Queue Properties

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server Technical Preview, Windows Vista

The properties of a queue contain the settings that define the behavior of the queue. They contain data that can be provided programmatically, such as the path name of the queue, as well as data that is set only by Message Queuing.

The properties of a queue are stored in one of the following locations:

• For public queues, their properties are stored in the Directory Service.

• For private queues, their properties are stored on the computer where the queue resides.

Setting and Changing Queue Properties

Typically, queue properties are set when the queue is created; however, most properties can also be changed later when the need arises (changing properties later does not affect any messages that are already in the queue).

Subqueue Properties

Subqueues inherit the properties of the main queue and do not have any properties of their own. Properties of a subqueue cannot be set directly. For example, to turn on journaling on a subqueue, the journaling property of the main queue has to be turned on. Calling MQGetQueueProperties or MQSetQueueProperties on a subqueue fails with the error MQ_ERROR_UNSUPPORTED_FORMATNAME_OPERATION.

Using Properties to Locate Public Queues

Queue properties can be used to locate any number of public queues registered in the Directory Service. For example, applications can query the Directory Service for all queues with the same label or all queues created before (or after) a certain date and time. (Message Queuing COM components limit which properties can be used in the query.)

Queue Property Structure

Message Queuing uses an MQQUEUEPROPS structure to specify queue properties. When using API function calls, this structure is explicitly declared and filled in by the application that is setting queue properties, retrieving queue properties, or attempting to locate public queues. When using COM component, the MQQUEUPROPS structure is declared and filled in implicitly by Message Queuing when the application references the properties of the MSMQQueueInfo or MSMQQuery object.