Instant Search in Outlook 2007

I like Outlook 2007 overall and would not want to go back to 2003. One of the better things are the Instant Search (WDS is required unless you have Vista where it is included as default). The search is still a bit slow when all mail items are searched. One thing that irritates me is that if I make a search that includes a recently sent email it takes a while to get it indexed before it is found with the search.

One thing I really wonder about is why I cannot find anything with a search like this: microsoft.com to find emails from for example Microsoft@newsletters.microsoft.com

This one works:   from:Microsoft@newsletters.microsoft.com

These ones does not work:   from:microsoft.com     or from:*microsoft.com

If you know how to solve this please comment on this post.

Update: Using Outlook 2007 on Windows Vista and I found that it works as expected. Another reason to upgrade. ;-)

As seen above the query builder can help with some basic criteria but there are more ways to search.

AQS is also used by Outlook 2007 and is worth taking a look at and memorize your favorites.

The Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) is used by Microsoft Windows Desktop Search (WDS) to help users and programmers better define and narrow their searches. Using AQS is an easy way to narrow searches and deliver better result sets. Searches can be narrowed by the following parameters:

• File kinds: folders, documents, presentations, pictures and so on.
• File stores: specific databases and locations.
• File properties: size, date, title and so on.
• File contents: keywords like "project deliverables," "AQS," "blue suede shoes," and so on.

Furthermore, search parameters can be combined using search operators. The remainder of this section explains the query syntax, the parameters and operators, and how they can be combined to offer targeted search results. The tables describe the syntax to use with WDS, as well as the properties that can be queried for each file kind displayed in the Windows Desktop Search results window.

Find large emails: size:>5 MB     or this can be used: messagesize:enormous

Find emails from jeff that are after the date specified: received:>1/20/2007 from:jeff

Find all emails with Power Point presentations: attachments:.ppt     or shorter: ext:.ppt

Complete documentation on AQS.

Some other old but still relevant links.

Link to Outlook 12 : Search in Outlook 12 - "It changes the way you work"

Instant Search - Part 3: The New User Interface

Instant Search - Part 4: The New Search Lexicon

This is from the help file:

Tips for narrowing your search using search query syntax in 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 this
To find this

bobby
Items containing bobby, BOBBY, BoBby, or any other combination of uppercase and lowercase letters. Instant Search is not case sensitive.

bobby moore
Items containing both bobby and moore, but not necessarily in that order.

bobby AND moore
Items 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 moore
Items containing bobby, but not moore.

bobby OR moore
Items 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 report 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 hasattachment:true to get the same results.

attachments:presentation.pptx
Items 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 moore
Items with bobby in the subject line and with moore anywhere else in the document.

cc:"bobby more"
Items in which the display name bobby moore is on the Cc line.

cc:bobbymoore@contoso.com
Items in which the e-mail address bobbymoore@contoso.com is on the Cc line.

bcc:bobby
Items in which bobby is on the Bcc line.

messagesize:<10 KB
Items whose size is less than 10 kilobytes. Note the use of the "less than" comparison operator (<).

messagesize:>5 MB
Items whose size is larger than 5 megabytes. Note the use of the "greater than" comparison operator (>).

received:=1/1/2006
Items 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 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 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:<=10/5/06
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 to bobby when you are searching in the Sent Items folder.

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 contains status.

startdate:next week subject:status
Calendar items next week where the subject contains status.

is:recurring
Calendar items that are recurring.

organizer:bobby
Calendar items where bobby is the organizer.

category:business
Items that are categorized as business.

firstname:bobby
Contacts that contain bobby in the First Name field.

lastname:moore
Contacts that contain moore in the Last Name field.

nickname:bobby
Contacts that contain bobby in the Nickname field.

jobtitle:physician
Contacts that contain physician in the Job Title field.

pager:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Pager field.

businessphone:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Business Phone field.

homephone:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Home Phone field.

mobilephone:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Mobile Phone field.

carphone:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Car Phone field.

businessfax:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Business Fax field.

homefax:555-0100
Contacts that contain 555-0100 in the Home Fax field.

businessaddress:(4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052)
Contacts that contain 4567 Main St., Buffalo, NY 98052 in 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 98052 in the Home Address field. Note the use of parentheses to enclose the address.

businesscity:buffalo
Contacts that contain buffalo in the Business City field.

businesspostalcode:98052
Contacts 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:6/4/1960
Contacts that contain 6/4/1960 in the Birthday field.

webpage:www.contoso.com
Contacts that contain the URL www.contoso.com in the Web Page Address field.

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