• Article

The HTTP: URL Scheme

Topic Last Modified: 2006-06-12

When you construct URLs by using the HTTP: URL scheme for use with the Exchange OLE DB (ExOLEDB) provider, you follow the same procedure as you would when accessing the item over the network using the HTTP protocol. The structure of the URL is as follows:

https://servername/virtual-directory/virtual-path

The following sections describe each component of the URL.

servername

This is the local server name. You can use the local server's fully qualified domain name, but this is not required with the ExOLEDB provider. The Domain Name System (DNS) is not used to resolve this name into an Internet Protocol (IP) address, and the network is not used to access the item. The URL serves only to identify an item uniquely in the Exchange store on the local computer. Only URLs for items that reside in private or public stores on the same server can be used. You cannot access items in stores on remote servers by using the ExOLEDB provider.

virtual-directory

This is the Exchange HTTP Virtual Server virtual directory mapped to the public folder. The following table shows the default virtual directory names for all private stores and the default public folder "Public Folders".

Virtual directory name Description

exchange

All private mailboxes in any private store are available through this virtual directory.

public

This virtual directory is mapped to the top public folder in the default public folder tree. The default public folder name is "Public Folders".

Each virtual path starts with an Exchange HTTP Virtual Server virtual directory name.

virtual-path

This is the virtual path to the item. The path is virtual because multiple Exchange virtual directories can exist as a hierarchy below the first Exchange virtual directory. Each virtual subdirectory can map to a non-contiguous public folder housed in any public store. If the subfolder is not an Exchange virtual directory, the path is identical to the physical hierarchy below the public folder.

Note

When you use HTTP: URLs with the ExOLEDB provider, you must specify the ExOLEDB provider binder explicitly when binding the item. This provider has the programmatic identifier "ExOLEDB.DataSource". The Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Internet Publishing (MSDAIPP) is registered as the default provider for the HTTP: URL scheme. If you do not specify the ExOLEDB provider, the MSDAIPP provider attempts to service the request. This provider is not supported for use with CDO for Exchange 2000 Server (CDOEX), nor should it be used in server applications that need to scale.

The URLs in the following examples use the HTTP: scheme.

http://server.example.com/public/reports/report1.doc
http://server.example.com/public/reports/schema/

http://server.example.com/exchange/User1/Inbox
http://server.example.com/exchange/User1/Calendar
http://server.example.com/exchange/User1/Drafts

http://server.example.com/application1/app1/
http://server.example.com/application1/app1/schema

The URLs in the following table are examples of common file: URLs for a user's mailbox folders (English).

Folder URL

Calendar

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Calendar

Contacts

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Contacts

Drafts

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Drafts

Inbox

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Inbox

Journal

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Journal

Notes

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Notes

Outbox

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Outbox

Sent Items

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Sent%20Items

Tasks

http://server.example.com/exchange/UserAlias/Tasks

 

Note

The URLs in the preceding table are only examples. You should not construct them manually in your application. You can retrieve all of the URLs in a user's localized mailbox folder by using the IMailBox Interface on a Collaboration Data Objects (CDO)Person object or by retrieving properties, such as the inbox Field or calendar Field, on the base mailbox folder.