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Quick Answer

In classic Outlook for Windows, right-click Search Folders at the bottom of the folder pane, select New Search Folder, pick a template such as Unread mail, and click OK. Nothing moves out of your inbox.

How to Use Search Folders in Outlook ​

Applies to: Microsoft 365 (classic Outlook for Windows); new Outlook and Outlook on the web (alternatives in Step 6)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

A Search Folder is a saved search that behaves like a folder: open it and you see every message matching your criteria, gathered from across your whole mailbox. Nothing is moved, copied, or filed. This article shows you how to create Search Folders from Outlook's built-in templates, build custom ones for a specific sender or keyword, and get a similar result in new Outlook and on the web.

Prerequisites ​

  • Classic Outlook for Windows with a Microsoft 365 or Exchange mailbox (Steps 1 to 5).
  • No admin rights required.
  • The folder pane visible on the left. If it is hidden, press Ctrl + 6 or click View > Folder Pane > Normal.

Instructions ​

1. Create a Search Folder from the Built-In List ​

Outlook ships with ready-made Search Folders for the three problems people hit most: unread mail piling up, a mailbox running out of room, and flagged items getting lost.

  1. Scroll to the very bottom of the folder pane in classic Outlook. Below your regular folders you see a heading named Search Folders.
  2. Right-click Search Folders and select New Search Folder. You can also press Ctrl + Shift + P, or click the Folder tab on the ribbon and choose New Search Folder in the New group.
  3. The New Search Folder dialog opens with a scrolling list of templates grouped under Reading Mail, Mail from People and Lists, Organizing Mail, and Custom. Select one of these:
    • Unread mail — every message you have not opened, wherever it sits.
    • Large mail — messages above a size you set, which is the fastest way to reclaim mailbox space.
    • Mail flagged for follow up — every item you flagged, pulled out of the folders you filed them in.
  4. If the template needs a detail, the Choose button under Customize Search Folder: at the bottom of the dialog becomes active. For Large mail, click Choose, enter a size in the Show mail greater than: box (the default is 100 kilobytes — 1000 is a more useful starting point), and click OK.
  5. Confirm the mailbox named in the Search mail in: dropdown at the bottom of the dialog is the one you want.
  6. Click OK.

Verification: The new folder appears under Search Folders in the folder pane with a magnifying-glass icon on it, and the unread count beside it fills in within a few seconds. Click it and the matching messages are listed.

2. Build a Custom Search Folder ​

Templates cover the common cases. A custom Search Folder handles the specific ones: everything from your manager, every message mentioning a project code, every mail carrying an attachment.

  1. Right-click Search Folders in the folder pane and select New Search Folder.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the template list, to the group headed Custom.
  3. Select Create a custom Search Folder.
  4. Click the Choose button that becomes active under Customize Search Folder:.
  5. The Custom Search Folder dialog opens. Type a name in the Name: box at the top — name it for what it collects, such as From Priya or Invoices with attachments. This name is what you see in the folder pane, so make it readable at a glance.

Note: Leave this dialog open. The next step adds the criteria from here.

3. Set the Criteria for a Custom Search Folder ​

This is where you tell Outlook which messages belong in the folder.

  1. In the Custom Search Folder dialog, click Criteria. The Search Folder Criteria dialog opens on the Messages tab.
  2. Build the rule you need:
    • A specific sender: click the From button, pick the person from the address book, and click OK. Their name appears in the From box.
    • A keyword: type the word or phrase into the Search for the word(s): box, then use the In: dropdown below it to choose subject field only, subject field and message body, or frequently-used text fields.
    • Messages with attachments: click the More Choices tab, tick Only items with:, and select one or more attachments from the dropdown beside it.
    • A date range: on the Messages tab, use the Time: dropdown to pick a field such as received, then a range such as in the last 7 days.
  3. Click OK to close Search Folder Criteria.
  4. Click OK to close Custom Search Folder, then OK again to close New Search Folder.

Tip: Criteria combine with AND, not OR. A folder set to a sender and a keyword shows only messages matching both. For an either/or result, put the alternatives in the Search for the word(s): box separated by OR in capitals — invoice OR receipt.

