Where is it!!!!????? Ahhhh. You’ve felt the aggravation of that missing file, folder through to the frustration of hunting for an email you know you have – but just can’t find. Well don’t despair. There are ways of finding emails and a few ways of making vanished ones reappear like a rabbit out of a hat.
Solutions to Common Disappearing Acts Normally one of two things may have happened.
Accidental delete
First you could have accidentally deleted it. This isn’t a reason to panic (at least not yet). Deleted items accumulate until you personally empty the contents of your deleted items folder. So check there first for individual emails or folders that have vanished.
Dropped it somewhere
Second, and again very common, is that you may have accidentally dragged and dropped it somewhere without knowing. This occurs when you accidentally select something with your mouse, move the mouse and release it. It’s now relocated to where it’s landed. Don’t panic. If it just happened, hit the undo icon. Next search for it. 99 to 1 you’ll find it. Five ways of finding your missing file
- Sort
You might not know about sorting, the quickest and easiest way to find things. Sorting is a simple click on the top of the grey column header (To, From, Size, Date ….). On your first click, it will sort alphabetically or chronologically by that field. Click it a second time and it sorts alphabetically in descending order or from oldest to newest. - Find and Advanced Find
Helps you to search based on specific criteria such as email address, words, dates, etc. - Vista Search or Google Desktop
Works like a Find/ Advanced find through your documents and emails. - Activities Tab on Contact
If you’re looking for a specific email sent from an individual you have listed as a contact, pop open their contact and click on the activities tab. Instantly it will start populating with all the activity you’ve had with that person within Outlook. Emails, meetings, Tasks. - Search Folders (Outlook 2003-7)
Think of a Search Folder as a virtual folder. Once you have set your criteria, it will gather all the emails from all your different folders (including deleted and sent items). Your emails are not physically moved into these search folders. They reside where you have placed them. The search folder is simply a permanent and growing list of emails that meet the criteria you set.
Advanced enables you to be more specific by filtering your search by several factors or search by options not available in the regular find. Unless you accidentally clicked the drop down Find Box, you might not know that when you start a search the Find icon allows you to select which specific folders you wish to look through to find your item.
