How to search and filter emails in Outlook

This step‑by‑step guide shows you the fastest ways to search for an email in Outlook, plus a few handy extras. You'll learn how to use Advanced Find for more accurate results and Search Folders to save your most-used filters for the future.

Sorting through a busy mailbox can easily eat up a whole morning, but finding the right email in Outlook doesn't have to. Scrolling endlessly isn't the strategy. When your inbox is overflowing, Outlook's filters and search tools can help you cut through the noise and find exactly what you need.

To find specific emails in Outlook, the search bar at the top of the window is your starting point. Here's how to use it effectively:

  1. Enter a search word or phrase. Click in the search bar at the very top of Outlook and type a keyword. This could be the sender's name, a phrase from the subject line, or a word in the message body. Press Enter to see all emails that match. Enter a keyword into the Search box in Outlook.
  2. Choose where to search. By default, Outlook searches your entire mailbox when you're in the Inbox. If you start a search from another folder, Outlook limits results to that folder. You can change this search scope at any time:
    • Classic Outlook: All mailboxes, current mailbox, current folder, subfolders, or all items
    • New Outlook and web: Current mailbox or a specific folder of the current mailbox

    Use the dropdown menu to the left of the Search box to switch between these options. Specify where to search.

  3. Refine results with filters. To narrow your search when you have too many matches, use inbuilt or custom filters. For example, you can specify whether to look at the body text, subject line, From field, or attachments. You can also set a specific date or date range to focus on when the email was likely to be received. To access filters:
    • Classic Outlook: Use the Advanced Search button (downward arrow) at the right side of the search box.
    • New Outlook and web: Click the Filters bottom at the right of the search bar.
  4. Exit the search. When you're done searching, close it to return to your regular mailbox view:
    • Classic Outlook: Click the cross button (X) at the far right of the search box or select Close Search on the Search tab.
    • New Outlook and web: Click the back arrow next to your search term.
    Exit the search and return to a regular mailbox view.

These basic search options are available across all Outlook applications – classic desktop, new Outlook, and web. There are just slight differences in the interface. Search emails in Outlook.

Tips for effective search in Outlook

Before you dive further into advanced filters, it helps to know how Outlook interprets your searches. Here are some key behaviors to keep in mind:

  • Prefix matching. Outlook looks for words that start with the text you type. For example, searching for "alex" will find Alexandra and Alexander, but not Malexis.
  • Not case-sensitive. Outlook search ignores text case, meaning a keyword in lowercase and uppercase such as "update", "Update", or "UPDATE" will return the same results.
  • Scans all message fields and attachments. When you enter a keyword in the Search box, Outlook checks all major message fields (From, To, Subject, and Body) as well as common attachment types such as Word, PDF, and Excel files. For example, searching "support" finds an email address like support@company.com, a document named SupportLevels.pdf, or the word supportive in an email's body. To narrow your search to messages from a specific address, use from:support@company.com or apply the built-in From filter.
  • Exact match. Use quotation marks around a phrase to find messages containing that exact wording. For example, searching "project update" will only return emails where these two words appear together in that order.
  • Suggested searches. When you click the Search box, Outlook displays suggestions based on your past searches. Suggestions marked with a small clock icon include results from message subjects, bodies, and even Microsoft 365 attachments.
  • Search in other Outlook items. The search bar isn't limited to messages – you can also look for contacts, tasks, and calendar events in the corresponding Outlook module.

How to filter emails in Outlook

Filtering helps you focus on the messages that matter most, whether that's unread mail, emails with attachments or from specific people. Outlook includes a number of built-in filters, but the way you access them depends on the app you're using.

Filter emails in Outlook 365 – 2010

In classic Outlook, there are several ways to filter your emails, from quick built-in options to more advanced search tools. The steps below will work well in most situations.

  1. Open the folder where you want to apply the filter (for example, Inbox or Sent Items).
  2. On the Home tab, in the Find group, click Filter Email. Choose one of the predefined filters such as Unread, Has Attachments, Categorized, etc. Outlook will search your current folder based on that filter.
Filter emails in Outlook 365.