4. Choose Which Folders the Search Folder Covers ​

By default a custom Search Folder searches your whole mailbox. Narrowing it makes the folder faster and cuts the noise.

  1. Right-click the Search Folder in the folder pane and select Customize This Search Folder.
  2. In the dialog that opens, click Browse.
  3. A folder tree of your mailbox appears with a checkbox beside each folder. Tick the folders you want included and clear the ones you do not.
  4. Tick Search subfolders at the bottom if you want everything beneath a ticked folder included too.
  5. Click OK, then OK again.

Verification: Open the Search Folder. The message count changes to reflect the narrower scope, and messages from the folders you cleared no longer appear.

5. Delete Safely from Inside a Search Folder ​

This is the part that catches people out, so read it before you start tidying.

A Search Folder is a window onto your real mail. Select a message inside it, press Delete, and the actual message moves to Deleted Items from whatever folder it truly lives in. Nothing warns you first. That is genuinely useful in a Large mail folder, where deleting the biggest messages is the goal — and genuinely painful in a Mail flagged for follow up folder, where you wanted to clear the flag, not the mail.

  • To clear a flag instead of deleting: right-click the message and select Follow Up > Mark Complete. The message leaves the Search Folder and stays in its real folder.
  • To take a message out of an unread Search Folder: right-click it and select Mark as Read. It drops out of the view immediately.
  • To move a message somewhere else: drag it from the Search Folder to a real folder in the folder pane. This moves the actual message.

To remove a Search Folder itself without touching any mail:

  1. Right-click the Search Folder in the folder pane.
  2. Select Delete Folder.
  3. A confirmation box appears stating that the messages in the Search Folder are not deleted. Click Yes.

Verification: The folder disappears from under Search Folders. Open your inbox and the messages it displayed are all still there.

6. Get the Same Result in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web ​

New Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and the mobile apps do not have Search Folders. Three approaches cover the same ground.

  1. Filter the message list. Click the Filter control (a funnel icon) above the message list and pick an option such as Unread, To me, Flagged, or Mentions. The list narrows immediately and the filter name shows above it. Click All to clear it. The exact set of options varies by build.
  2. Save a search. Type your query into the search box at the top — for example from:priya hasattachments:yes — and press Enter. If your build supports saved searches, a Save search option or a pin icon appears beside the results; the saved search then sits under Favorites in the folder pane and reruns on each click.
  3. Use a real folder plus a rule. For something you want permanently, create a folder and a rule that files matching mail into it. This does move messages, unlike a Search Folder, but it works in every Outlook version and syncs to your phone. See How to Create Email Rules in Outlook.

Note: If you rely on Search Folders and the new Outlook toggle in the top-right corner switched you over, turning that toggle off returns you to classic Outlook and your Search Folders reappear untouched. Understanding Outlook Versions — Classic vs. New vs. Web covers what else changes.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

Add the Search Folders you open daily to the top of the folder pane: right-click the Search Folder and select Show in Favorites. It then sits beside your inbox instead of at the bottom of a long folder list.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
No Search Folders heading in the folder paneAccount type or hidden paneSearch Folders appear for Microsoft 365, Exchange, and .pst accounts in classic Outlook. If the pane itself is collapsed, press Ctrl + 6. If the heading is missing on an IMAP or POP account, use a rule-fed folder instead (Step 6).
Search Folder is empty or missing recent mailSearch index still rebuildingClick File > Options > Search > Indexing Options and check the status message. Let indexing finish, then reopen the folder. For a full fix, see How to Fix Outlook Search Not Finding Emails.
A message vanished after you deleted it from a Search FolderDeletion applies to the real messageOpen Deleted Items and drag the message back to its original folder. Then re-read Step 5 before the next clear-out.
Search Folder does not appear on your phone or the webDesktop-profile featureSearch Folders live only in classic Outlook on that computer. Recreate the view with a filter or a rule-fed folder (Step 6).
Outlook is slow to start after adding several Search FoldersToo many live queriesEach Search Folder is a query Outlook keeps current. Right-click any you no longer use and select Delete Folder — the mail is untouched.
Custom Search Folder returns nothingCriteria combine with ANDOpen Customize This Search Folder > Criteria and remove one condition at a time until results appear. Two narrow conditions rarely match the same message.