Wait for 5-10 seconds then run Outlook code

Question

I have VBA code in an Outlook rule. I want when I get email with a specific subject, Outlook starts to run a script. However, when email is received, Outlook starts to run the code immediately picking up previous email, probably because the email was just received and not moved to a specific folder yet.

I tried

Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:5"))

and

Outlook.Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:5"))

just before grabbing the email with

Set oLookMailitem = Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder.Items("Apples Sales")

VBA shows an error

Object doesn't support this property or method

Here is the beginning of my code: The error occurs on Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:5")).

Sub ExportOutlookTableToExcel()

Dim oLookInspector As Inspector
Dim oLookMailitem As MailItem

Dim oLookWordDoc As Word.Document
Dim oLookWordTbl As Word.Table

Dim xlApp As Excel.Application
Dim xlBook As Excel.Workbook 
Dim xlWrkSheet As Excel.Worksheet

Dim Today As String
Today = Date

 Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:5"))
'Grab Email Item
 Set oLookMailitem =Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder.Items("Apples Sales")

 Set oLookInspector = oLookMailitem.GetInspector

 Set oLookWordDoc = oLookInspector.WordEditor

Application.Wait (Now + TimeValue("0:00:5")) this doesn't work — Camilla, Jan 11 '22 at 15:28

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 11 '22 at 15:35

2

Outlook has no Application.Wait

You can workaround this with a Do loop, a Timer and DoEvents:

Public Sub Sleep(ByVal SleepSeconds As Single)
    Dim Tmr As Single
    Tmr = Timer
    
    Do While Tmr + SleepSeconds > Timer
        DoEvents
    Loop
End Sub

And call it like Sleep 5 instead of your Application.Wait.

answered Jan 11 '22 at 15:35

Pᴇʜ

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I tried Sleep and also didn't work, it shows "Sub or function not defined" when i use sleep. I am trying not to use loop and it runs slower and sometimes crushes my outlook – Camilla Jan 11 '22 at 15:36
@Camilla *"didn't work"* is a useless error description. And you did not try this code above, because this is tested and it definitely works. Since there is no `Application.Wait` the sleep loop as shown above or calling the sleep API [Declaring & Calling The Sleep API](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22325958/declaring-calling-the-sleep-api) is probably the only way. Both works on Windows while you need to use the loop on Mac. – Pᴇʜ Jan 11 '22 at 15:38
Disregard previous comment! I got it! it works! Thank you so much!!!!!! – Camilla Jan 11 '22 at 15:59

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 11 '22 at 16:01

Application.Wait is not a panacea for your goal!

Consider using Windows API functions to set up a timer and run your actions (processing items) when it fires. See Outlook VBA - Run a code every half an hour for more information.

Also to handle incoming emails immediately you need to handle the NewMailEx event which is fired when a new message arrives in the Inbox and before client rule processing occurs. You can use the Entry ID returned in the EntryIDCollection array to call the NameSpace.GetItemFromID method and process the item. Use this method with caution to minimize the impact on Outlook performance. However, depending on the setup on the client computer, after a new message arrives in the Inbox, processes like spam filtering and client rules that move the new message from the Inbox to another folder can occur asynchronously. You should not assume that after these events fire, you will always get a one-item increase in the number of items in the Inbox.

Wait for 5-10 seconds then run Outlook code

2 Answers2

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