Webmail: Search for Messages

You can search for specific items that pertain to a message, or messages, and then display the search results that match the specified parameters. You can search for the following:

  • Who sent a message.
  • Who the message was addressed to, or who received a copy of the message.
  • How large or small the message is (in kb).
  • The text in the Subject line.
  • A text string in the body of the message.

You can refine the focus of the search by specifying either of the following:

  • To search only the unread messages in the current folder.
  • To search only the messages that were the results of a previous search.

Note: Webmail allows you to use the following Boolean operators in a search: OR, AND, NOT. For example, in the From field you could search for Brad OR Mike. The OR, AND, NOT operators are case-sensitive, meaning they must all be uppercase. If they are lower case, or a mixture of upper and lower case, your query will search for those words explicitly instead of treating them as operators.

The search queries, on the other hand, are case-insensitive. This would mean that a query for all messages from Brad would return the same results as a query for all messages from brad.

To search for a message:

  1. Click Search.
    Result: The Search page displays. The Webmail command options are at bottom.
  2. Define the parameters for your search in any of the following ways:
    • Enter a name in the From text box. You can use Boolean operators to search for a combination of names.
    • Enter a name in the To/Cc text box. You can use the following Boolean operators to search for a combination of names: AND, OR, NOT.
    • Enter a number for message size (kb) in the Larger than: and/or Smaller than: text boxes.
    • Enter a text string in the Subject text box. You can use the following Boolean operators to expand the effectiveness of your search: AND, OR, NOT.
    • Enter a text string in the Body text box. You can use the following Boolean operators to expand the effectiveness of your search: AND, OR, NOT.
    • Optional:
      • Select the Search in results check box to narrow your search to look only in the results of a previous search. If this option is not selected (default), the search is performed on all the messages in the current folder.
      • Select the Search in unread only check box to only search in the unread messages in the current folder. If this option is not selected (default), the search is performed on all the messages in the current folder.

    Click Search.
    Result: The results are shown below the search parameter options.

If the results of your first search is too large, you can refine the search by performing another search on the results you just received. Follow the steps above and select the Search in results checkbox. The results of the new search are derived from the previous search results, as specified by the new set of parameters.

Last updated: 10/03/06