## Count query results

You can use the `matters.count` method to count the messages from a
Gmail or Google Groups query before you create an export. Use this
information to refine your query filters and return fewer results.

To work with Google Vault resources, an account must have the
[required Vault privileges](https://support.google.com/vault/answer/2799699)
and access to the matter. To access a matter, an account must have created the
matter, have the matter shared with them, or have the **View All Matters**
privilege.

The following example shows how to count the results returned by a query for
messages that meet the following criteria:

- Messages owned by accounts `email1` and `email2`.
- Excludes draft messages.
- Messages sent to `ceo@solarmora.com`.

### Java

```java
public Long count(Vault client, String matterId) {
  AccountInfo emailsToSearch = new AccountInfo().setEmails(ImmutableList.of("email1", "email2"));
  MailOptions mailQueryOptions = new MailOptions().setExcludeDrafts(true);
  String queryTerms = "to:ceo@solarmora.com";
  Query query =
    new Query()
      .setCorpus("MAIL")
      .setDataScope("ALL_DATA")
      .setSearchMethod("ACCOUNT")
      .setAccountInfo(emailsToSearch)
      .setTerms(queryTerms);
  CountArtifactsRequest request = new CountArtifactsRequest().setQuery(query);
  Operation operation = client.matters().count(matterId, request).execute();

  while(!operation.getDone()) {
    sleep(2000);
    operation = service.operations().get(operation.getName()).execute();
  }
  if(operation.getResponse() != null) {
    return Long.parseLong(operation.getResponse.get("total_count").toString());
  }
  return -1;
}
 
```

### Python

```python
def count(service, matter_id):
  emails_to_search = ['email1', 'email2']
  mail_query_options = {'excludeDrafts': True}
  query_terms = 'to:ceo@solarmora.com'
  mail_query = {
    'corpus': 'MAIL',
    'dataScope': 'ALL_DATA',
    'searchMethod': 'ACCOUNT',
    'accountInfo': {
        'emails': emails_to_search
    },
    'terms': query_terms,
    'mailOptions': mail_query_options,
  }
  request = {
    'query': mail_query
  }
  operation = service.matters().count(matterId=matter_id, body=request).execute()

  while not operation.getDone():
    time.sleep(2)
    operation = service.operations().get(name=operation.getName()).execute()

  if operation.getResponse() is None:
    return -1

  return operation.getResponse()["total_count"]
 
```