PHP imap_search not detecting all messages in gmail inbox

Question

When I run a very simple imap_search on my GMail inbox, the search returns less messages than it should.

Here is the script that anyone with a GMail account can run.

$host = '{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl}';
$user = 'foo';
$pass = 'bar';

$imapStream = imap_open($host,$user,$pass) or die(imap_last_error());

$messages = imap_search($imapStream,"ALL");

echo count($messages);

imap_close($imapStream);

This returns 39 messages. But, I've got 100 messages in my inbox, some bundled in conversations, some forwarded from another account (SquirrelMail).

Can anyone duplicate these results, and/or tell me what's going on?

---

Other server strings I've tried, all returning the same results:

{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}
{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}INBOX
{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl}INBOX

GMail's IMAP feature support: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=78761

Millwright

Tried imap_sort, imap_num_msg, and imap_search, same results. – Millwright

Tried "Advanced IMAP Controls" in Google Labs, same results. – Millwright

Answer 1

After significant hair loss, I've found the answer. It was a misleading UI.

GMail groups one's messages into "Conversations" by default. These conversations can include archived messages.

So, for example, Bob's inbox looks like there's 4 conversations of 25 messages, which should apparently return 100 inbox messages. In reality, 60 of the messages are in the archive (not the inbox), so the imap_search() returns 40. These messages are magically pulled out of the archive and placed into inbox conversations.

In the Settings->General menu, you can toggle conversation view, which will put all of those naughty archived messages back where they belong, and show your true inbox view.

Millwright

After significant hair loss LOL ... same here – Nightjar

Answer 2

imap_search criteria ALL - return all messages matching the rest of the criteria , so i ask you where is the rest of the criteria ?

You could use imap_sort($imapStream, 'SORTDATE', 0); ( imap_sort - Gets and sorts message numbers by the given parameters imap_sort ) .

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Edit , here is some code that goes thru all messages in you're inbox , instead of imap_num_msg , you could use imap_sort as stated before , so you get you're inbox sorted if you like .

<?php
    $imap = imap_open("{mail.yourserver.com:143}INBOX", "username", "password");
    $message_count = imap_num_msg($imap);

    for ($i = 1; $i <= $message_count; ++$i) {
        $header = imap_header($imap, $i);
        $body = trim(substr(imap_body($imap, $i), 0, 100));
        $prettydate = date("jS F Y", $header->udate);

        if (isset($header->from[0]->personal)) {
            $personal = $header->from[0]->personal;
        } else {
            $personal = $header->from[0]->mailbox;
        }

        $email = "$personal <{$header->from[0]->mailbox}@{$header->from[0]->host}>";
        echo "On $prettydate, $email said \"$body\".\n";
    }

    imap_close($imap);
?>

Thermograph

@poelinca - "ALL" is the criterion, I want all of the messages in the inbox. I tried imap_sort just now, and it returned the same results. :/ – Millwright

please see my update answer , looking at php.net ALL shouldn't be used alone , that would mean you can use ANY as a standalone criteria witch whont work would it ? – Thermograph

@poelinca - ALL by itself returns the same results as when I split it up with criteria. Do you have a source when you say "shouldn't be used alone"? Also, ANY won't work because isn't in the list of criteria. – Millwright

if you just whant to display the number of messages you can use imap_sort or imap_num_msg . ( i still don't think ALL should work as a standalone criteria , since you allready having problems getting all emails ) – Thermograph

@poelinca - I understand what you're saying, but I don't know any other way to return "all inbox messages". – Millwright

@poelinca - I tried imap_sort, imap_num_msg, and imap_search, which all return 39. :| Thanks for the tips though. – Millwright

for me both imap_search and imap_sort return the correct number – Thermograph