One of my favorite features in Outlook mail is Search Folders. When I talk to clients about reducing the amount of time they spend on email, I recommend that they handle their messages as little as possible. Once they arrive, apply the four D’s (Delete, Do, Defer, and Delegate) and then move them to the folders you want to file them in. You should try to move the messages only once before they are deleted. One of the biggest concerns people have when following this advice is trying to find specific messages. They feel actionable items should stay in the same place until finished and then archived or deleted, but often this means moving messages multiple times.
Finding messages is easy in Outlook. you can use the Look for feature, or create a search folder. What I appreciate most about these folders is that you don’t have to cancel or delete them when you’ve found what you’re looking for like you would in a normal search. They don’t copy mail, they just give you a shortcut way to access messages that share specific properties, regardless of which folder they’re in. As a result, they take up virtually no space in your mailbox.
The following are just some of the criteria you can use when creating them:
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unread mail
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categorized mail
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old posts
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Flagged Posts
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To or from specific people
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With specific words in the subject line or body
When you create one of these special folders, you specify the criteria that Outlook will search for. It appears in your folder list ready to give you the messages you need when you want them.
In earlier versions of Outlook, there were three default folders: unread mail, wide mail and categorized. These don’t usually appear by default in newer versions, but you can easily create your own.
There are two types of search folders, predefined and habit. The former are extremely easy to create, but the custom ones allow you more control if the predefined options aren’t exactly what you’re looking for.
perspective 2007
default
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Go to the dropdown menu next to the ‘New’ on the toolbar and select search folder
- CONTROL + Change + P
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Right click on search folder in the navigation panel of your mail and choose new search folder
Habit
- Line – New – search folder
Outlook 2010 and 2013
Microsoft made things a bit simpler by adding customization to the dialog.
- File eyelash- new search folder
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Right click on search folder in the navigation panel of your mail and select new search folder
- CONTROL + Change + P
Once you’re in the dialog, you can choose the specific criteria and folders you want to involve in the search.
TIPS: When you delete the folder, it will not delete any of the messages. However, if you delete a message that is in a folder, you are deleting the message.
Once you start searching using these folders, you’ll never look back. They provide a quick and easy answer to find the mail. If you’re cleaning up your email based on age, an old mail folder will save you hours of time since you won’t have to go through each folder individually; use that newly found time to complete other urgent tasks, or treat yourself to a well-deserved coffee.