About the parameters of https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages

Question

I apologize if the selected tag was incorrect.

The following two emails exist in your mailbox:

mail①

from:******@xxx.co.jp

to:******@xxx.co.jp

Subject:test20250826

mail②

from:******@xxx.co.jp

to:******@xxx.co.jp

Subject:test20250825

If you run the following:

https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp"&$filter=startswith(Subject, 'test20250826')

Only mail① is found in the search ⇒ Correct

https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp" and "Subject:test20250826"

Both emails ① and ② are retrieved by the search.

⇒Is the above syntax incorrect? Please tell me the correct syntax.

Answer 1

I understand. Thank you

Answer 2

Here’s the correct syntax:

https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp"&$filter= subject eq 'test20250826'.

·         Use $search only for fields like from, to, cc, bcc, body, attachment, etc.

·         Use $filter for exact field filtering (like subject eq, startswith, recievedDateTime, etc.)

·         $search is full-text search-> it’s not reliable for exact subject matching.

 

Answer 3

Hi dla-d,  

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

From what I understand, you're testing Microsoft Graph API search queries to retrieve specific emails from your mailbox. You’ve observed that: 

• The query 1:
  https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp"&$filter=startswith(Subject, 'test20250826') 
  correctly returns only mail①. 
• But the query 2:
  https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp" and "Subject:test20250826" 
  unexpectedly returns both mail① and mail②, even though only mail① matches the subject exactly. 

Based on your context, I reviewed several examples from Microsoft’s documentation and found a few key points that may help clarify this behavior: 

1. Case Sensitivity in Property Names 
   In your second query, you're using Subject:test20250826 with a capital "S". However, most examples in the documentation use lowercase property names like subject:. 
2. Search Syntax Behavior 
   According to Search Tips from Exchange Message Properties, the syntax should follow the format:  property:value 
   • Values are not case-sensitive 
   • Property names may be case-sensitive (not explicitly stated, but implied through examples and behavior) 

So, you can try modifying your query to use lowercase for the property name to test if result return is correct: 

https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/me/messages?$search="from:******@xxx.co.jp" and "to:******@xxx.co.jp" and "subject:test20250826" 

References: 

• Use $search Query Parameter in Microsoft Graph APIs - Microsoft Graph | Microsoft Learn 
• Message properties and search operators for In-Place eDiscovery in Exchange Server | Microsoft Learn 

I hope the information above helpful. Let me know if you'd like exploring alternative filtering methods or having any further questions! 

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