If none of the predefined filters meet your needs, click More Filters at the bottom of the Email Filter dropdown menu. This will open Outlook's search box, where you can:

  • Type a text filter directly into the search box, or
  • Click the down arrow at the right side of the search bar to open the Advanced Search window, which lets you limit results by sender, recipient, subject, date, or whether the message has attachments. Use Advanced search in Outlook.
  • For even more criteria, click Add more options at the bottom of the Advanced Search window. This opens a separate dialog where you can pick additional fields for filtering your emails. Once you've made your selections, click Apply, and the chosen fields will appear in the Advanced Search window, allowing you to refine your search further. Advanced Search options
  • To clear the filter and return to your normal view, click the X in the search box or select Close Search on the Search tab.

In addition to the basic filtering steps above, classic Outlook offers two more easy ways to narrow down your email searches.

Refine options on the Search tab

When you click in the search bar in Outlook, the Search tab appears, offering the following options in the Refine group:

  • From – show results from a specific sender.
  • Subject – limit results to the specified words in the subject line.
  • Has Attachments – filter emails with attachments.
  • Categorized – filter by assigned categories.
  • Sent To – search for messages sent to you, not directly to you, or to another recipient.
  • Unread – view only unread emails.
  • Flagged – display emails you've flagged for follow-up.
  • Important – show emails marked as Important.
  • More – access extra options such as items expiring soon or filter by a custom form field.
Refine options on the Search tab

Basic Filter options

To access a few common filers, click the Arrange by button in the upper-right corner above the message list. Usually, it says By Date (the default arrangement) or shows your current sort option. From this menu, you can quickly filter by: All Mail, Unread, Flagged, and Mentions (emails where you are tagged with @YourName).

Use Outlook's Filter menu for basic searches.

Filtering emails in new Outlook and web

In the new Outlook app and Outlook online, there are two main ways to filter emails.

Filter menu

The Filter menu gives you quick, one-click options to view only certain types of emails.

  1. At the upper right of your mailbox, above the message list, click a small Filter button.
  2. Choose from the available options: Unread, Flagged, To me, Has files, Mentions me, or Has calendar invites.
  3. To clear the applied filter and return to your full mailbox view, click the Filter button again.
Use the Filter menu in the new Outlook to view certain types of emails.

Search box filters

To access additional filtering options, do this:

  1. Click the Filters button at the right side of the search bar.
  2. In the window that opens, you can set up filters such as sender, subject and body keywords, date range, attachments, or read/unread status.
  3. Click Search to apply the selected filters.
Use additional filter options in the Search box.

Tip. Whenever you select a predefined filter in Outlook, a shorthand version of that filter appears in the Search box. For example, if you search for flagged emails, Outlook automatically inserts: followupflag:followup. This can help you learn and reuse custom filters in the future.

Using Advanced Find in Outlook (classic)

If the basic search and filter options aren't enough, you can use Advanced Find to perform more precise searches.

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Advanced Find dialog. Alternatively, click into the Search box to display the Search tab in the ribbon, and then click Search Tools > Advanced Find. Open the Advanced Find dialog in Outlook.
  2. Explore the three tabs in the dialog:
    • Messages tab – the most commonly used tab, which lets you search by criteria such as:
      • What items to look for (messages, contacts, appointments, or all items)
      • Which folders to search in
      • Keywords or phrases to search for
      • Specific senders
      • Your role on the email (only person on the To line, included with others on the To line, or on the Cc line)
    • More Choices tab – lets you refine your search further by selecting categories, read/unread status, messages with attachments, importance, flagged items, or message size.
    • Advanced tab – gives you the most flexibility by allowing you to select any field that exists in Outlook and define custom criteria for your search.
    Use Advanced Find in Outlook to refine searches.

Advanced Find is particularly useful when you need to combine multiple conditions or search across several folders at once.

Using custom search filters in Outlook

Outlook lets you go beyond simple keyword searches by using custom filters (also called Advanced Query Search or AQS). These filters help you pinpoint exactly what you're looking for, whether it's an invoice from last week, a message with a spreadsheet attached, or an email sent by a specific person.

To use a search filter in Outlook:

  1. Enter it in the Search box and press Enter.
  2. To clear the filter and return to the full message list, press Esc.
Using custom search filters in Outlook.

