IT User Tips

Learn to narrow your search criteria for better searches in Outlook

Outlook

Outlook Searching

The following table shows examples of searches you might find useful. The search query syntax, available when the Instant Search feature is enabled, follows this basic form:Ā keyword: your search criteria value.

For example,Ā from: bobby

You can also use logical operators AND, NOT, OR, <, >, =, and so forth to refine your search, and these are noted in the table. Logical operators must be typed in uppercase letters.

NOTE:Ā The search query syntax is created automatically and displayed in theĀ Instant Search box in Oultlook when you use the Query Builder described in the previous section.

Type this To find this
bobby Items containingĀ bobby,Ā BOBBY,Ā BoBby, or any other combination of uppercase and lowercase letters. Instant Search is not case-sensitive.
bobby Moore Items containing bothĀ bobbyĀ andĀ Moore, but not necessarily in that order.
bobby AND Moore Items containing bothĀ bobbyĀ andĀ Moore, but not necessarily in that order. Note that logical operators such as AND, NOT, and OR must be in uppercase letters.
bobby NOT moore Items containingĀ bobby, but notĀ moore.
bobby OR moore Items containingĀ bobby,Ā moore, or both.
ā€œbobby mooreā€ Items containing the exact phraseĀ bobby moore. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.
from:ā€bobby mooreā€ Items sent fromĀ bobby moore. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.
from:ā€bobby mooreā€ about:ā€status reportā€ Items sent fromĀ bobby mooreĀ whereĀ status reportĀ appears in the subject line, body, and attachment contents. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.
hasattachment:yes Items that have attachments. You can also use it as an attachment: true to get the same results.
attachments:presentation.pptx Items that have attachments are named presentation.pptxĀ or if the attachment containsĀ presentation.pptxĀ within its contents.
subject:ā€bobby mooreā€ Items whose subject contains the phraseĀ bobby moore.
subject:bobby moore Items withĀ bobbyĀ in the subject line and withĀ mooreĀ anywhere else in the document.
cc:ā€bobby moreā€ Items in which the display nameĀ bobby mooreĀ is on the Cc line.
cc:bobbymoore@contoso.com Items in which the e-mail addressĀ bobbymoore@contoso.comĀ is on the Cc line.
bcc:bobby Items in whichĀ bobbyĀ is on the Bcc line.
messagesize:<10 KB Items whose size is less than 10 kilobytes. Note the use of the ā€œless thanā€ comparison operator (<).
messagesize:>5 MB Items whose size is larger than 5 megabytes. Note the use of the ā€œgreater thanā€ comparison operator (>).
received:=1/1/2006 Items that arrived on 1/1/2006. Note the use of the ā€œequalsā€ comparison operator (=).
received:yesterday Items that arrived yesterday. Instant Search also recognizes the following date values:

  • Relative dates:Ā Ā Ā Ā For example,Ā today,Ā tomorrow,Ā yesterday
  • Multi-word relative dates:Ā Ā Ā Ā For example,Ā this week,Ā next month,Ā last week,Ā past month,Ā coming year
  • Days:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sunday, Monday … Saturday
  • Months:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā January, February … December
received:last week Items that arrived last week. Note that if you run this query again a month from now you will obtain different results because it is a time relative query.
due:last week Items that are flagged for follow up a due date.
messagesize:tiny Items whose size is less than 10 kilobytes
messagesize:small Items whose size is between 10 and 25 kilobytes
messagesize:medium Items whose size is between 25 and 100 kilobytes
messagesize:large Items whose size is between 100 and 500 kilobytes
messagesize:verylarge Items whose size is between 500 kilobytes and 1 megabyte
followupflag:follow up Items that are flagged for follow up.
messagesize:enormous Items whose size is larger than 5 megabytes
hasflag:true Items that are flagged for follow up.
from:bobby (received:1/7/05 OR received:1/8/05) Items fromĀ bobbyĀ that arrived on either 1/7/05 or 1/8/05. Note the use of parentheses to group the dates.
received:>=10/1/06 AND received:<=10/5/06 Items that arrived between 10/1/06 and 10/5/06.
received:>10/1/06 AND received:<10/5/06 Items that arrived after 10/1/06 but before 10/5/06.
sent: yesterday Items that you sent yesterday.
to:bobby Items that you sent toĀ bobbyĀ when you are searching in theĀ Sent Itemsfolder.
read:no Items that have not been read. You can also use read:false to get the same results.
subject:status received:May Items received from anyone during the month of May (any year) where the subject containsĀ status.
startdate:next week subject:status Calendar items next week where the subject containsĀ status.
is:recurring Calendar items that are recurring.
organizer:bobby Calendar items whereĀ bobbyĀ is the organizer.
category:business Items that are categorized asĀ business.
firstname:bobby Contacts that containĀ bobbyĀ in the First Name field.
lastname:moore Contacts that containĀ mooreĀ in the Last Name field.
nickname:bobby Contacts that containĀ bobbyĀ in the Nickname field.
jobtitle:physician Contacts that containĀ physicianĀ in the Job Title field.
pager:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Pager field.
businessphone:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Business Phone field.
homephone:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Home Phone field.
mobilephone:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Mobile Phone field.
carphone:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Car Phone field.
businessfax:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Business Fax field.
homefax:555-0100 Contacts that containĀ 555-0100Ā in the Home Fax field.
businessaddress:(4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052) Contacts that containĀ 4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052Ā in the Business Address field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.
homeaddress:(4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052) Contacts that containĀ 4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052Ā in the Home Address field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.
businesscity:buffalo Contacts that containĀ buffaloĀ in the Business City field.
businesspostalcode:98052 Contacts that containĀ 98052Ā in the Business Postal Code field.
street:(4567 Main St) Contacts that contain 4567 Main St in the Business Address Street field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.
homestreet:(4567 Main St) Contacts that contain 4567 Main St in the Home Address Street field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.
birthday:6/4/1960 Contacts that containĀ 6/4/1960Ā in the Birthday field.
webpage:www.chipincorp.com Contacts that contain the URLĀ www.chipincorp.comĀ in the Web Page Address field.

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