If you’re one of the many people who have dozens (or hundreds) of e-mail messages in your inbox, and hundreds (or thousands) of saved e-mail messages, then you already know that e-mail consumes a significant portion of your time. We can’t help you with the time it takes to actually read faster, but what we can do is teach you to eliminate the majority of time you spend scouring through your e-mails, searching for that one message that you need.
The key to finding what you want quickly is searching. Searching is far more effective than scouring. If you wanted to find something on the web, would you start at the first web page and comb through each new one until you find what you’re looking for? Absolutely not. You’d do a web search. We want you to approach e-mail the same way – realize that all major e-mail software contains a search feature, and it can work wonders for you.
This article covers three popular desktop e-mail clients:
Searching for e-mail messages in Mozilla Thunderbird
Locate the “Edit†menu at the top of the Thunderbird window (it’s right next to “Fileâ€). Click “Editâ€, move your mouse down and over “Findâ€, then over to the new menu that popped up. Click on “Search Messagesâ€.
Alternatively, you can hold CTRL+SHIFT and press F on your keyboard.
A new Thunderbird window called “Search Messages†will open up. Using this window, you can search in the message subject, sender, recipient, and body. Click the “more†button to add more constraints to your search, and the “fewer†button to remove constraints. You can also use the “Search for messages in†drop down box to specify which which folder you want to search. This defaults to your inbox.
Click the “Search†button, and Thunderbird will show you all of the e-mail messages that match your search query.
Find e-mail messages quickly in Microsoft Outlook 2003
Take a look at the menu that stretches across the top of your Outlook window, and locate the menu labeled “Toolsâ€. Click on “Toolsâ€, move your mouse down and over “Findâ€, then across to the new menu that popped up, and click on “Findâ€.
Alternatively, you can hold the CTRL and press E on your keyboard.
A new toolbar will appear in Outlook, containing fields for searching your e-mail messages. It has a “Look for:†field for typing your search query, and a “Search In†field for telling Outlook about any specific folders you want to look in (this defaults to your Inbox).
Type what you are looking for into the “Look for:†box, then click on “Search In†if you want to narrow down the location of your search.
Click the “Find Now†button, and Outlook will show you all of the messages that match your search query.
Find e-mail messages quickly in Outlook Express
Locate the “Edit†menu at the top of the Outlook Express window. It’s right next to “Fileâ€. Click on “Editâ€, then click on “Find†in the new menu that appears.
A new window called “Find Message†will appear on your screen. With this window, you can search based on the sender or receiver’s e-mail address, to the subject line, or the message body. You can also constrain your search to a specific time period.
Fill in the search fields that you want to use, and click the “Browse..†button to see all of the e-mail messages that match your query.