Below are the most useful filters with practical examples.

Filter emails by content

Filter What it finds
report Emails containing the word "report" in any field (From, Subject, Body, etc.), including variations such as reporting, reported, etc.
budget update Items containing both budget and update, but not necessarily next to each other.
"quarterly report" The exact phrase quarterly report, in that order. Quotation marks are required for exact phrase matching.
about:"weekly update" Items where the phrase "weekly update" appears in the subject line, body, or attachment contents.

Filter emails by sender (From field)

Filter What it finds
from:"Alex Johnson" Emails sent by Alex Johnson.
from:alex Messages sent by anyone whose name or email address includes Alex.

Filter emails by subject

Filter What it finds
subject:invoice Emails where the subject contains "invoice".
subject:"January invoice" Only emails with the exact phrase "January invoice" in the subject.

Filter emails by recipients

Filter What it finds
cc:"David Chen" Emails where David Chen was CC'd, i.e. the display name "David Chen" is on the Cc line.
cc:david@company.com Emails where the exact address appears in CC.
bcc:admin Emails where admin was BCC'd.
to:david Messages you sent to David (helpful when searching Sent Items).

Filter emails with attachments

Filter What it finds
hasattachment:yes hasattachment:true Items that include one or more attachments.
attachments:budget Emails with an attachment named "budget", or an attachment that contains "budget" in the file name or anywhere within its contents.
hasattachment:no hasattachment:false Items with no attachments

Filter emails by date

Filter What it finds
received:2/15/2025 Messages you received on a specific date (February 15, 2025 in this case).
received:today Messages that arrived today.
received:"last week" Emails from last week.
received:2/1/2025...2/28/2025 Emails received within the specified date range (between February 1 and February 28).

Note. Outlook supports relative dates such as today, yesterday, this week, last month, and last year. It does not support weekday names like Monday or month names like June.

Filter unread / read

Filter What it finds
read:no
read:false		 Unread emails
read:yes
read:true		 Emails that you've already read or marked as read.

Filter emails by size

Filter What it finds
messagesize:<50 KB Messages smaller than 50 KB
messagesize:>5 MB Emails larger than 5 MB (often large attachments)
messagesize:tiny Items smaller than 10 kilobytes
messagesize:small Items between 10 and 25 kilobytes
messagesize:medium Items between 25 and 100 kilobytes
messagesize:large Items between 100 and 500 kilobytes
messagesize:verylarge Items between 500 kilobytes and 1 megabyte
messagesize:enormous Items larger than 5 megabytes

Note. Size keywords such as small, medium, large, verylarge, enormous work only in classic Outlook. They are not supported in the new Outlook and Outlook on the web.

Filter messages by color category

Filter What it finds
category:green Emails tagged with a category name containing "green", for example, Green Category or Green Milestone.
NOT category:=[] Emails that have any category assigned.
category:=[] Uncategorized emails

Filter flagged emails

Filter What it finds
hasflag:true

hasflag:yes

followupflag:follow up

 Items flagged for follow-up.
due:this week Flagged emails that are due this week.

Filter emails by multiple criteria

You can use several filters together to narrow results further.

Filter What it finds
from:harry hasattachments:yes Message from Harry with attachments.
read:no subject:invoice attachments:budget.xlsx Unread emails with "invoice" in the subject and an attachment named budget.xlsx.
from:"Alex Johnson" (received:2/1/2025 OR received:2/2/2025) Emails from Alex Johnson received on February 1 or February 2, 2025.

Logical operators in Outlook filters

You can use logical operators such as AND, NOT, OR, <, >, = as well as parentheses to perform complex searches.

Filter What it finds
invoice AND January Emails containing both words "invoice" and "January".
invoice NOT January Emails with "invoice" but not "January".
subject:project OR subject:proposal Messages with the subject containing either "project" or "proposal" (along with their variations) or both words.
subject:invoice (received:10/27/2025 OR received:10/88/20255) Messages with "invoice" on the subject line that arrived on October 27 or October 28, 2025.

Key takeaways

  • Use quotes for exact matches, for example "project update".
  • Use logical operators (AND, OR, NOT) in uppercase to combine filters.
  • Use parentheses to group conditions.
  • Some size keywords (like messagesize:small) aren't supported in the new Outlook and web.

