
void setSubscribed(boolean subscribe)
Subscribe or unsubscribe this GmailFolder.
String toString()
override the default toString(), it will return the String from GmailFolder.getFullName() or if that is null, it will use the default toString() behavior.
Folder[] xlist()
abstract Folder[] xlist(String pattern)
Protected Methods
void finalize()
void notifyConnectionListeners(int type)
Notify all ConnectionListeners.
void notifyFolderListeners(int type)
Notify all FolderListeners registered on this GmailFolder and this folder's Store.
void notifyFolderRenamedListeners(Folder folder)
Notify all FolderListeners registered on this GmailFolder and this folder's Store about the renaming of this folder.
void notifyMessageAddedListeners(Message[] msgs)
Notify all MessageCountListeners about the addition of messages into this folder.
void notifyMessageChangedListeners(int type, Message msg)
Notify all MessageChangedListeners.
void notifyMessageRemovedListeners(boolean removed, Message[] msgs)
Notify all MessageCountListeners about the removal of messages from this GmailFolder.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Constants

public static final int HOLDS_FOLDERS

This folder can contain other folders

Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)

public static final int HOLDS_MESSAGES

This folder can contain messages

Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)

public static final int READ_ONLY

The GmailFolder is read only. The state and contents of this folder cannot be modified.

Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)

public static final int READ_WRITE

The state and contents of this folder can be modified.

Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)

Fields

private Vector connectionListeners

private Vector folderListeners

private Vector messageChangedListeners

private Vector messageCountListeners

protected int mode

The open mode of this folder. The open mode is GmailFolder.READ_ONLY, GmailFolder.READ_WRITE, or -1 if not known.

private EventQueue q

private Object qLock

protected Store store

The parent store.

Protected Constructors

protected Folder (Store store)

Constructor that takes a Store object.

Parameters
store The Store that holds this folder

Public Methods

public synchronized void addConnectionListener (ConnectionListener l)

Add a listener for Connection events on this GmailFolder.

The implementation provided here adds this listener to an internal list of ConnectionListeners.

Parameters
l The Listener for Connection events
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.ConnectionEvent

public synchronized void addFolderListener (FolderListener l)

Add a listener for GmailFolder events on this GmailFolder.

The implementation provided here adds this listener to an internal list of FolderListeners.

Parameters
l The Listener for GmailFolder events
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.FolderEvent

public synchronized void addMessageChangedListener (MessageChangedListener l)

Add a listener for MessageChanged events on this GmailFolder.

The implementation provided here adds this listener to an internal list of MessageChangedListeners.

Parameters
l The Listener for MessageChanged events
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.MessageChangedEvent

public synchronized void addMessageCountListener (MessageCountListener l)

Add a listener for MessageCount events on this GmailFolder.

The implementation provided here adds this listener to an internal list of MessageCountListeners.

Parameters
l The Listener for MessageCount events
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.MessageCountEvent

public abstract void appendMessages (Message[] msgs)

Append given Messages to this folder. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder. An appropriate MessageCountEvent is delivered to any MessageCountListener registered on this folder when the messages arrive in the folder.

GmailFolder implementations must not abort this operation if a Message in the given message array turns out to be an expunged Message.

Parameters
msgs Array of Messages to be appended
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException if the append failed.

public abstract void close (boolean expunge)

Close this GmailFolder. This method is valid only on open Folders.

A CLOSED ConnectionEvent is delivered to any ConnectionListeners registered on this GmailFolder. Note that the folder is closed even if this method terminates abnormally by throwing a MessagingException.

Parameters
expunge Expunges all deleted messages if this flag is true
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened
MessagingException
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.ConnectionEvent

public void copyMessages (Message[] msgs, Folder folder)

Copy the specified Messages from this GmailFolder into another GmailFolder. This operation appends these Messages to the destination GmailFolder. The destination GmailFolder does not have to be opened. An appropriate MessageCountEvent is delivered to any MessageCountListener registered on the destination folder when the messages arrive in the folder.

Note that the specified Message objects must belong to this folder. GmailFolder implementations might be able to optimize this method by doing server-side copies.

