Learn to narrow your search criteria for better searches in Outlook

Applies to: Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

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:keyword:your search criteria value.

For example, 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   The search query syntax is created automatically and displayed in the Instant Search box when you use the Query Builder described in the previous section.

TYPE THISTO FIND THISbobbyItems containing bobby, BOBBY, BoBby, or any other combination of uppercase and lowercase letters. Instant Search is not case sensitive.bobby mooreItems containing both bobby and moore, but not necessarily in that order.bobby AND mooreItems containing both bobby and moore, but not necessarily in that order. Note that logical operators such as AND, NOT, and OR must be in uppercase letters.bobby NOT mooreItems containing bobby, but not moore.bobby OR mooreItems containing bobby, moore, or both."bobby moore"Items containing the exact phrase bobby moore. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.from:"bobby moore"Items sent from bobby moore. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.from:"bobby moore" about:”status report”Items sent from bobby moore where status reportappears 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:yesItems that have attachments. You can also use hasattachment:true to get the same results.attachments:presentation.pptxItems that have attachments named presentation.pptx or if the attachment contains presentation.pptx within its contents.subject:"bobby moore"Items whose subject contains the phrase bobby moore.subject:bobby mooreItems with bobby in the subject line and with mooreanywhere else in the document.cc:"bobby more"Items in which the display name bobby moore is on the Cc line.cc:bobbymoore@contoso.comItems in which the e-mail addressbobbymoore@contoso.com is on the Cc line.bcc:bobbyItems in which bobby is on the Bcc line.messagesize:<10 KBItems whose size is less than 10 kilobytes. Note the use of the "less than" comparison operator (<).messagesize:>5 MBItems whose size is larger than 5 megabytes. Note the use of the "greater than" comparison operator (>).received:=1/1/2006Items that arrived on 1/1/2006. Note the use of the "equals" comparison operator (=).received:yesterday

Items that arrived yesterday. Instant Search also recognizes the follow date values:

• Relative dates:    For example, today,tomorrow, yesterday
• Multi-word relative dates:    For example, this week, next month, last week, past month,coming year
• Days:     Sunday, Monday ... Saturday
• Months:     January, February ... December

received:last weekItems 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 weekItems that are flagged for follow up a due date.messagesize:tinyItems whose size is less than 10 kilobytesmessagesize:smallItems whose size is between 10 and 25 kilobytesmessagesize:mediumItems whose size is between 25 and 100 kilobytesmessagesize:largeItems whose size is between 100 and 500 kilobytesmessagesize:verylargeItems whose size is between 500 kilobytes and 1 megabytefollowupflag:follow upItems that are flagged for follow up.messagesize:enormousItems whose size is larger than 5 megabyteshasflag:trueItems that are flagged for follow up.from:bobby (received:1/7/05 OR received:1/8/05)Items from bobby 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:<=10/5/06Items that arrived between 10/1/06 and 10/5/06.received:>10/1/06 AND received:<10/5/06Items that arrived after 10/1/06 but before 10/5/06.sent: yesterdayItems that you sent yesterday.to:bobbyItems that you sent to bobby when you are searching in the Sent Items folder.read:noItems that have not been read. You can also use read:false to get the same results.subject:status received:MayItems received from anyone during the month of May (any year) where the subject contains status.startdate:next week subject:statusCalendar items next week where the subject containsstatus.is:recurringCalendar items that are recurring.organizer:bobbyCalendar items where bobby is the organizer.category:businessItems that are categorized as business.firstname:bobbyContacts that contain bobby in the First Name field.lastname:mooreContacts that contain moore in the Last Name field.nickname:bobbyContacts that contain bobby in the Nickname field.jobtitle:physicianContacts that contain physician in the Job Title field.pager:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Pager field.businessphone:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Business Phone field.homephone:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Home Phone field.mobilephone:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Mobile Phone field.carphone:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Car Phone field.businessfax:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Business Fax field.homefax:555-0100Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Home Fax field.businessaddress:(4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052)Contacts that contain 4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052in the Business Address field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.homeaddress:(4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052)Contacts that contain 4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052in the Home Address field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.businesscity:buffaloContacts that contain buffalo in the Business City field.businesspostalcode:98052Contacts that contain 98052 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:6/4/1960Contacts that contain 6/4/1960 in the Birthday field.webpage:www.contoso.comContacts that contain the URL www.contoso.com in the Web Page Address field.