[TeamLiB]
Using AdvancedFind
Because I have several contacts whose names are Becky and correspond with other
Beckys, I have quite a few search results to sort through when I use Find. I could search
for Becky using her last name also, but it would miss the items in which only her first
name was used. In this case, it would be better to use AdvancedFind because I would be
able to use additional criteria in my search and could narrow the results.
Advanced Find has the capability to use multiple conditions so that you can fine-tune
your search and eliminate some of the results that aren't what you expected. Advanced
Find gives you the opportunity to create searches using any field and use the AND or OR
operator in your search strings.
Outlook includes a predefined Advanced Find, which finds all
messages in a thread or all messages from a sender. To use the
predefined Advanced Find, right-click on any message, choose Find
All, and then select from Related Messages or Messages from
Sender. These options open the AdvancedFind dialog with search
fields filled in to find all the messages in the thread or all the
messages from the sender. By default, it searches only in the Inbox,
Drafts, and Sent Items folders. If you need to search other folders,
use Browse to select additional folders and choose Find Now to
rerun the search. You can also add additional criteria to reduce the
number of items found.
Task: Create an AdvancedFind
In this task, we'll create a simple find usingAdvanced Find's predefined fields:
1. Open AdvancedFindusing Tools, Find, AdvancedFind or by pressing
Ctrl+Shift+F.
2. Select the type of Outlook item you're searching for from the Look for list.
Selecting the Look for type clears the search criteria, so you'll want to set the Look
for type first.
3. Click the Browse button and select the folders you want to search in.
4. Enter the criteria for your search.
The first tab uses the name of the Outlook type you're searching and includes a
keyword search of subject field, subject, and body fields, or frequently used text
fields and by time fields.
Other options on the first tab are appropriate for the item type, such as Status for
task items or Journal entry type for journal items (see Figure 15.5
).
Figure 15.5. Select the folder and item type to search for from the first tab.
The More Choices tab (see Figure 15.6
) has selections to search by any or all of
the following:
o By category.
o Read or unread items.
o Presence of attachments.
o Importance setting.
o Flag style, including colored flags.
o Message size.
o Match the case of the search words entered on the Messages tab. Check this
box to force case-sensitive searching.
Figure 15.6. Select additional criteria from the More Choices tab.
The Advanced tab gives you control over the search criteria, enabling you to select
from any Outlook field, choose a condition, and enter values for your search (see
Figure 15.7
):
o Define your criteria by entering the name of the field you want to search. If
you know the name of the field, you can type it in or select it from the Field
drop-down list.
o Select the condition from the Condition list. The list includes only
conditions that apply to the selected field.
o Enter your search string in the Value field. You can use AND or OR to
connect the keywords in your string.
o Choose Add to List to include it in your search. Repeat step 1 to add
additional criteria. When you add additional fields to the search, it uses
AND, not OR, to connect them.
o Choose Remove to remove criteria from the list for editing.
Figure 15.7. The AdvancedFind dialog includes predefined filters on the
Messages and More Choices tabs. You can use the Advanced tab to create
your own filter criteria. You can enter search conditions on any or all the
tabs.
The Advanced tab includes a More Advanced button that isn't
available to use. This button is dimmed in every Outlook version. No
one knows why it's there or what fields it might work with.
5. After entering your criteria, choose the Find Now button.
6. The search results display in the AdvancedFind dialog, as shown in Figure 15.8
.
Figure 15.8. The results of your AdvancedFind search are displayed below
the search criteria. In addition to the conditions selected on the More Choices
tab, I typed wayne in the From field on the Messages tab.
Drag the results window edges or the separator between the conditions and the results if
you need a larger pane for your results.
The fields shown in the results pane are customizable using the same options used in
folders. Right-click on the field names and select Customize Current View from the
context menu to change the views. If any of the found items are flagged with Quick
Flags, you'll see red flags in the results pane.
A limitation of Find, Advanced Find, and Search Folders is that
Outlook can search in only one message store or Exchange public
folder at a time. You must rerun the search on each store or public
folder separately.
When you use Advanced Find, you can open several AdvancedFind
windows, run a different search in each window, and then position
the windows so that you can view the results side by side.
Saving Your AdvancedFind Searches
Use File, Save Search or Save Search As Search Folder to save your AdvancedFind to
use another time.
Save Search saves the search to your drive with the extension .OSS (Office saved search).
Saving your search as an .OSS is appropriate if you won't use the search often need to
change the criteria of the search when you use it or search in nonmessage folders. When
it's a search you'll use frequently, save it as a search folder. Customized views for the
results pane are saved with the .OSS.
Save Search As Search Folder creates a Search Folder using your criteria. Save your
Advanced Find as a Search Folder if you use the same search criteria often and are using
it only for messages.
There are easier ways to use saved searches than opening AdvancedFind and using File,
Open Search, or locating the search on your drive and clicking to run it.
Create a new Mail and Post folder in your message store and name it Saved Searches.
When you save an AdvancedFind search, drag it from your drive to your Saved Searches
folder (see Figure 15.9
).
Figure 15.9. When you need to use one of your saved searches, open the folder and
double-click on the search you need. When you back up your message store, you'll
back up the searches, too.
If you don't want to store the searches in your message store, you can drag the search to
the Navigation Pane's Shortcut pane.
[ TeamLiB ]
. we'll create a simple find using Advanced Find& apos;s predefined fields:
1. Open Advanced Find using Tools, Find, Advanced Find or by pressing
Ctrl+Shift+F [ Team LiB ]
Using Advanced Find
Because I have several contacts whose names are Becky