How to use the advanced search in Gmail to find any email

Google’s email service is considered one of the main tools for managing large amounts of information. Therefore, most people use this platform when handling their emails .

However, as the years go by, these users are likely to accumulate multiple emails in their account and for that reason, it is more difficult to find certain content among the folders. Therefore, the advanced search function has been created .

Inherently, this option helps to locate any mail or fragment of it efficiently . For this reason, we will show you what its main pros are and how it should be used to get the most out of it .

Index:

 What is Gmail Advanced Search and what are the benefits of using it?

Advanced Search is defined as an extension of the Simple Search feature that offers the ability to use a wide range of query criteria when searching for archived items accurately. Thus, the Gmail advanced search consists of a utility that allows you to filter the results in order to locate a specific message in a concrete and fast way .

Gmail’s advanced search feature helps locate an email by suggesting certain search terms as the user enters words . Which, by default, are based on the information held by the Gmail account in question. That is, both messages and contacts, as well as previous searches and tags; for example. Therefore, this functionality is characterized by guaranteeing optimal benefits to users of the Gmail email platform.

 

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These are summarized in the following:

  • Quickly. In just seconds, the system provides you with the information you need, without having to carry out exhaustive searches.
  • Ease. Only with the fact of entering a word or term, you will be able to find what you require among all your emails.
  • Organization. As if that were not enough, this Gmail option also serves to clean up your service mailbox.
  • Versatility. Apart from locating any message easily, advanced search helps free up and reclaim space in your Gmail account, targeting the oldest and most useless messages in order to delete them.

 Learn step by step how to use Gmail’s advanced search to find any email on all devices

In order to get the most out of advanced search in Gmail, it is appropriate that you know how to use this feature .

That is why, below, we specify each of the available options to do it with advanced search commands, specify an email or obtain a specific attachment, according to your requirements:

 Gmail Advanced Search Commands

The Gmail system provides a series of commands that are called “operators” and are defined as text strings made up of words and symbols that are entered in the search field to perform special actions supported by the Google email service . They are useful and ideal commands to quickly filter emails and even manage other functions. In addition to streamlining the search process, you will have the ability to combine commands to filter the results to a greater degree .

In this way, it will be easy to modify the search, obtain much more satisfactory results and find what you need in a rush within Gmail . In this sense, the main reason for using these operators is that they are characterized by saving time for the user . Either, for example, to search for messages from a specific sender (from), specify detailed keywords (subject), get emails sent to a certain recipient (to), etc.

 

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The process to use them on the platform consists of:

  • First, access your Gmail account.
  • From the main page, locate the search bar at the top.
  • Next , enter the advanced search command or operatoryou want to use.
  • Finally, enter your search term and hit the Enter keyto see the matching results.

Search any mail.

his is the most widely used method when it comes to advanced Gmail search Thus, it is about making use of the search tab at the top . Which offers the possibility of filtering different data around what you need.

In this sense, the procedure to follow to search for any email based on this method is based on the following step by step:

  • Access your Gmail accountto start.
  • Now, press the down arrowthat can be seen in the search bar.
  • Once a tab is displayed, it is time to detail the most specific data you can, about the email you are trying to locate.
  • Finally, when you fill in the fields you want, all you have to do is click the “Search” buttonto see the matches. If you want, you can also create a filter with it.

It is appropriate to highlight that the available fields that help discriminate advanced search in this way are: From, To, Subject, Contains the words (key terms), Does not contain, Size (in MB), Date ranges, Search, Contains attachments (or not) and Don’t include chats .

 Find an attachment

Yes, instead of locating an email message from a specific person or in a specific date range, for example; what you need is to find an email with an attached file, you must follow other more specific procedures .

Thus, the main one of all, is the following:

  • Enter your Gmailaccount and go to the search bar from the top.
  • Then, select the down arrow found there and click on “Contains attachments”to press the “Search” button .
  • Next, to further filter the search term, choose to choose the type of attachment at the top(image, spreadsheet, PDF , document, etc.). That’s all.

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For its part, another way to search for a specific attachment within your Gmail account is to use the search command called “filename” . Which is characterized by facilitating the search for a certain file or a type of attachment. For example, if you need to get a PDF, the search term would be: filename: program.pdf .

 List of the most useful advanced search commands to find anything in Gmail

In case it seems more practical to use the advanced search operators in Gmail to filter your emails and specify the data more quickly, it is essential that you know which are the most useful commands of all in order to take advantage of this functionality to the maximum.

Therefore, here we highlight the most efficient shortcuts that you can enter in the search bar:

  • Filename: (file name) or (file type)– Allows you to search for a specific file or attachment class on the system.
  • Subject: (word) or (phrase)– To locate emails that contain the specified word or phrase in the subject.
  • Category: (category name)– Search for emails in the entered category.
  • Before: (before – date)– View emails sent before a specified date.
  • After: (after – date)– Locate the emails sent on or after the date described.
  • From: (sender)– This is a command that allows you to view messages from a concise sender.
  • To: (recipient)– Used to search for the recipient of a message in Gmail.
  • In: (folder) or (label)– Useful for searching for emails within that folder or label.
  • CC: (name)– Specify a sent Gmail email that has copied a certain name.
  • Bcc: (name)– Helps to locate shared emails that blindly copy a certain user.
  • Label: (label)– It deals with searching for messages by certain labels.
  • In: anywhere:– Observe emails in any of your email service folders.
  • Has: attachment– Find the messages that have an attachment within them.
  • OR: (upper case only)– Works to make word combinations. Example: subject: (job OR delivery).
  • (term)– Ideal for excluding emails with that specific term.
  • (term or phrase)– Locate a specific word or phrase among all messages.
  • + (word)– Search for emails that contain the exact word.
by Abdullah Sam
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