Outlook Search Builder

Search library

Start from a ready-made search, then adjust it in the form below. Community searches are shared and voted on by other users.

Search criteria

Words

Press Enter after each word or phrase. End a word with * to match its beginning: migrat* finds migrate and migration.

All of these words This exact phrase Any of these words None of these words

People

Press Enter after each name, address or domain (contoso.com). Paste a list to add several. Any of them will match.

From To Cc Bcc Anywhere in From/To/Cc

Subject, body and attachments

Subject contains Body contains Attachment name contains File types Attachments

Date

Date type When Period

Days And (days ago) Date And Date format Applies to Outlook Classic, which reads dates in your Windows regional format. The other versions always use MM/DD/YYYY.

Status

Read status Flagged Importance Category Size

Folder

Folder Inbox unless you pick another. Choose All folders to search everything. Include Deleted Items Outlook controls this with a setting, so the steps appear under each query.

Outlook has no folder keyword. The folder and Deleted Items choices become instructions under each query.

Save this search

Saved searches stay in this browser only. Export them to move them to another browser.

Share with the community

Category Your description (optional)

Your queries

What this search does:

Saved searches

Nothing saved yet.

Where to paste the query

Outlook Classic (Windows): click the search box above the message list, paste, press Enter. Use the scope dropdown next to the box for "Current folder", "All mailboxes" and so on.
New Outlook and Outlook on the web: paste into the search box at the top of the window.
Outlook for Mac: paste into the search box at the top of the window.
Outlook mobile (iPhone, iPad, Android): tap Search, paste the query, then tap the search key.

If a search finds nothing

Check the scope first. A correct query returns nothing when the search is limited to the wrong folder, mailbox or account. New Outlook cannot search several accounts at once, so select each account and search All folders.
Start simple. Remove criteria one at a time until the message appears, then add them back.
Use full email addresses instead of display names.
Use numeric dates. Newer builds no longer accept weekday or month names such as "Tuesday" or "March".
Check Deleted Items. Whether it is searched is a setting in each version of Outlook.
Shared mailboxes in Outlook Classic: select the shared mailbox's folder and use Current folder. "All mailboxes" can return nothing for shared mailboxes.
Outlook Classic only: under Search Tools > Indexing Status, confirm indexing has finished. Then try the same query in Outlook on the web. If the web finds the message and Classic does not, the problem is the local search index, not the query.