This implementation just invokes appendMessages() on the destination folder to append the given Messages. Specific folder implementations that support server-side copies should do so, if the destination folder's Store is the same as this folder's Store. Also, an implementation must not abort the operation if a Message in the array turns out to be an expunged Message.

Parameters
msgs The array of message objects
folder The folder to copy the messages to
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if the destination folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
MessagingException

public abstract boolean create (int type)

Create this folder on the Store. When this folder is created, any folders in its path that do not exist are also created.

If the creation is successful, a CREATED FolderEvent is delivered to any FolderListeners registered on this GmailFolder and this Store.

Parameters
type The type of this folder.
Returns
  • true if the creation succeeds, else false.
See Also

public abstract boolean delete (boolean recurse)

Delete this GmailFolder. This method will succeed only on a closed GmailFolder.

The recurse flag controls whether the deletion affects subfolders or not. If true, all subfolders are deleted, then this folder itself is deleted. If false, the behaviour is dependent on the folder type and is elaborated below:

  • The folder can contain only messages: (type == HOLDS_MESSAGES).
    All messages within the folder are removed. The folder itself is then removed. An appropriate FolderEvent is generated by the Store and this folder.

  • The folder can contain only subfolders: (type == HOLDS_FOLDERS).
    If this folder is empty (does not contain any subfolders at all), it is removed. An appropriate FolderEvent is generated by the Store and this folder.
    If this folder contains any subfolders, the delete fails and returns false.

  • The folder can contain subfolders as well as messages:
    If the folder is empty (no messages or subfolders), it is removed. If the folder contains no subfolders, but only messages, then all messages are removed. The folder itself is then removed. In both the above cases, an appropriate FolderEvent is generated by the Store and this folder.

    If the folder contains subfolders there are 3 possible choices an implementation is free to do:

    1. The operation fails, irrespective of whether this folder contains messages or not. Some implementations might elect to go with this simple approach. The delete() method returns false.
    2. Any messages within the folder are removed. Subfolders are not removed. The folder itself is not removed or affected in any manner. The delete() method returns true. And the exists() method on this folder will return true indicating that this folder still exists.
      An appropriate FolderEvent is generated by the Store and this folder.
    3. Any messages within the folder are removed. Subfolders are not removed. The folder itself changes its type from HOLDS_FOLDERS | HOLDS_MESSAGES to HOLDS_FOLDERS. Thus new messages cannot be added to this folder, but new subfolders can be created underneath. The delete() method returns true indicating success. The exists() method on this folder will return true indicating that this folder still exists.
      An appropriate FolderEvent is generated by the Store and this folder.

Parameters
recurse
Returns
  • true if the GmailFolder is deleted successfully
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist
IllegalStateException if this folder is not in the closed state.
MessagingException
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.FolderEvent

public abstract boolean exists ()

Tests if this folder physically exists on the Store. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • true if the folder exists, otherwise false
Throws
MessagingException typically if the connection to the server is lost.
See Also

public abstract Message[] expunge ()

Expunge (permanently remove) messages marked DELETED. Returns an array containing the expunged message objects. The getMessageNumber method on each of these message objects returns that Message's original (that is, prior to the expunge) sequence number. A MessageCountEvent containing the expunged messages is delivered to any MessageCountListeners registered on the folder.

Expunge causes the renumbering of Message objects subsequent to the expunged messages. Clients that use message numbers as references to messages should be aware of this and should be prepared to deal with the situation (probably by flushing out existing message number caches and reloading them). Because of this complexity, it is better for clients to use Message objects as references to messages, rather than message numbers. Any expunged Messages objects still have to be pruned, but other Messages in that folder are not affected by the expunge.

After a message is expunged, only the isExpunged and getMessageNumber methods are still valid on the corresponding Message object; other methods may throw MessageRemovedException

Returns
  • array of expunged Message objects
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
MessagingException
See Also

public void fetch (Message[] msgs, FetchProfile fp)

Prefetch the items specified in the FetchProfile for the given Messages.

Clients use this method to indicate that the specified items are needed en-masse for the given message range. Implementations are expected to retrieve these items for the given message range in a efficient manner. Note that this method is just a hint to the implementation to prefetch the desired items.

