Invoke instance method which is held in a string variable

Question

I am trying to specify folders in Outlook using Interop.Outlook.

So in order to do that I use following methods:

Outlook.Folder targetFolder = ParentFolder.Folders["Level-1 Folder"] as Outlook.Folder;

This works generally ok but sometimes I will have to go more lower then a subfolder. I may need to go into sub-subfolder, like that:

Outlook.Folder targetFolder = ParentFolder.Folders["Level-1 Folder"].Folders["Level-2 Folder"] as Outlook.Folder;

I wonder if it is possible to use the Folder method from a variable. Please take a look on how I would imagine that:

string myMethod = "Folders["Level-1 Folder"].Folders["Level-2 Folder"]";
Outlook.Folder targetFolder = ParentFolder. + myMethod;

Thanks for your anwsers.

Regards, W

Answer 1

I wonder if it is possible to use the Folder method from a variable. Well, thats what you did in ParentFolder.Folders["Level-1 Folder"] . ParentFolder is a variable.

Just write

Outlook.Folder subfolder = targetFolder.Folders["Level-2 Folder"] as Outlook.Folder;

I am not sure why you think a method name has to be passed as string. Btw. Folders is an indexer.

It makes no difference whether you chain the indexes or not

var x = a.f["a"].f["b"].f["c"];

is the same as

var x = a.f["a"];
x = x.f["b"];
x = x.f["c"];

What changes from level to level is the folder name (index), which could be in a variable. You could write

string index;
var targetFolder = ParentFolder as Outlook.Folder;

index = "Level-1 Folder";
targetFolder = targetFolder.Folders[index] as Outlook.Folder;
index = "Level-2 Folder";
targetFolder = targetFolder.Folders[index] as Outlook.Folder;
index = "Level-3 Folder";
targetFolder = targetFolder.Folders[index] as Outlook.Folder;

So you have exact the same statement at each level, except that the folder name changes. Or:

var indexes = new string[] { "Level-1 Folder", "Level-2 Folder", "Level-3 Folder" };
var targetFolder = ParentFolder as Outlook.Folder;

foreach (string index in indexes) {
    targetFolder = targetFolder.Folders[index] as Outlook.Folder;
}