Outlook Mail (Office 365) Connector for PowerShell

Outlook Mail Connector (Office 365) can be used to integrate Office 365 Outlook Mail API in your App / BI Tools. You can download attachment, read / search Emails, Users, MailFolders, Send email and more.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Outlook Mail (Office 365) data in PowerShell without coding. We will use high-performance Outlook Mail (Office 365) Connector to easily connect to Outlook Mail (Office 365) and then access the data inside PowerShell.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Outlook Mail (Office 365) using PowerShell we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Outlook Mail (Office 365). We will later be able to read data using PowerShell. Perform these steps:

  1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):

    Open ODBC Data Source
  3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

    ZappySys API Driver
    Create new User DSN for ZappySys API Driver
    • Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
    • Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Outlook Mail (Office 365)" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Outlook Mail (Office 365)" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    ODBC DSN Template Selection
  5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    Use delegated access (User Credentials) whenever you want to let a signed-in user work with their own resources or resources they can access. Whether it's an admin setting up policies for their entire organization or a user deleting an email in their inbox, all scenarios involving user actions should use delegated access. [API reference]

    Steps how to get and use Outlook Mail (Office 365) credentials

    Follow these simple steps below to create Microsoft Entra ID application with delegated access:

    WARNING: If you are planning to automate processes, we recommend that you use a Application Credentials authentication method. In case, you still need to use User Credentials, then make sure you use a system/generic account (e.g. automation@my-company.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will start to fail.
    1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
    2. Access Microsoft Entra ID.
    3. Register a new application by going to App registrations and clicking on New registration button: Start new app registration in Microsoft Entra ID
      INFO: Find more information on how to register an application in Graph API reference.
    4. When configuration window opens, configure these fields:
      • Supported account type
        • Use Accounts in this organizational directory only, if you need access to data in your organization only.
      • Redirect URI:
        • Set the type to Public client/native (mobile & desktop).
        • Use https://zappysys.com/oauth as the URL.
      Register app in Microsoft Entra ID
    5. After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later: Copy client ID of Microsoft Entra ID app
    6. Then copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs to use later in the configuration: Copy Auth and Token URLs in Microsoft Entra ID app
    7. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use the copied values in User Credentials authentication configuration:
      • In the Authorization URL field paste the OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Token URL field paste the OAuth token endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Client ID field paste the Application (client) ID value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Scope field use the default value or select individual scopes, e.g.:
        • email
        • offline_access
        • openid
        • profile
        • Mail.Read
        • Mail.Read.Shared
        • Mail.ReadBasic
        • Mail.ReadBasic.Shared
        • Mail.ReadWrite
        • Mail.ReadWrite.Shared
        • Mail.Send
        • Mail.Send.Shared
        • User.Read
        • User.ReadBasic.All
    8. Press Generate Token button to generate Access and Refresh Tokens.
    9. Optional step. Choose Default User Id from the drop down menu (if someone shared a mailbox with you).
    10. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
    11. Done! Now you are ready to use the API Connector!

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    User Credentials [OAuth]
    https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0
    Required Parameters
    Authorization URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Token URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Client ID Fill-in the parameter...
    Scope Fill-in the parameter...
    Return URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    Client Secret
    Refresh Token File Path
    Login Prompt Option
    Default User Id (Select after clicking **Generate Token**) me
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429|503
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

    Application-only access is broader and more powerful than delegated access (User Credentials), so you should only use app-only access where needed. Use it when: 1. The application needs to run in an automated way, without user input (for example, a daily script that checks emails from certain contacts and sends automated responses). 2. The application needs to access resources belonging to multiple different users (for example, a backup or data loss prevention app might need to retrieve messages from many different chat channels, each with different participants). 3. You find yourself tempted to store credentials locally and allow the app to sign in 'as' the user or admin. [API reference]

    Steps how to get and use Outlook Mail (Office 365) credentials

    Follow these simple steps below to create Microsoft Entra ID application with application access permissions.