An example is a client filling its header-view window with the Subject, From and X-mailer headers for all messages in the folder.


  Message[] msgs = folder.getMessages();

  FetchProfile fp = new FetchProfile();
  fp.add(FetchProfile.Item.ENVELOPE);
  fp.add("X-mailer");
  folder.fetch(msgs, fp);
  
  for (int i = 0; i < folder.getMessageCount(); i++) {
      display(msg[i].getFrom());
      display(msg[i].getSubject());
      display(msg[i].getHeader("X-mailer"));
  }

 

The implementation provided here just returns without doing anything useful. Providers wanting to provide a real implementation for this method should override this method.

Parameters
msgs Fetch items for these messages
fp The FetchProfile
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened
MessagingException

public synchronized int getDeletedMessageCount ()

Get the number of deleted messages in this GmailFolder.

This method can be invoked on a closed folder. However, note that for some folder implementations, getting the deleted message count can be an expensive operation involving actually opening the folder. In such cases, a provider can choose not to support this functionality in the closed state, in which case this method must return -1.

Clients invoking this method on a closed folder must be aware that this is a potentially expensive operation. Clients must also be prepared to handle a return value of -1 in this case.

This implementation returns -1 if this folder is closed. Else this implementation gets each Message in the folder using getMessage(int) and checks whether its DELETED flag is set. The total number of messages that have this flag set is returned.

Returns
  • number of deleted messages. -1 may be returned by certain implementations if this method is invoked on a closed folder.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public abstract Folder getFolder (String name)

Return the GmailFolder object corresponding to the given name. Note that this folder does not physically have to exist in the Store. The exists() method on a GmailFolder indicates whether it really exists on the Store.

In some Stores, name can be an absolute path if it starts with the hierarchy delimiter. Otherwise, it is interpreted relative to this GmailFolder.

GmailFolder objects are not cached by the Store, so invoking this method on the same name multiple times will return that many distinct GmailFolder objects.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Parameters
name Name of the GmailFolder
Returns
  • GmailFolder object

public abstract String getFullName ()

Returns the full name of this GmailFolder. If the folder resides under the root hierarchy of this Store, the returned name is relative to the root. Otherwise an absolute name, starting with the hierarchy delimiter, is returned.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • full name of the GmailFolder

public abstract Message getMessage (int msgnum)

Get the Message object corresponding to the given message number. A Message object's message number is the relative position of this Message in its GmailFolder. Messages are numbered starting at 1 through the total number of message in the folder. Note that the message number for a particular Message can change during a session if other messages in the GmailFolder are deleted and the GmailFolder is expunged.

Message objects are light-weight references to the actual message that get filled up on demand. Hence GmailFolder implementations are expected to provide light-weight Message objects.

Unlike GmailFolder objects, repeated calls to getMessage with the same message number will return the same Message object, as long as no messages in this folder have been expunged.

Since message numbers can change within a session if the folder is expunged , clients are advised not to use message numbers as references to messages. Use Message objects instead.

Parameters
msgnum The message number
Returns
  • the Message object
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened
IndexOutOfBoundsException if the message number is out of range.
MessagingException

public abstract int getMessageCount ()

Get total number of messages in this GmailFolder.

This method can be invoked on a closed folder. However, note that for some folder implementations, getting the total message count can be an expensive operation involving actually opening the folder. In such cases, a provider can choose not to support this functionality in the closed state, in which case this method must return -1.

Clients invoking this method on a closed folder must be aware that this is a potentially expensive operation. Clients must also be prepared to handle a return value of -1 in this case.

Returns
  • total number of messages. -1 may be returned by certain implementations if this method is invoked on a closed folder.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public synchronized Message[] getMessages (int[] msgnums)

Get the Message objects for message numbers specified in the array.

Message objects are light-weight references to the actual message that get filled up on demand. Hence GmailFolder implementations are expected to provide light-weight Message objects.

