Quick Search

With quick search you can browse all emails located in the archives you have access to. This feature is especially suitable for simple queries; alternatively, the advanced search can be used.

Using Quick Search

The input field is located in the left part of the MailStore Outlook Add-In. Simply enter one or more keywords and press ENTER. The search results are displayed. Keywords which appear in the header or the subject line are highlighted.

Searching for Word Fragments

To display all emails containing a word beginning with a particular fragment, use the wildcard character (*). For example:

auto*

will return auto, automatic, automobile etc.

*example.com

will return all email addresses and domains of example.com.

Searching for Words with unknown letters

To view all emails containing a word where you do not know how to spell it correctly, you can use the question mark (?). For example

"Andr?"

would locate Andre and André.

Searching for Phrases

To search for words appearing consecutively and in a specific order, use quotation marks (""). For example:

"Microsoft Windows"

will return the text Microsoft Windows but not Microsoft Works or Windows 95.

Narrowing by Fields

A search for keywords or phrases can be limited to specific fields. For example:

subject:News                  only in Subject
from:john@mailstore.com       only in From
to:michael@mailstore.com      only in To
cc:lisa@mailstore.com         only in Cc
bcc:customers@mailstore.com   only in Bcc
bcontent:billing              only in Body of message
acontent:billing              only in Attachments of message

Excluding Words

To narrow a search, you may want to specify words which must not be present in the emails. To exclude words from the search results, prepend the word with the minus character (-). For example:

ZDNet -download-tip

returns all emails from ZDNet which do not contain download-tip.

Combining Search Options

Any of the search options described above can be combined. For example:

ZDNET -"Daily Update"

returns all emails from ZDNet which do not contain the consecutive words Daily Update.

from:ZDNET bcontent:MailStore

return all emails from ZDNET which have MailStore somewhere in their message body.

from:billing@example.com acontent:bill

return all emails from billing@example.com which have bill in any attachment.

to:recruiting@example.com -sales

return all emails to recruiting@example.com which do not have sales in any part of the email.

from:billing@example.com to:myaddress@company.tld acontent:bill -subject:admonition

return all message from billing@example.com to myaddress@company.tld which have bill in any attachment but do not have admonition in the subject.

About Special Characters

Words inside indexed emails or attachments which are a combination of alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters (white space, line break, delimiter or other control characters), may be returned in search results when searching for the alphanumerical part only.

For instance, when searching for test, 1234 and test_1234, e-mails containing the word test_1234 will be returned.

Other commonly occurring characters are:

  • Comma (,)
  • Colon (;)
  • Hyphen (-)
  • Underscore (_)
  • AT-Sign (@)
  • Slash & Backslash (/,\)
  • Null character (NUL)


Advanced Search

With MailStore's integrated advanced search, complex queries can be executed which may not only refer to the email content but also parameters such as the date or the email size.

Using the Advanced Search

In the MailStore Outlook Add-In, click on Advanced Search and enter the search parameters. The criteria are AND-combined, i.e. the search returns only those emails that satisfy all criteria. Click on Search to start the search.

WebAdvancedSearch.png

Search Criteria under "Extended Search"

Enter a keyword or phrase into the text field and specify where MailStore is to conduct the search. The following options are available:

  • Subject - The subject line of the email is searched.
  • Sender/Recipient - The fields "From", "To", "Cc", and "Bcc" are searched.
  • Message body - The text-only or HTML sections of the email are searched (depending on availability).
  • Attachments File Names - The file names of the email attachments are searched.
  • Attachment Contents - The contents of the email attachments are searched. If and to what extent attachments can be searched depends on the indexing options specified (under Administrative Tools).

All options described in section Quick Search, such as phrases and wildcards, are available in the textfield Search for as well.

Search Criteria under "General"

Under General, the following options are available:

  • Folder - The folder to be searched by MailStore can be selected here. By default, all folders readable by the current user are selected. By clicking the button next to the text field, folders can also be selected using the folder structure.
  • Include subfolder - If selected, MailStore not only searches the selected folder (e.g. Inbox), but all subfolders created therein (e.g. Inbox / Projects 2008 / Profit Optimization) as well.
  • From - Any keywords or email addresses entered here are searched for within the email's sender field only.
  • To/Cc/Bcc - Any keywords or email addresses entered here are searched for within the email's recipient fields only.
  • Date - The time frame the search is to cover can be selected here. Either a predefined range, such as Yesterday or This year, can be selected or, by choosing Custom, a specific period can be specified manually. In this case, the start and end dates will be included.

All options described in section Quick Search, such as phrases and wildcards, are available in the fields From and To/Cc/Bcc as well.

Search Criteria under "Extended"

Under Extended, the following options are available:


  • Messages with/without attachments - By default, all messages are searched, regardless of whether or not they have any file attachments. Clear one of the check boxes to remove certain emails, such as those without attachments, from the results.
    Important: These searches can be imprecise at times because items like background pictures could be regarded as attachments.
  • Size - By default, all messages are searched regardless of their size. Use the appropriate fields provided to limit the search according to the size of the emails, e.g. at least 5 MB or between 400 and 600 KB.
  • Priority - Emails are searched according to the priority level of the email as assigned by the sender. When choosing Low, all emails with a priority level lower than Normal are returned, when choosing High, all emails with a priority level higher than Normal are returned. Emails not containing any information regarding priority are assumed to have a priority level of Normal.


Starting a Search

Click on Search to start the search. The results are displayed in a list.

Refining the Search Results

To narrow the results after a search has been executed, click on Advanced Search again, enter additional search criteria and click on Search.

Starting a New Search

To start a new search, click on New Query. All search criteria will be reset to their default values (i.e. no restrictions; the search covers all folders readable by the current user).

Saving a Search

Search criteria that are used repeatedly (such as "all receipts from the last month") can be saved and reused at any time. Click on Save As... and choose a meaningful name for the search. Click on Open to access, edit or restart the search.

About Special Characters

Words inside indexed emails or attachments which are a combination of alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters (white space, line break, delimiter or other control characters), may be returned in search results when searching for the alphanumerical part only.

For instance, when searching for test, 1234 and test_1234, e-mails containing the word test_1234 will be returned.

Other commonly occurring characters are:

  • Comma (,)
  • Colon (;)
  • Hyphen (-)
  • Underscore (_)
  • AT-Sign (@)
  • Slash & Backslash (/,\)
  • Null character (NUL)