How to find anything in Outlook 2003

Out of control inbox causing you to lose track of important emails? You can find anything using Outlook's powerful "Advanced Find" feature.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 
    
   Outlook's Advanced Find tool is a very powerful way to find any email.

   On the "Tools" menu in Outlook, select "Advanced Find"

2. In the "Advanced Find" box, click on the "Advanced" tab.

3. 
    

   Once on the "Advanced Tab" look for the Field, Condition and Value boxes near the bottom, and click on "Field" to see all of Outlook's possible search criteria.
   
   * Looking at all the options can be a bit overwhelming- however most anything can be found by picking various search options in the "Frequently Used Fields" section at the very top.
   
   For example, if I were looking for an email that I knew was sent by my friend Jack sometime in the past week, I could filter by the "Frequently used fields" of "From" and "Recieved" --- here's how:
   
   First I would go to Field > Frequently-used fields > and select "From" in the drop-down menu.
   
   Second in the "Condition" Box I would select "Contains" from the drop-down and in the "Value" box I would type in the world Jack. Then click on the "Add to List" button
   
   Next I would again select "Frequently-used fields" after clicking on the "Field" button, this time selecting "Recieved"on the drop-down menu.
   
   In the "Condition" box this time, (since I know Jack sent me that email within the last week) I would select "in the last 7 days" as my option. The "Value" box will remain shaded this time because Outlook does not need it for this part of my search. Again I would select "Add to List"

4. 
    

   Now I will need to browse for the folder or folders (such as Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items) I'd want Outlook to search for the email in, by clicking on the "Browse" button in the top-right corner of the box, and putting a check-mark beside the boxes I want Outlook to search in for the Jack's missing email. I can choose multiple folders, or, just one.

5. 
    

   Now I will click on the "Find Now" button to see a list at the bottom of the box of all emails from Jack that fit search criteria - selecting the one I need.

[Teachforever]

on 6/19/2009 Very good!5*

[Kandywriter]

on 1/11/2009 Good article.
Thanks

[jenkinr]

on 1/9/2009 Excellent article and great use of pictures to add clarity to points being made in article. I rated it a 5.