This implementation uses getMessage(index) to obtain the required Message objects. Note that the returned array must contain msgnums.length Message objects

Parameters
msgnums The array of message numbers
Returns
  • the array of Message objects.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
IndexOutOfBoundsException if any message number in the given array is out of range.
MessagingException

public synchronized Message[] getMessages ()

Get all Message objects from this GmailFolder. Returns an empty array if the folder is empty. Clients can use Message objects (instead of sequence numbers) as references to the messages within a folder; this method supplies the Message objects to the client. GmailFolder implementations are expected to provide light-weight Message objects, which get filled on demand.

This implementation invokes getMessageCount() to get the current message count and then uses getMessage() to get Message objects from 1 till the message count.

Returns
  • array of Message objects, empty array if folder is empty.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
MessagingException

public synchronized Message[] getMessages (int start, int end)

Get the Message objects for message numbers ranging from start through end, both start and end inclusive. Note that message numbers start at 1, not 0.

Message objects are light-weight references to the actual message that get filled up on demand. Hence GmailFolder implementations are expected to provide light-weight Message objects.

This implementation uses getMessage(index) to obtain the required Message objects. Note that the returned array must contain (end-start+1) Message objects.

Parameters
start The number of the first message
end The number of the last message
Returns
  • the Message objects
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
IndexOutOfBoundsException if the start or end message numbers are out of range.
MessagingException

public int getMode ()

Return the open mode of this folder. Returns GmailFolder.READ_ONLY, GmailFolder.READ_WRITE, or -1 if the open mode is not known (usually only because an older GmailFolder provider has not been updated to use this new method).

Returns
  • the open mode of this folder
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened

public abstract String getName ()

Returns the name of this GmailFolder.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • name of the GmailFolder

public synchronized int getNewMessageCount ()

Get the number of new messages in this GmailFolder.

This method can be invoked on a closed folder. However, note that for some folder implementations, getting the new message count can be an expensive operation involving actually opening the folder. In such cases, a provider can choose not to support this functionality in the closed state, in which case this method must return -1.

Clients invoking this method on a closed folder must be aware that this is a potentially expensive operation. Clients must also be prepared to handle a return value of -1 in this case.

This implementation returns -1 if this folder is closed. Else this implementation gets each Message in the folder using getMessage(int) and checks whether its RECENT flag is set. The total number of messages that have this flag set is returned.

Returns
  • number of new messages. -1 may be returned by certain implementations if this method is invoked on a closed folder.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public abstract Folder getParent ()

Returns the parent folder of this folder. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder. If this folder is the top of a folder hierarchy, this method returns null.

Note that since GmailFolder objects are not cached, invoking this method returns a new distinct GmailFolder object.

Returns
  • Parent folder

public abstract Flags getPermanentFlags ()

Get the permanent flags supported by this GmailFolder. Returns a Flags object that contains all the flags supported.

The special flag Flags.Flag.USER indicates that this GmailFolder supports arbitrary user-defined flags.

The supported permanent flags for a folder may not be available until the folder is opened.

Returns
  • permanent flags, or null if not known

public abstract char getSeparator ()

Return the delimiter character that separates this GmailFolder's pathname from the names of immediate subfolders. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • Hierarchy separator character
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if the implementation requires the folder to exist, but it does not
MessagingException

public Store getStore ()

Returns the Store that owns this GmailFolder object. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • the Store

public abstract int getType ()

Returns the type of this GmailFolder, that is, whether this folder can hold messages or subfolders or both. The returned value is an integer bitfield with the appropriate bits set. This method can be invoked on a closed folder.

Returns
  • integer with appropriate bits set
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public URLName getURLName ()

Return a URLName representing this folder. The returned URLName does not include the password used to access the store.

Returns
  • the URLName representing this folder
See Also

public synchronized int getUnreadMessageCount ()

Get the total number of unread messages in this GmailFolder.

This method can be invoked on a closed folder. However, note that for some folder implementations, getting the unread message count can be an expensive operation involving actually opening the folder. In such cases, a provider can choose not to support this functionality in the closed state, in which case this method must return -1.

Clients invoking this method on a closed folder must be aware that this is a potentially expensive operation. Clients must also be prepared to handle a return value of -1 in this case.

