How to Search Your Email

Find a specific email in your mailbox, either with a quick text search or a detailed filter.

Steps

Quick search:

1. Click the search box at the top of Mail (placeholder: "Search messages... (try from:, to:, has:attachment, before:)").
2. Type your search and press Enter. You can type plain text, or use the operators shown in the placeholder directly (for example from:jane@example.com has:attachment).
3. Recent searches and any searches you've saved are offered as you click into the box.

Advanced search:

1. Click Advanced search next to the search box.
2. Fill in any combination of: From, To, Subject, Has words (free text), Date after / Date before, Has attachment, Size greater than, Label, and In folder.
3. Click Search, or Reset to clear the form.

What you'll see

Matching messages replace the message list, with a result count at the top. Very recent messages may show a note that they were found via IMAP while the search index is still catching up, rather than the fast index — this is normal and self-resolves.