    1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and log in using your credentials.
    2. Access Microsoft Entra ID.
    3. Register a new application by going to App registrations and clicking on New registration button: Start new app registration in Microsoft Entra ID
      INFO: Find more information on how to register an application in Graph API reference.
    4. When configuration window opens, configure these fields:
      • Supported account type
        • e.g. select Accounts in this organizational directory only if you need access to data in your organization only.
      • Redirect URI:
        • Set the type to Public client/native (mobile & desktop).
        • Leave the URL field empty.
      Register app in Microsoft Entra ID
    5. After registering the app, copy the Application (client) ID for later: Copy client ID of Microsoft Entra ID app
    6. Then copy OAuth authorization endpoint (v2) & OAuth token endpoint (v2) URLs: Copy Auth and Token URLs in Microsoft Entra ID app
    7. Continue and create Client secret: Add Client secret for Microsoft Entra ID app
    8. Then copy the Client secret for later steps: Copy Client secret
    9. Continue by adding permissions for the app by going to the API permissions section, and clicking on Add a permission: Start adding permissions to Microsoft Entra ID app
    10. Select Microsoft Graph: Select Graph API permissions for Microsoft Entra ID app
    11. Then choose Application permissions option: Select app permissions for Microsoft Entra ID app
    12. Continue by adding these Mail (Outlook) permissions: Select Outlook Mail application scopes
    13. Finish by clicking Add permissions button: Add permissions to Microsoft Entra ID app
    14. Now it's time to Grant admin consent for your application: Grant admin consent for Microsoft Entra ID app
    15. Confirm all the permissions are granted: Admin consent granted successfully in Entra ID
    16. Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and use the copied values in Application Credentials authentication configuration:
      • In the Token URL field paste the OAuth token endpoint (v2) URL value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Client ID field paste the Application (client) ID value you copied in the previous step.
      • In the Client Secret field paste the Client secret value you copied in the previous step.
      • Choose Default User Id from the drop down menu.
    17. Click Test Connection to confirm the connection is working.
    18. That's it! Now you can use the API Connector!

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    Application Credentials [OAuth]
    https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0
    Required Parameters
    Token URL Fill-in the parameter...
    Client ID Fill-in the parameter...
    Client Secret Fill-in the parameter...
    Scope Fill-in the parameter...
    Default User Id Fill-in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
    RetryStatusCodeList 429|503
    RetryCountMax 5
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime True
    ODBC DSN Oauth Connection Configuration

  6. Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

    ZappySys API Driver - Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    Outlook Mail Connector (Office 365) can be used to integrate Office 365 Outlook Mail API in your App / BI Tools. You can download attachment, read / search Emails, Users, MailFolders, Send email and more.
    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    Open Query Builder in API ODBC Driver to read and write data to REST API
  7. Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in PowerShell to retrieve data from Outlook Mail (Office 365). Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.

    SELECT * FROM MyMessages
    Configure table/endpoint parameters in ODBC data source based on API Driver
    Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Outlook Mail (Office 365) API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
  8. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in PowerShell:

    ZappySys API Driver - Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    Outlook Mail Connector (Office 365) can be used to integrate Office 365 Outlook Mail API in your App / BI Tools. You can download attachment, read / search Emails, Users, MailFolders, Send email and more.
    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    SELECT * FROM MyMessages
    API ODBC Driver-based data source data preview
    You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
    A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Outlook Mail (Office 365) API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Outlook Mail (Office 365) servers).
  9. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read Outlook Mail (Office 365) data in PowerShell

Sometimes, you need to quickly access and work with your Outlook Mail (Office 365) data in PowerShell. Whether you need a quick data overview or the complete dataset, this article will guide you through the process. Here are some common scenarios:

Viewing data in a terminal
  • Quickly peek at Outlook Mail (Office 365) data
  • Monitor data constantly in your console
Saving data to a file
  • Export data to a CSV file so that it can be sliced and diced in Excel
  • Export data to a JSON file so that it can ingested by other processes
  • Export data to an HTML file for user-friendly view and easy sharing
  • Create a schedule to make it an automatic process
Saving data to a database
  • Store data internally for analysis or for further ETL processes
  • Create a schedule to make it an automatic process
Sending data to another API
  • Integrate data with other systems via external APIs

In this article, we will delve deeper into how to quickly view the data in PowerShell terminal and how to save it to a file. But let's stop talking and get started!

Reading individual fields

  1. Open your favorite PowerShell IDE (we are using Visual Studio Code).
  2. Then simply follow these instructions:
    "DSN=OutlookMailOffice365DSN"
    Read API data with PowerShell using ODBC DSN in Visual Code

    For your convenience, here is the whole PowerShell script:

    # Configure connection string and query
    $connectionString = "DSN=OutlookMailOffice365DSN"
    $query = "SELECT * FROM Customers"
    
    # Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
    $adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
    $table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable
    
    # Fill the table with data
    $adapter.Fill($table)
    
    # Since we know we will be reading just 4 columns, let's define format for those 4 columns, each separated by a tab
    $format = "{0}`t{1}`t{2}`t{3}"
    
    # Display data in the console
    foreach ($row in $table.Rows)
    {
        # Construct line based on the format and individual Outlook Mail (Office 365) fields
        $line = $format -f ($row["CustomerId"], $row["CompanyName"], $row["Country"], $row["Phone"])
        Write-Host $line
    }
    
    Access specific Outlook Mail (Office 365) table field using this code snippet:
    $field = $row["ColumnName"]
    You will find more info on how to manipulate DataTable.Rows property in Microsoft .NET reference.
    For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in Outlook Mail (Office 365).
  3. To read values in a console, save the script to a file and then execute this command inside PowerShell terminal: Read API data in PowerShell using ODBC DSN
    You can also use even a simpler command inside the terminal, e.g.:
    . 'C:\Users\john\Documents\dsn.ps1'