This implementation returns -1 if this folder is closed. Else this implementation gets each Message in the folder using getMessage(int) and checks whether its SEEN flag is set. The total number of messages that do not have this flag set is returned.

Returns
  • total number of unread messages. -1 may be returned by certain implementations if this method is invoked on a closed folder.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public abstract boolean hasNewMessages ()

Returns true if this GmailFolder has new messages since the last time this indication was reset. When this indication is set or reset depends on the GmailFolder implementation (and in the case of IMAP, depends on the server). This method can be used to implement a lightweight "check for new mail" operation on a GmailFolder without opening it. (For example, a thread that monitors a mailbox and flags when it has new mail.) This method should indicate whether any messages in the GmailFolder have the RECENT flag set.

Note that this is not an incremental check for new mail, i.e., it cannot be used to determine whether any new messages have arrived since the last time this method was invoked. To implement incremental checks, the GmailFolder needs to be opened.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder that can contain Messages.

Returns
  • true if the Store has new Messages
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException

public abstract boolean isOpen ()

Indicates whether this GmailFolder is in the 'open' state.

Returns
  • true if this GmailFolder is in the 'open' state.

public boolean isSubscribed ()

Returns true if this GmailFolder is subscribed.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

The default implementation provided here just returns true.

Returns
  • true if this GmailFolder is subscribed

public Folder[] list ()

Convenience method that returns the list of folders under this GmailFolder. This method just calls the list(String pattern) method with "%" as the match pattern. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • array of GmailFolder objects under this GmailFolder. An empty array is returned if no subfolders exist.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException
See Also

public abstract Folder[] list (String pattern)

Returns a list of Folders belonging to this GmailFolder's namespace that match the specified pattern. Patterns may contain the wildcard characters "%", which matches any character except hierarchy delimiters, and "*", which matches any character.

As an example, given the folder hierarchy:

    Personal/
       Finance/
          Stocks
          Bonus
          StockOptions
       Jokes
 
list("*") on "Personal" will return the whole hierarchy.
list("%") on "Personal" will return "Finance" and "Jokes".
list("Jokes") on "Personal" will return "Jokes".
list("Stock*") on "Finance" will return "Stocks" and "StockOptions".

GmailFolder objects are not cached by the Store, so invoking this method on the same pattern multiple times will return that many distinct GmailFolder objects.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Parameters
pattern The match pattern
Returns
  • array of matching GmailFolder objects. An empty array is returned if no matching Folders exist.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException
See Also

public Folder[] listSubscribed ()

Convenience method that returns the list of subscribed folders under this GmailFolder. This method just calls the listSubscribed(String pattern) method with "%" as the match pattern. This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Returns
  • array of subscribed GmailFolder objects under this GmailFolder. An empty array is returned if no subscribed subfolders exist.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException
See Also

public Folder[] listSubscribed (String pattern)

Returns a list of subscribed Folders belonging to this GmailFolder's namespace that match the specified pattern. If the folder does not support subscription, this method should resolve to list. (The default implementation provided here, does just this). The pattern can contain wildcards as for list.

Note that, at a given level of the folder hierarchy, a particular folder may not be subscribed, but folders underneath that folder in the folder hierarchy may be subscribed. In order to allow walking the folder hierarchy, such unsubscribed folders may be returned, indicating that a folder lower in the hierarchy is subscribed. The isSubscribed method on a folder will tell whether any particular folder is actually subscribed.

GmailFolder objects are not cached by the Store, so invoking this method on the same pattern multiple times will return that many distinct GmailFolder objects.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

Parameters
pattern The match pattern
Returns
  • array of matching subscribed GmailFolder objects. An empty array is returned if no matching subscribed folders exist.
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MessagingException
See Also

public abstract void open (int mode)

Open this GmailFolder. This method is valid only on Folders that can contain Messages and that are closed.

If this folder is opened successfully, an OPENED ConnectionEvent is delivered to any ConnectionListeners registered on this GmailFolder.

The effect of opening multiple connections to the same folder on a specifc Store is implementation dependent. Some implementations allow multiple readers, but only one writer. Others allow multiple writers as well as readers.