How to create search folders in Outlook

If you find yourself running the same searches often, you can save time by using Search Folders.

A Search Folder is a virtual folder that automatically gathers all messages matching specific criteria. It doesn't move or copy the emails anywhere; it simply shows them together for quick access.

To create a new Search Folder in Outlook, follow these steps:

  1. In the folder pane, under your mailbox folders, right-click Search Folders, then choose New Search Folder. Start creating a new search folder in Outlook.
  2. In the New Search Folder window, choose one of the predefined options, grouped into three categories:
    • Reading Mail – messages you read / haven't read yet or have flagged for follow-up.
    • Mail from People and Lists – messages from specific contacts or sent directly to you.
    • Organizing Mail – categorized messages (plus, large or older than a certain date in classic Outlook).
    Choose a search folder type.
  3. Give your Search Folder a name, then click Create. Name your search folder and save it.

Your new Search folder now appears in the folder list and updates automatically whenever new matching emails arrive. Search folder in the new Outlook.

Create a custom search folder in Outlook (classic)

In addition to the predefined options, the classic desktop Outlook app lets you create a custom Search Folder with your own criteria. Here's how to do it:

  1. Right-click Search Folders and select New Search Folder. You can also create one from the ribbon: go to the Folder tab > New group > New Search Folder.
  2. In the New Seach Folder dialog box, scroll down to the Custom section and select Create a custom Search Folder.
  3. Under Customize Search Folder, click Choose. Create a custom search folder in Outlook.
  4. Type a meaningful name for your folder.
  5. Click Criteria to define the conditions. Define the criteria for the search folder.
  6. In the Search Folder Criteria dialog, explore the three tabs and select the options you want. Select conditions for the Search Folder.
  7. Click Browse to select the folders Outlook should search in, for example Inbox or Archive. Select the folders Outlook should search in.
  8. Click OK in each open dialog box to finish.

That's it! Outlook will immediately create your custom Search Folder and begin displaying all emails that meet your chosen conditions.

Tips and notes

  • Search Folders are account-specific. If you have multiple email accounts in Outlook, create the Search Folder under the correct one.
  • Update dynamically. Search Folders refresh automatically as new messages arrive that meet the criteria.
  • Deleting folders. To remove a Search Folder you no longer need, right-click it and select Delete Folder. This only deletes this virtual view – your actual messages remain in their original locations.
  • To adjust criteria later, right-click the Search Folder, and choose Customize This Search Folder in classic Outlook or Edit Search Folder in the new Outlook.
  • Performance. Avoid creating too many complex Search Folders, as they may slow down mailbox performance.

Keyboard shortcuts for searching emails in Outlook

If you search for emails frequently, keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of clicks. Here are the most useful ones for both the classic and new Outlook apps, as well as Outlook on the web.

Common shortcuts (work in most Outlook versions):

Go to Search box

Ctrl + E or F3

 Quickly places the cursor in the Search box so you can start typing your query right away.
Cancel a search

Esc

 Stops the current search and returns you to your regular inbox view.

Classic Outlook for Windows only:

Open Advanced Find

Ctrl + Shift + F

 Opens the Advanced Find dialog where you can build complex, multi-criteria searches.
Create a new Search Folder

Ctrl + Shift + P

 Opens the New Search Folder window to save a search for repeated use.

How to filter Outlook emails to folder automatically

You don't have to sort and filter every message yourself. If you often receive recurring emails, such as order confirmations or subscription updates, Outlook can file them for you. Simply, create rules to automatically move those messages into specific folders.

This guide explains how to set up these rules in Outlook classic, new and web: How to sort emails to folders.

In conclusion: Next time you catch yourself scrolling endlessly for that one email, remember that Outlook can find it faster than you can. With a few well-chosen filters or a saved Search Folder, you'll have what you need in no time – no detective skills required. 😊

You may also be interested in

Post a comment



Thanks for your comment! Please note that all comments are pre-moderated, and off-topic ones may be deleted.
For faster help, please keep your question clear and concise. While we can't guarantee a reply to every question, we'll do our best to respond :)