outlook search

Question 1

1. How do I find all emails from a specific person (John Smith)?

Answer 1

Use from: e.g. from:’John Smith’ or from:john.smith@example.com

Question 2

2. How do I find all emails sent to a particular person?

Answer 2

Use to: with their address, e.g. to:alice@example.com

Question 3

3. How do I search for emails with a specific word in the subject?

Answer 3

Use subject:, e.g. subject:urgent. For an exact phrase, use quotes

Question 4

4. How do I find messages containing a specific phrase in the email body?

Answer 4

Use body:, content:, or contents:, e.g. body:’marketing plan’

Question 5

5. How do I exclude certain results (subject has ‘report’ but NOT ‘draft’)?

Answer 5

Use NOT, e.g. subject:report NOT subject:draft

Question 6

6. How do I perform a date range search (1/1/2025 to 1/31/2025)?

Answer 6

Use two dots: received:1/1/2025..1/31/2025

Question 7

7. How do I find emails before a certain date (before Jan 27, 2025)?

Answer 7

Use before: or <, e.g. before:1/27/2025 or received:<1/27/2025

Question 8

8. How do I find emails after a certain date (after last month)?

Answer 8

Use after: or >, e.g. after:lastmonth or received:>lastmonth

Question 9

9. How do I search for messages only with attachments?

Answer 9

Use hasattachment:true or hasattachments:yes

Question 10

10. How do I search for a specific file type in attachments (PDF)?

Answer 10

Combine attachment: with ext:, e.g. attachment:report ext:pdf

Question 11

11. How do I find emails that do not have attachments?

Answer 11

Use hasattachment:false or hasattachments:no

Question 12

13. How do I find emails sent by me (my account)?

Answer 12

Use from:me

Question 13

14. How do I see only unread emails?

Answer 13

Use read:no. For read messages only, use read:yes

Question 14

15. How do I search for flagged emails needing follow-up?

Answer 14

Use flagstatus:, e.g. flagstatus:followup

Question 15

16. How do I find items in a specific Outlook folder (Sent Items)?

Answer 15

Use folderpath:’Sent Items’ if supported, or switch to that folder and select Current Folder

Question 16

17. How do I narrow my search to meeting invites (calendar items)?

Answer 16

Use kind:meetings. You can also add e.g. start:thisweek

Question 17

18. How do I search for tasks or to-do items with a certain keyword?

Answer 17

Use kind:tasks plus a keyword, e.g. kind:tasks AND body:’vendor form’

Question 18

19. How do I exclude a sender if I only want results about ‘meeting’ from others?

Answer 18

Use NOT, e.g. subject:meeting NOT from:ann@example.com

Question 19

20. How do I search for an exact phrase like ‘Microsoft Office Outlook’?

Answer 19

Wrap the phrase in quotes, e.g. ‘Microsoft Office Outlook’

Question 20

21. How do I look for multiple words in any order in the subject?

Answer 20

Use parentheses without quotes, e.g. subject:(Microsoft Office Outlook)

Question 21

22. How do I include a partial string if I only know the start of a term?

Answer 21

Type the beginning, e.g. jobtitle:manag matches manager. Wildcards mid-word not supported

Question 22

23. How do I find items by category (e.g. ‘blue’ or ‘red’)?

Answer 22

Use category:, e.g. category:blue or NOT category:[] for any category

Question 23

24. How do I find items with a certain retention policy?

Answer 23

Use retentionpolicy:, e.g. retentionpolicy:short

Question 24

25. How do I locate contacts with no assigned birthday?

Answer 24

Use birthday:[]. For those that do, NOT birthday:[]

Question 25

26. How do I find large items in a date range (5–10MB from last month)?

Answer 25

Use size:5MB..10MB AND received:lastmonth

Question 26

27. How do I do an OR condition for subject 'invoice' or 'receipt'?

Answer 26

Use subject:'invoice' OR subject:'receipt'

Question 27

28. How do I search for items that are flagged and also have attachments?

Answer 27

Use flagstatus:followup AND hasattachments:true

Question 28

29. How do I search inside attachments for a specific word like 'presentation'?

Answer 28

Use attachment:presentation

Question 29

30. How do I find all calendar events in a specific city (e.g. London)?

Answer 29

Use kind:meetings AND location:London

Question 30

31. How do I find tasks due soon but not completed?

Answer 30

Use kind:tasks AND due:thisweek AND iscompleted:no

Question 31

32. How can I search for emails from a certain domain (contoso.com)?

Answer 31

Use from:contoso.com to match all addresses at that domain

Question 32

33. How do I find notes of a specific color, e.g. yellow notes?

Answer 32

Use kind:notes AND color:yellow

Question 33

34. How do I find meeting requests I have not responded to yet?

Answer 33

Use kind:meetings AND meetingstatus:notresponded

Question 34

35. How do I find contacts with no manager assigned?

Answer 34

Use manager:[] for empty, or NOT manager:[] for those that have a manager

Question 35

36. How do I find journal entries that are phone calls from last week?

Answer 35

Use kind:journal AND entrytype:'phone call' AND start:lastweek

Question 36

37. How do I find tasks owned by a specific person, e.g. Mike?

Answer 36

Use kind:tasks AND taskowner:mike@contoso.com

Question 37

38. How do I find items modified on a certain date?

Answer 37

Use datemodified:, e.g. datemodified:2/10/2025 or a range

Question 38

39. How do I search for items with a retention policy and size range?

Answer 38

Use retentionpolicy: plus size:, e.g. retentionpolicy:short AND size:>1MB<5MB

Question 39

40. How do I find contacts by job title if I'm unsure of the full title?

Answer 39

Use partial from the start, e.g. jobtitle:manag matches manager or management