Parameters
mode Open the GmailFolder READ_ONLY or READ_WRITE
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not in the closed state.
MessagingException
See Also

public synchronized void removeConnectionListener (ConnectionListener l)

Remove a Connection event listener.

The implementation provided here removes this listener from the internal list of ConnectionListeners.

Parameters
l The listener

public synchronized void removeFolderListener (FolderListener l)

Remove a GmailFolder event listener.

The implementation provided here removes this listener from the internal list of FolderListeners.

Parameters
l The listener

public synchronized void removeMessageChangedListener (MessageChangedListener l)

Remove a MessageChanged listener.

The implementation provided here removes this listener from the internal list of MessageChangedListeners.

Parameters
l The listener

public synchronized void removeMessageCountListener (MessageCountListener l)

Remove a MessageCount listener.

The implementation provided here removes this listener from the internal list of MessageCountListeners.

Parameters
l The listener

public abstract boolean renameTo (Folder f)

Rename this GmailFolder. This method will succeed only on a closed GmailFolder.

If the rename is successful, a RENAMED FolderEvent is delivered to FolderListeners registered on this folder and its containing Store.

Parameters
f A folder representing the new name for this GmailFolder
Returns
  • true if the GmailFolder is renamed successfully
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist
IllegalStateException if this folder is not in the closed state.
MessagingException
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.FolderEvent

public Message[] search (SearchTerm term)

Search this GmailFolder for messages matching the specified search criterion. Returns an array containing the matching messages . Returns an empty array if no matches were found.

This implementation invokes search(term, getMessages()), to apply the search over all the messages in this folder. Providers that can implement server-side searching might want to override this method to provide a more efficient implementation.

Parameters
term The search criterion
Returns
  • array of matching messages
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened.
MessagingException
See Also
  • javax.mail.search.SearchTerm

public Message[] search (SearchTerm term, Message[] msgs)

Search the given array of messages for those that match the specified search criterion. Returns an array containing the matching messages. Returns an empty array if no matches were found.

Note that the specified Message objects must belong to this folder.

This implementation iterates through the given array of messages, and applies the search criterion on each message by calling its match() method with the given term. The messages that succeed in the match are returned. Providers that can implement server-side searching might want to override this method to provide a more efficient implementation. If the search term is too complex or contains user-defined terms that cannot be executed on the server, providers may elect to either throw a SearchException or degenerate to client-side searching by calling super.search() to invoke this implementation.

Parameters
term The search criterion
msgs The messages to be searched
Returns
  • array of matching messages
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened
MessagingException
See Also
  • javax.mail.search.SearchTerm

public synchronized void setFlags (int start, int end, Flags flag, boolean value)

Set the specified flags on the messages numbered from start through end, both start and end inclusive. Note that message numbers start at 1, not 0. This will result in appropriate MessageChangedEvents being delivered to any MessageChangedListener registered on this Message's containing folder.

Certain GmailFolder implementations can optimize the operation of setting Flags for a group of messages, so clients might want to use this method, rather than invoking Message.setFlags for each Message.

The default implementation uses getMessage(int) to get each Message object and then invokes setFlags on that object to set the flags. Specific GmailFolder implementations that can optimize this case should do so. Also, an implementation must not abort the operation if a message number refers to an expunged message.

Parameters
start The number of the first message
end The number of the last message
flag Flags object containing the flags to be set
value Set the flags to this boolean value
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened or if it has been opened READ_ONLY.
IndexOutOfBoundsException if the start or end message numbers are out of range.
MessagingException
See Also

public synchronized void setFlags (Message[] msgs, Flags flag, boolean value)

Set the specified flags on the messages specified in the array. This will result in appropriate MessageChangedEvents being delivered to any MessageChangedListener registered on this Message's containing folder.

Note that the specified Message objects must belong to this folder. Certain GmailFolder implementations can optimize the operation of setting Flags for a group of messages, so clients might want to use this method, rather than invoking Message.setFlags for each Message.

This implementation degenerates to invoking setFlags() on each Message object. Specific GmailFolder implementations that can optimize this case should do so. Also, an implementation must not abort the operation if a Message in the array turns out to be an expunged Message.

