Finding messages in Outlook (advanced searching)

It is often difficult to come up with the right search using the Advanced Find feature in Outlook. Instead, you can enter logical expressions in the search area of Outlook.

Example

Given the search criteria:

1. Subject has either “ahs” or “Health” or “Applied Health Sciences”

2. Sent by either myself or otherperson

3. Sent to either myself or otherperson

4. Sent between January 15, 2020 and May 30, 2020

Enter the following into the search dialogue box at the top of the main Outlook window:

Notes:

1. You would need to enter actual email addresses instead of me@uwaterloo.ca and otherperson@uwaterloo.ca

2. If you are searching for messages in the more distant past, the search may come up empty but then offer to search for more results on the server. Extending the search to messages on the server may find additional messages from the past. Outlook usually stores copies of messages locally for a few months (in the cache) and the search starts there.

For more details on the various terms that you can search on, refer to How to search in Outlook - Microsoft Support