In Windows, you can use the messaging application programming interface (MAPI) to provide a macro with the same kind of access to Microsoft Mail — and other mail applications that support MAPI — as it has to Word through WordBasic. Using MAPI, a macro can extract messages, retrieve names from the Microsoft Mail Address Book, send or read messages, and so on.
MAPI uses data types that WordBasic doesn't support — they are similar to WordBasic dialog records in that they combine values of different types (strings, numbers, and others). So WordBasic requires extensions of the MAPI functions to make the data available in a way that WordBasic can access it. These extensions are provided in WBMAPI.DLL on the Microsoft Word Developer's Kit disk. For more information on integrating Word and Microsoft Mail with WBMAPI.DLL, see Appendix A, "Workgroup Extensions for Microsoft Word," in Part 3, "Appendixes."
On the Macintosh, you can access Apple Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE) services from within WordBasic by using a set of WordBasic statements and functions provided for that purpose. For a list of these messaging statements and functions, see "Language Summary" in Part 2, "WordBasic Reference."