Parameters
msgs The array of message objects
flag Flags object containing the flags to be set
value Set the flags to this boolean value
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened or if it has been opened READ_ONLY.
MessagingException
See Also

public synchronized void setFlags (int[] msgnums, Flags flag, boolean value)

Set the specified flags on the messages whose message numbers are in the array. This will result in appropriate MessageChangedEvents being delivered to any MessageChangedListener registered on this Message's containing folder.

Certain GmailFolder implementations can optimize the operation of setting Flags for a group of messages, so clients might want to use this method, rather than invoking Message.setFlags for each Message.

The default implementation uses getMessage(int) to get each Message object and then invokes setFlags on that object to set the flags. Specific GmailFolder implementations that can optimize this case should do so. Also, an implementation must not abort the operation if a message number refers to an expunged message.

Parameters
msgnums The array of message numbers
flag Flags object containing the flags to be set
value Set the flags to this boolean value
Throws
IllegalStateException if this folder is not opened or if it has been opened READ_ONLY.
IndexOutOfBoundsException if any message number in the given array is out of range.
MessagingException
See Also

public void setSubscribed (boolean subscribe)

Subscribe or unsubscribe this GmailFolder. Not all Stores support subscription.

This method can be invoked on a closed GmailFolder.

The implementation provided here just throws the MethodNotSupportedException.

Parameters
subscribe True to subscribe, false to unsubscribe
Throws
FolderNotFoundException if this folder does not exist.
MethodNotSupportedException if this store does not support subscription
MessagingException

public String toString ()

override the default toString(), it will return the String from GmailFolder.getFullName() or if that is null, it will use the default toString() behavior.

public Folder[] xlist ()

public abstract Folder[] xlist (String pattern)

Parameters
pattern

Protected Methods

protected void finalize ()

Throws
Throwable

protected void notifyConnectionListeners (int type)

Notify all ConnectionListeners. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast connection events.

The provided implementation queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to the registered ConnectionListeners. Note that the event dispatching occurs in a separate thread, thus avoiding potential deadlock problems.

Parameters
type The ConnectionEvent type
See Also
  • javax.mail.event.ConnectionEvent

protected void notifyFolderListeners (int type)

Notify all FolderListeners registered on this GmailFolder and this folder's Store. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast GmailFolder events.

The implementation provided here queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to the FolderListeners registered on this folder. The implementation also invokes notifyFolderListeners on this folder's Store to notify any FolderListeners registered on the store.

Parameters
type Type of FolderEvent

protected void notifyFolderRenamedListeners (Folder folder)

Notify all FolderListeners registered on this GmailFolder and this folder's Store about the renaming of this folder. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast GmailFolder events indicating the renaming of folders.

The implementation provided here queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to the FolderListeners registered on this folder. The implementation also invokes notifyFolderRenamedListeners on this folder's Store to notify any FolderListeners registered on the store.

Parameters
folder GmailFolder representing the new name.

protected void notifyMessageAddedListeners (Message[] msgs)

Notify all MessageCountListeners about the addition of messages into this folder. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast MessageCount events for indicating arrival of new messages.

The provided implementation queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to the registered MessageCountListeners. Note that the event dispatching occurs in a separate thread, thus avoiding potential deadlock problems.

Parameters
msgs

protected void notifyMessageChangedListeners (int type, Message msg)

Notify all MessageChangedListeners. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast MessageChanged events.

The provided implementation queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to registered MessageChangedListeners. Note that the event dispatching occurs in a separate thread, thus avoiding potential deadlock problems.

Parameters
type
msg

protected void notifyMessageRemovedListeners (boolean removed, Message[] msgs)

Notify all MessageCountListeners about the removal of messages from this GmailFolder. GmailFolder implementations are expected to use this method to broadcast MessageCount events indicating removal of messages.

The provided implementation queues the event into an internal event queue. An event dispatcher thread dequeues events from the queue and dispatches them to the registered MessageCountListeners. Note that the event dispatching occurs in a separate thread, thus avoiding potential deadlock problems.

Parameters
removed
msgs