Change OL message to task, then open it?

[Guest]

What I've done is uninstall the David Allen "Getting Things Done" Add-In,
because it doesn't play nice with the Project Web Access Add-In. So here's
the main functionality from GTD I'm trying to replace...I'd like to be able
to take a message from any folder (mostly my Inbox), and with one click on
the toolbar, mark it as read, convert it to a task, and open the resulting
task form so I can edit categories, dates and such.

Here's what I have so far (borrowed and stolen from around the 'net), and it
works like a charm. Obviously, it doesn't open the task form, because
everything I've tried opens the original email, not the task.

<snip>

Sub MoveMessages(strFolder As String)
Dim olkItem As Object, _
olkFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
Set olkFolder = OpenMAPIFolder(strFolder)
If TypeName(olkFolder) = "MAPIFolder" Then
For Each olkItem In Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection
olkItem.UnRead = False
olkItem.Save
olkItem.Move olkFolder
Next
End If
Set olkFolder = Nothing
Set olkItem = Nothing
End Sub
Sub CreateTask()
MoveMessages "\Personal Folders\Tasks"
End Sub
Function OpenMAPIFolder(szPath)
Dim app, ns, flr, szDir, i
Set flr = Nothing
Set app = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
If Left(szPath, Len("\")) = "\" Then
szPath = Mid(szPath, Len("\") + 1)
Else
Set flr = app.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder
End If
While szPath <> ""
i = InStr(szPath, "\")
If i Then
szDir = Left(szPath, i - 1)
szPath = Mid(szPath, i + Len("\"))
Else
szDir = szPath
szPath = ""
End If
If IsNothing(flr) Then
Set ns = app.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set flr = ns.Folders(szDir)
Else
Set flr = flr.Folders(szDir)
End If
Wend
Set OpenMAPIFolder = flr
End Function

Function IsNothing(obj)
If TypeName(obj) = "Nothing" Then
IsNothing = True
Else
IsNothing = False
End If
End Function

</snip>

Anyone? Bueller?

The above move multiple messages at a time; that functionality isn't
critical to me, as I tend to process everything as it arrives; but someone
else might have a need to move a large number of items all at once.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Michael Bauer [MVP - Outlook]]

If you want to turn the e-mail into a task without creating a nw item then
change its MessageClass property to 'IPM.Task'.

BTW: Your MoveMessages method doesn't work if you really have more than one
item selected. Then you'd have to loop backwards.

--
Viele Gruesse / Best regards
Michael Bauer - MVP Outlook
Organize eMails:
<http://www.vboffice.net/product.html?id=2006063&cmd=detail&lang=en&pub=6>

Am Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:33:00 -0700 schrieb NHedley:

 

[Guest]

Is there a smarter way? Would changing MessageClass be *in addition* to
everything else? Or simply *instead of*?

Sorry - this is all very new to me. I want to accomplish one simple thing,
and I'm finding myself having to learn an entire programming language to
essentially run a three-click macro.

Thanks.

 

[Michael Bauer [MVP - Outlook]]

In addition to what? So far, your code does nothign to turn the items to
TaskItems.

If you want to keep the e-mails and want them additionally as tasks then you
have to create new TaskItems with the CreateItem function, and then copy
every property to it.

If you don't need the e-mail anymore and want to have them displayed as
TaskItems then simply change the MessageClass property. By that property
Outlok decides what form to use.

Sorry - this is all very new to me. I want to accomplish one simple thing,
and I'm finding myself having to learn an entire programming language to
essentially run a three-click macro.

Come on, that a user has to do one click to perform an action tells that the
code behind the scenes might be very smart, not that it's simple to write.
But you can relax, when you have finished the code you're still years away
from having learned the entirely progamming language.

--
Viele Gruesse / Best regards
Michael Bauer - MVP Outlook
Organize eMails:
<http://www.vboffice.net/product.html?id=2006063&cmd=detail&lang=en&pub=6>

Am Mon, 1 Oct 2007 16:56:02 -0700 schrieb NHedley:

 

[Guest]

As I stared blankly at the screen, trying to figure out how to change the
message property, I found this:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/msoffice/?p=281

Which apparently does almost exactly what I want. Almost. If I could
replicate this result without all the mouse traffic, and without having to
delete the original email I'd be a happy camper. But I think in the long
run, the amount of time I'll spend trying to learn how to write and refine
the code is about the same as the amount of time I'll spend dragging and
hitting the "delete" key.

Thanks for trying to help a n00b out.

Best,
Neil

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The problem with the drag-and-drop method is that it doesn't copy any attachments.

You might also want to check out this code sample: http://outlookcode.com/codedetail.aspx?id=959

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Sue - wow! Is there ANYTHING that ISN'T on your website?
Thanks for the code - this doesn't delete the original email, does it? Is
there an easy way a complete moron like me could modify it to blow out the
email and keep the task intact, or is that a whole different thing?

--Neil

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, it doesn't, but since it does return an object variable reference to the message, all you have to do is add a code statement that calls that object's Delete method.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54