In Outlook, use Instant Search to quickly find emails in your crowded inbox or in one of your many folders.

Save time with Search

  1. Select the search box in the ribbon.  

  2. Type what you're looking for, like part of a subject or a contact's name.

  3. If you want to narrow your search, select one of the options in the Search tab that appears:

    • From

    • Subject

    • Has Attachments

    • Categorized

    • This Week

    • Sent To

    • Unread

    • Flagged

    • Important

    • Recent Searches

    • More commands

If you need to search for contacts or events:

  1. Select Calendar or People.

  2. Select the search box in either location and type the contact or event you are searching for.

Using Search to find your email in Outlook

Using Search in Outlook

Using search in Outlook to find contacts

Note: Features and information in this guide apply to Outlook Mail as available through Microsoft 365.

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