How to get complete search results in Outlook 2013
After upgrading to Outlook 2013, me and my colleagues were annoyed by the search results in Outlook 2013. Typically, if you search for a common term, you get at most a page-full of results, with the most recent hits. Something like this:
There is link at the bottom, saying “More”, but clicking this one never yield much result.
The solution is fortunately not far away. Just click “File > Options > Search” and uncheck “Improve search speed by limiting the number of results shown”, like this:
Now, if you go back and do the same result, you should get more results!
One last thing: You may still get the “More” option, but now it refers the messages not cached locally on your machine. Starting from Outlook 2013, the client will by default only cache messages for the last 12 months, but this is easily configurable, as well. See this support article for details: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2733062
Happy searching!
Comments
Anonymous
May 05, 2013
Hi there, There's no "Like" or "This solved my problem" button so I have to type here coz u exactly solved my problem. Thanks! TobyAnonymous
May 27, 2013
+1 happy "annoyed" colleague :) Thanks!Anonymous
October 02, 2013
"me and my colleagues" Even simple grammar seems to be dead.Anonymous
October 06, 2013
Weirdly, I'm finding that things appear in search results that don't contain keywords, so I'm seeing more than I want, not less.Anonymous
October 17, 2013
thanks, I was about to revert back ! also, if you are using Lync...even though I have my search selected to "current folder" I see to get all sub folder so it will bring up every IM I have ever sent. I fixed this by selecting "current folder" on the top task bar under FILEAnonymous
November 27, 2013
the search funcationality in 2013 is truly AWFUL - never find anything anymore.....Anonymous
November 29, 2013
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December 18, 2013
Solved my problem for me too..... Many thanksAnonymous
January 24, 2014
Tried this on 2 different machines and it made ours worse too. Instead of getting multiple items with the original search, now only get one item.Anonymous
March 20, 2014
Thanks so much! What ever happened to the MS people who truly looked at how we use their software before they change it for the "better"?Anonymous
March 27, 2014
Hi. Thanks for the fix but it only worked for one day and then showed me the 'more' again! annoying Microsoft.Anonymous
May 08, 2014
Like everyone else; a simple yet efficient fix. Thank you!Anonymous
May 10, 2014
What on earth (or should I be looking elsewhere?) has happened not just at MS but many major software companies? The tasks a computer does uniquely well, such as searching through large numbers of records, have become secondary, lost, and/or hidden in favor of mostly useless but entertaining swoopy-whooshy functionality that appeals to those that have no idea of what a computer is really about. I guess I answered my own question...Anonymous
May 29, 2014
OMG thank you!!! We installed outlook 2013 a few weeks ago and since then I have been stressing because I thought i'd lost a whole bunch of emails in the transition!! Problem solved!!! Thank you!Anonymous
June 19, 2014
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July 12, 2014
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July 23, 2014
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July 30, 2014
Cannot find answer to my problem anywhere. When I search for a string in outlook, it returns a list of items. I open them and try to "find" the string inside the items and the string is not found. I suspect is related to the fact that the items have a word document attached. But, even when I open the attachment and try to find the string inside the word document, it returns "no match found". Apparently the string is hidden in the word document and I cannot find it anywhere. HELP PLEASE!!!Anonymous
October 22, 2014
To avoid this kind of search results I use Lookeen. This tool supplies the correct typ of search results. Its easy to operate and increases your outlook productivity. You can try the 14 days trial on http://www.lookeen.com Addition: I work for the vendor of Lookeen.Anonymous
October 23, 2014
How do I do an EXACT Match Search? When I type in (0) bracket, zero, bracket it shows calendar items which does not contain bracket, zero, bracket in the notes section.Anonymous
November 07, 2014
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December 03, 2014
I too am annoyed with outlook 2013 search results. 2010 and under were working great. If it's not broken don't fix it. Microsoft you guys got to really listen to us!Anonymous
December 22, 2014
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January 09, 2015
I cannot believe how terrible the search is in Outlook 2013. Astonishingly, we-are-in-alpha-still bad. Office 365 running same search criteria, infinitely better.Anonymous
January 23, 2015
I'm not usually the guy typing stuff, but really thanks this time , you solved me a lot of trouble.Anonymous
January 27, 2015
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February 02, 2015
In the 2010 version you could type: "from: Peter" and then all e-mails sent from "Peter-something" would come up - does this function no longer exist??Anonymous
March 19, 2015
If I Type: from: Peter it works without the quotes. If I type it as you have it seems to be searching for anything that actually contains from: Peter which is nothing. The quotes make the search think it's looking for that exact phrase of from: Peter instead of emails from Peter.Anonymous
May 05, 2015
Thanks Thomas, this is a great and easy tutorial, I've faced this issue with some of my users. Then pair it with configuring the cached mode to download all the data from the server to avoid any delay during searching.Anonymous
June 05, 2015
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June 12, 2015
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June 22, 2015
Confirmed, Outlook 2013 v15.0.4727.1000 does not find all results on a super simple search. For example I can't find the FIRST (newest) email in Inbox when I write the sender name or a word in the subject in the ctrl+e search bar. Absolutely unbeliveable. (As one workaround you may try quitting and relaunching, don't know if it helps but you can try.)Anonymous
July 06, 2015
None of the fixes I found on Internet helped for my problem (ctrl+e Instant Search does not find results). However, this helped me: Start / Control Panel, Mail (32-bit), E-mail Accounts (E-mail tab), New, E-mail Account and Next, fill Your Name + E-mail Address + Password and Next, Finish. For some reason didn't add an account, but Instant Search started finding lots and lots of results right after closing and reopening Outlook 2013.Anonymous
July 08, 2015
The way to fix it is the following: Create a whole new profile, and add the email account of the user, so that the whole local mailbox will be rebuild, forcing the indexing of the whole mailbox. Mailbox will now update all the items (inbox, sent items etc), and this will take some time, until it is finished. After that, you can use the search again, and it will display results immediately, or will ask you to search on the server.Anonymous
July 16, 2015
Every time I restart Outlook 2013 Pro Plus, it wants to completely rebuild the Index. It takes HOURS before Search is finally available. What's going on? I've already made all necessary optimizations, as above.Anonymous
July 17, 2015
I've heard of 'less is more' but Outlook 2013 Quick Search is the time I've seen where 'more' is less...Anonymous
September 15, 2015
Thank you for this. This is very helpful.Anonymous
November 09, 2015
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November 12, 2015
Hi, I've two accounts (two pst files) in my Outlook 2013. In one account I can search perfectly by old items until now. Other account just show today (and sometimes yesterday) results! I don't whats happen! All configuration is the same for all Outllok I think. Can you help me?Anonymous
March 08, 2016
In Exchange 2013 there is a bug which is solved with CU11 and an additional parameter configuration. See my post: somoit.net/.../exchange-2013-solved-the-search-results-limited-to-250-bug