You can search your Mimecast for Outlook folders for messages using a series of search criteria. This includes your archived folders if this is enabled as part of your account package. If you've not enabled archiving, searching is limited to your account's retention period.

Mimecast for Outlook v7.4 and Later

To search a folder:

1. Click on the Search icon in the Mimecast ribbon.
2. Select a folder.
3. Click in the Search Bar at the top of the folder's contents.
4. Type a Search Query. As you type your search query, matches are displayed, with up to five results displayed from each category (e.g. From Address”, “To Address”, “Saved Search”). When searching for contacts, you can search for their name or email address.
5. Either:
   • Click on the  icon
   • Press the Enter key.

If you know the syntax used by the search tool, you can type it in directly into the search box. Each piece of search criteria is entered inside parenthesis. In the example below, we're searching for messages:

• With a subject of "Sales Report".
• From user1@domain.com
• To finance@domain.com
• Containing the keywords "First Quarter".

To refine a search query

1. Click on the Search Options link.
2. Specify additional search criteria including:
   • Date Range
   • From Address
   • To Address
   • Subject
   • Keywords
   • Attachment
3. Click on the Search button.

Sorting the Search Results

When the search results are first displayed, they are in descending order (i.e. the newest message is at the top of the results). You can toggle the results to sort between the oldest or newest results.

To sort your search results by date either:

• Click on the Newest icon to sort by the oldest results. The icon's wording changes to "Oldest", to indicate that the messages are sorted with the oldest displayed first.
• Click on the Oldest icon to sort by the newest results. The icon's wording changes to "Newest",  to indicate that the messages are sorted with the newest displayed first.

Saving a Search

To save a search query to use again:

1. Click on the Search Options icon to the right of the search bar.
2. Click on the Save This Search link in the bottom left hand corner. The Save Search dialog is displayed.
3. Specify a Name for the search. A name is automatically provided based on your search criteria, but you can change this. Our example shows "MFO 7.4, Archive, 1 Year" because the search searches the archive for messages less than a year old with a subject of "MFO 7.4".
4. Click on the Save button. The search now displays in your Saved Search list.

Deleting a Saved Search

To delete a saved search:

1. Click in the Search Bar at the top of the folder's contents. A list of your saved searches is displayed.
2. Hover over the Saved Search to be deleted.
3. Click on the Delete icon to the right of the saved search. The search is removed from your list of saved searches.

Mimecast for Outlook v7.3, v7.2, and v7.1

In these versions there are two methods of searching folders:

• Smart Search: This is the recommended method of searching. It offers many advantages, including a better user experience and functionality not available in other search methods.
• Advanced Search: 

Using the Smart Search

To use the smart search:

1. Click in the Search field located above any folder's contents. A drop down is displayed with some search criteria.
2. Select the Search Criteria you want to use from the list.
   
   • To Contact: Start typing a contact's name, and select them from the displayed list.
   • From Contact: Start typing a contact's name, and select them from the displayed list.
   • To or From Contact: Start typing a contact's name, and select them from the displayed list.
   • Subject Contains: Start typing a subject and select it from the displayed list.
   • Content Contains: Start typing the content you want to search for in the email's content.
   • Attachment Contains: Start typing the content you want to search for in the attachment.
3. If required, click on the  icon to search over a specific date range (see right).
4. If required, click on the  icon to specify an attachment type filter (see right).
5.  Either:
   • Click on the  icon.
   • Press the Enter key.
   • Click on the Search Now link (see below).

You can search for multiple criteria. For example:

• All email from "user 1" AND containing a subject of "contract".
• All email from "user 1" OR "user 2".

To enter multiple search criteria:

1. Follow the steps above to enter the first set of criteria.
2. Click on one of the additional options to create another search criteria.

    

   

3. Repeat the step listed above for any additional search criteria.
4. Click the Search Now link.

Saving a Search

To save a search:

1. Click on the Save Search button.
2. Specify a Name for the saved search. This defaults to the search criteria used.
3. Click on the Save button.

Accessing Recent / Saved Searches

To access the last ten searches you've performed:

1. Open the Mimecast for Outlook window.
2. Click on the Searches tab. The tab expands to display additional menu items.
3. Click on the Recent Searches tab. The tab expands to display the last ten searches.

Exporting a Search's Results

You can export the search results from a search to a Microsoft Outlook folder:

1. Right click on a Smart Tag, Recent Search, or Saved Search. A popup menu is displayed.
2. Click on the Export menu item. The Export dialog is displayed on the right of the window.
3. Select an Outlook Folder to export to.
4. Click on the Export button.

Other Search Actions

The following search actions follow the same process as a later version. Use the links below to access the relevant section:

• Deleting Saved Searches

Using Advanced Search

To use the Advanced Search:

1. Click the  icon in the bottom left hand corner of the Mimecast for Outlook window. The Advanced Search panel is displayed.
2. Complete the dialog as required.
   

   Field / Option	Description
   Keywords	Enter a text string.
   Direction	From the drop down, select the direction of messages to be searched.
   Date	By deafult, all messages in the last year are selected. This can be changed to another standard time frame, or a custom time frame, by selecting an option in the drop down list.
   Folders	By default, all folders are searched, and "No Folder Selected" is displayed in this field. This can be changed by following the instructions below: Click on the Folder field. The "Filter Archive Folders" field is displayed below. Type a Folder's Name in the "Filter Archive Folders" field. A list of matching folders is displayed in the "Filter Results" below. Click on the required Folder in the Filter Results. It is added to the "Folder" field.
   Documents	By default, messages with any or no attachments are selected. You can change this by selecting specific attachment types (e.g. spreadsheets, documents) or only messages that have / don't have attachments.
   Route	By default all messages are selected. You can change this to select only internal, inbound, or outbound messages.

3. Click on the Search button.

Microsoft for Outlook v7.0

To use the smart search:

1. Click in the Search field located above any folder's contents. A drop down is displayed with some search criteria.
2. Select the Search Criteria you want to use.
3. Specify what you want to search for. This differs depending on what search criteria you've chosen. For example, using:
   • "From Contact" displays a list from which you can select a user's email address.
   • Subject allows you to enter text to search for.
4. If required, click one of the additional options to create one or more additional search criteria.

    

   

5. Repeat step 3 to specify what you want to search for in the additional search criteria.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for any additional search criteria.
7. Click the Search Now link.

Saving a Search

To save a search for later use:

1. Click on the Save Search link directly above the search results.
2. Provide a Name / Description for the search. By default, this is the search criteria used.
3. Click on the Save button. The search is saved in your Saved Searches folder.

Other Search Actions

• Accessing Saved Searches
• Deleting Saved Searches
• Exporting Search Results
• Advanced Search

See Also...

• Mimecast for Outlook: Search Criteria
• Mimecast for Outlook: Accessing Smart Tags