Retrieving all fields

However, there might be case, when you want to retrieve all columns of a query. Here is how you do it:

"DSN=OutlookMailOffice365DSN"
Read all API columns from ODBC data source in PowerShell

Again, for your convenience, here is the whole PowerShell script:

# Configure connection string and query
$connectionString = "DSN=OutlookMailOffice365DSN"
$query = "SELECT CustomerId, CompanyName, Country, Phone FROM Customers"

# Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
$adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
$table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable

# Fill the table with data
$adapter.Fill($table)

# Display data in the console
foreach ($row in $table.Rows) {
    $line = ""
    foreach ($column in $table.Columns) {
        $value = $row[$column.ColumnName]

        # Let's handle NULL values
        if ($value -is [DBNull])
        {
            $value = "(NULL)"
        }
        $line += $value + "`t"
    }
    Write-Host $line
}
You can limit the numbers of lines to retrieve by using a LIMIT keyword in the query, e.g.:
SELECT * FROM Customers LIMIT 10

Using a full ODBC connection string

In the previous steps we used a very short format of ODBC connection string - a DSN. Yet sometimes you don't want a dependency on an ODBC data source (and an extra step). In those times, you can define a full connection string and skip creating an ODBC data source entirely. Let's see below how to accomplish that in the below steps:

  1. Open ODBC data source configuration and click Copy settings:
    ZappySys API Driver - Configuration [Version: 2.0.1.10418]
    ZappySys API Driver - Outlook Mail (Office 365)
    Outlook Mail Connector (Office 365) can be used to integrate Office 365 Outlook Mail API in your App / BI Tools. You can download attachment, read / search Emails, Users, MailFolders, Send email and more.
    OutlookMailOffice365DSN
    Copy connection string for ODBC application
  2. The window opens, telling us the connection string was successfully copied to the clipboard: Successful connection string copying for ODBC application
  3. Then just paste the connection string into your script: Paste ODBC connection string in PowerShell to read API data
  4. You are good to go! The script will execute the same way as using a DSN.

Have in mind that a full connection string has length limitations.

Proceed to the next step to find out the details.

Limitations of using a full connection string

Despite using a full ODBC connection string may be very convenient it comes with a limitation: it's length is limited to 1024 symbols (or sometimes more). It usually happens when API provider generates a very long Refresh Token when OAuth is at play. If you are using such a long ODBC connection string, you may get this error:

"Connection string exceeds maximum allowed length of 1024"

But there is a solution to this by storing the full connection string in a file. Follow the steps below to achieve this:

  1. Open your ODBC data source.
  2. Click Copy settings button to copy a full connection string (see the previous section on how to accomplish that).
  3. Then create a new file, let's say, in C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt.
  4. Continue by pasting the copied connection string into a newly created file and save it.
  5. Finally, the last step! Just construct a shorter ODBC connection string using this format:
    DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};SettingsFile=C:\temp\odbc-connection-string.txt
  6. Our troubles are over! Now you should be able to use this connection string in PowerShell with no problems.
This feature requires ODBC PowerPack v1.9.0 or later.

Write Outlook Mail (Office 365) data to a file in PowerShell

Save data to a CSV file

Export data to a CSV file so that it can be sliced and diced in Excel:

# Configure connection string and query
$connectionString = "DSN=OutlookMailOffice365DSN"
$query = "SELECT * FROM Customers"

# Instantiate OdbcDataAdapter and DataTable
$adapter = New-Object System.Data.Odbc.OdbcDataAdapter($query, $connectionString)
$table = New-Object System.Data.DataTable

# Fill the table with data
$adapter.Fill($table)

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Csv -NoTypeInformation -Delimiter "`t" | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.csv" -Force

Save data to a JSON file

Export data to a JSON file so that it can ingested by other processes (use the above script, but change this part):

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Json | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.json" -Force

Save data to an HTML file

Export data to an HTML file for user-friendly view and easy sharing (use the above script, but change this part):

# Export table data to a file
$table | ConvertTo-Html | Out-File "C:\Users\john\saved-data.html" -Force
Check useful PowerShell cmdlets other than ConvertTo-Csv, ConvertTo-Json, and ConvertTo-Html for other data manipulation scenarios.

Actions supported by Outlook Mail (Office 365) Connector

Learn how to perform common Outlook Mail (Office 365) actions directly in PowerShell with these how-to guides:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Outlook Mail (Office 365) in PowerShell and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to Outlook Mail (Office 365), but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).

We encourage you to download Outlook Mail (Office 365) Connector for PowerShell and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.

Download Outlook Mail (Office 365) Connector for PowerShell Documentation

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