How to: Link to MAPI Functions

Article
05/05/2014

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Previously, calling MAPI functions in a messaging application involved linking to the Mapi32.lib library. This includes routing MAPI calls to the Mapi32.dll OS component, which then forwards the calls to the default MAPI client implementation at runtime.

Because the default MAPI client now supports on-demand installation using Windows Installer (MSI), you can develop messaging applications directly on top of the implementation instead of going through Mapi32.lib. The following shows you how to call MAPI functions using explicit linking.

For more information about explicit linking, see Linking Explicitly.

To call MAPI APIs without the MAPI32.lib library

In your program file, create a global array of function pointers for each MAPI API you are using.

The following example illustrates this step.
```
//Global MAPI function pointers
LPMAPIINITIALIZE pfnMAPIInitialize = NULL;
LPMAPIUNINITIALIZE pfnMAPIUninitialize = NULL;
```
Create a function that initializes MAPI functions to link to the MAPI DLL (Mapi32.dll). In this function, do the following:
1. Call the function FGetComponentPath to get the path and DLL name that implements the MAPI subsystem. For more information see How to: Choose a Specific Version of MAPI to Load.
2. Load the DLL by calling the function LoadLibrary.
3. Initialize the MAPI function pointer array by calling the function GetProcAddress.
The following example illustrates the previous steps:
```
void InitializeMapiFunctions()
{
  //Get the DLL path and name of the actual MAPI implementation
  FGetComponentPath(g_szMapiComponentGUID, NULL, szMAPIDLL, MAX_PATH);

  //Load the DLL
  hMod = LoadLibrary(szMAPIDLL);

  //Initialize MAPI functions
  pfnMAPIInitialize = GetProcAddress(hMod, “MAPIInitialize”);
  pfnMAPIUninitialize = GetProcAddress(hMod, “MAPIUninitialize”);
}
```

Finally, call the function you created in step 2 in your messaging application before you make calls to MAPI APIs.

Security Note
You must uninitialize the MAPI subsystem before closing your application.

The following example illustrates this step:

int main()
{
  HRESULT hr;

  InitializeMapiFunctions();

  //Initialize the MAPI subsystem
  hr = (*pfnMAPIInitialize)(NULL);
  if (hr!= S_OK)
  {
    //Handle the error case
  }
  //Here’s where you make calls to other MAPI APIs

  //Uninitialize the MAPI subsystem
  (*pfnMAPIUninitialize)();
return (0);
}

How to: Link to MAPI Functions

To call MAPI APIs without the MAPI32.lib library

See Also

Concepts

Additional resources