vba check before sending email if attachment is present

Greetings,
I found this code online and it's not working for me :( (Outlook 2016)
I have set all macros to allow in the trust center and inserted the code inside Developer-visual basic-this outlook session.

Code:

---

' Declare a variable to save the body content.
Dim strBody As String
 
' Conver the body content to lowercase.
strBody = LCase(Item.Body)
 
' /* Check if the body contains the keyword "attach". */
If Not strBody Like "*attach*" Then
Exit Sub
End If
 
 
 
' /* Check the number of attachment(s). */
If Item.Attachments.Count = 0 Then
MsgBox "No Attachment currently.", vbExclamation, "Message"
cancel = True
End If
End Sub

---

Would someone be so kind and tell me if I’m doing it wrong or is there some thing wrong with the code.

Bonus question: If I would like to add multiple “key words” do I separate them with -> ;
Best regards

You will need a different approach if you want to use multiple keywords e.g. as follows, however the code has a fundamental flaw as it stands, which you may not have considered - and that relates to what Outlook considers as attachments when processed using VBA. If, for example, you have the message formatted as HTML and you have signature with a graphic (as I do) then that will be seen as an attachment - similarly any images in the message (even emoticon images) will add to the attachment count, so you cannot reply on searching for a message count of 0.

As it seems likely that you are looking for the presence of a particular attachment, then it would be better to test for that attachment (or an attachment of that type) rather than simply rely on a count.

Code:

---

Option Explicit

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
    ' Declare a variable to save the body content.
Dim strBody As String
Dim vKey As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim bFound As Boolean
Const strKeyWords As String = "attach|word2|word3|etc" 'use the words (or parts of words) to search for separated by the pipe character '|'
    Set Item = ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1)

    ' Convert the body content to lowercase.
    strBody = LCase(Item.Body)
    ' Check if the body contains any of the keywords
    vKey = Split(strKeyWords, "|")
    For i = 0 To UBound(vKey)
        If InStr(1, strBody, vKey(i)) > 0 Then
            MsgBox vKey(i) & " found" 'Optional for testing
            bFound = True
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i
    If Not bFound = True Then
        GoTo lbl_Exit
    End If
    ' /* Check the number of attachment(s). */
    If Item.Attachments.Count = 0 Then
        MsgBox "No Attachment currently.", vbExclamation, "Message"
        Cancel = True
    End If
lbl_Exit:
    Exit Sub
End Sub

---

Greetings,
Ok I’ve tested your macro here is what I have found out:

1. It gets triggered by an empty email with or without my signature (the signature doesn’t include any of the keywords)
2. The warning massage works :)
3. After attaching the attachment it still reports that there is no attachments :(

Any idea what’s going on?

There was a line in my code left from testing that should not have been present. See the following version instead:

Code:

---

Option Explicit

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
    ' Declare a variable to save the body content.
    Dim strBody As String
    Dim vKey As Variant
    Dim i As Long
    Dim bFound As Boolean
    Const strKeyWords As String = "attach|word2|word3|etc" 'use the words (or parts of words) to search for separated by the pipe character '|'
   
    ' Convert the body content to lowercase.
    strBody = LCase(Item.Body)
    ' Check if the body contains any of the keywords
    vKey = Split(strKeyWords, "|")
    For i = 0 To UBound(vKey)
        If InStr(1, strBody, vKey(i)) > 0 Then
            MsgBox vKey(i) & " found" 'Optional for testing
            bFound = True
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i
    If Not bFound = True Then
        GoTo lbl_Exit
    End If
    ' /* Check the number of attachment(s). */
    If Item.Attachments.Count = 0 Then
        MsgBox "No Attachment currently.", vbExclamation, "Message"
        Cancel = True
    End If
lbl_Exit:
    Exit Sub
End Sub

---

The macro tries to emulate what I understood you wanted from the code you posted albeit with multiple words to check.
If the message is empty (assuming no graphics in the signature if present) then the macro finds no listed word and skips to the end.
If the message is empty and yhou add an attachment, the macro finds no listed word and skips to the end.
If the macro finds a listed word and there is no attachment you get a warning.
If the macro finds a listed word and there is an attachment it continuess to the end without a warning (apart from te temporary warning about finding a word).

What is it that you want to happen that isn't happening?

Many thanks to you! The latest code works perfectly I tweaked the counter a bit as you have predicted and am quite happy.

Would you be so kind, if you have time of course, to demonstrate how the code whiteout the counter would work? (“As it seems likely that you are looking for the presence of a particular attachment, then it would be better to test for that attachment (or an attachment of that type) rather than simply rely on a count.”)

Best regards

You still haven't explained what it is that you are really trying to do with regard to the attachments or how many required attachments there are, but for one named attachment
You will need also to declare the variable bAttach as Boolean

Code:

---

    ' /* Check the required attachment(s). */
    For i = 1 To Item.Attachments.Count
        If Item.Attachments(i).fileName = "filename.ext" Then
            bAttach = True
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i

    If Not bAttach = True Then
        MsgBox "Attachment missing.", vbExclamation, "Message"
        Cancel = True
    End If

---

or if the name varies, but the extension remains the same (here the last four characters of the filename are docx)

Code:

---

    ' /* Check the required attachment(s). */
    For i = 1 To Item.Attachments.Count
        If Right(Item.Attachments(i).fileName, 4) = "docx" Then
            bAttach = True
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i

    If Not bAttach = True Then
        MsgBox "Attachment missing.", vbExclamation, "Message"
        Cancel = True
    End If

---

For more than one required attachment you will need to provide more detail.

Greetings,
I’m honestly looking for an all-around macro that would help me will all the attachment types.
Here is a flow chart of what I was thinking FIRST PHOTO

Basically I would like Outlook to check if a new mail/reply includes the “Attached” field (SECOND PHOTO), regardless of file type or name. If it detects the keyword(s) but not an attachment it would display a warning otherwise it would precede as normal and sent the email.
So far the counter works but I have come across problems with it and can’t trust it 100%.
My images are attached. (hopefully)

Best regards

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. It is not possible to readily distinguish attachments you add from elements in the message that are reflected as attachments - such as graphics in an html message. As your example shows the attachment is an image, separating it from graphics in the message presents a problem. If the attachments have a specific name (or names) then you can identify them from a list much like the keywords, but otherwise not. It may also be possible to check the size of the attachment - but if there is no consistency to the attachment it is always going to be hit and miss.

There is more on the subject with example code at https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/em...tlook-message/

Thought so :( :(
Ok, for now I’m going to say thank you very much for all the help and explanation, and stick with the counter method for now.

Best regards
p.s thx for the link