Outlook find folder of email in few easy steps

Using the search tab advanced options, it is possible to find emails by content, sender, calendar appointments and meetings or even Outlook contacts, and see in which folder of the hierarchy they are located, using the Outlook advanced find tools.


How to find a lost folder in Outlook?

Using the search tab advanced options, it is possible to find emails by content, sender,  calendar appointments and meetings   or even Outlook contacts, and see in which folder of the hierarchy they are located, using the Outlook advanced find tools.

See below a detailed guide to find folder Outlook email is in with a few easy to follow steps.

Outlook find folder email is in

It is too easy to move by mistake a folder from the folder hierarchy in Outlook without noticing - and quite difficult to find it back.

However, it is possible to find it back, and even to see where it is located in the hierarchy - by going in Advanced find, looking for emails in that folder, opening one of the emails, and looking for its position in the hierarchy.

Start by opening the Advanced Find tool, with shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + F.

Advanced find tool: CTRL+SHIFT+F

Outlook find what folder an email is in

There, in Look field, select Any type of Outlook item.

Go to tab Advanced, and select the option under Field => All Note fields => In Folder.

Enter under Value the name or partial name of the folder you are looking for, and click Add to List.

If you haven't clicked on Add to List, when clicking Find Now, Outlook will propose you to add your criteria to the list, click Yes.

After clicking on Find Now, you'll see the list of emails located in folders with similar names to your search.

Double click on one of the mails you had stored in the folder you're looking for to open it.

How to look for a folder in Outlook?

Once in the mail, open a new Advanced Find window with CTRL + SHIFT + F, the new search tool will already be setup to search in the mail's folder.

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Click Browse… .

And bingo ! You can here see the hierarchy under which the folder is located.

Go back to your Outlook window, navigate in the folders tree to your folder, and you're done.

Outlook find folder by name

It is not possible to search directly for a folder by its name. However, if you are able to remember any detail about an email stored in that folder, such as recipient name, sender email, text detail for example, it is possible to look for that email, and see in which folder it is, and where the folder is in the folder hierarchy, using the Outlook advanced find options.

How do I retrieve a lost folder in Outlook?

There is no way to search for a folder by its name, in case you accidentally moved a folder for example. If the folder doesn’t contain any email, then the only way to find the folder is to browser the folder hierarchy. However, if you can remember some text of one email located in that folder, you can find folder Outlook email is in as follows.

In Outlook program, use the search box in the top right section of the window. There, make sure that all Outlook items is activated in the drop-down menu.

Put the search string, for example a part of a message included in that folder, in the search field to find folder in Outlook.

Perform the search, and by using the “by folder” option of the search results, you will be able to find folder Outlook email is in by having a look at the folder names to locate folder you are looking for.

Accidentally moved a folder and cannot find it – MSOutlook.info

Webmail Outlook find folder of email

In the Microsoft Outlook 360 web app, it is a little different to find the folder of an email, as the advanced search isn’t available.

To find folder of email in Outlook web app, use the search box to find an email that is contained in that folder with part of text it contains. Then, in the result lists, the folder name will be displayed next to the email excerpt. Click on the folder name to then run a search in that folder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can find what folder email is in Outlook?
While in mail, open a new advanced search window with CTRL + SHIFT + F, the new search tool will already be configured to search the mail folder and go to Browse to search.
How to find what folder an email is in Outlook?
To find out what folder an email is in Outlook, you can open the email and press Alt + Enter to view its properties, which will display the folder name. Alternatively, select the email and use the Ctrl + Shift + F shortcut to open the Advanced Find dialog box, where the Look in field shows the folder path.
How can users quickly locate the folder containing a specific email in Microsoft Outlook?
Users can find the email's folder by utilizing the search function to locate the email, then either using the Move option to see the current folder location or right-clicking the email and selecting Find Related > Messages in This Conversation to view its folder context.

Yoann Bierling
About the author - Yoann Bierling
Yoann Bierling is a Web Publishing & Digital Consulting professional, making a global impact through expertise and innovation in technologies. Passionate about empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in the digital age, he is driven to deliver exceptional results and drive growth through educational content creation.

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Comments (17)

 2018-11-05 -  Mlemonn
Top, thank you very much for the avoided waste of time
 2018-11-05 -  admin
@Mlemonn Thank you for your feedback
 2018-11-05 -  Fabienne
I followed the instructions well, it's rather interesting. My file is in a folder called journal. Unfortunately I don't see it in my tree structure
 2018-11-05 -  admin
Hello, is it possible that you have not selected the correct mailbox (by clicking on Browse ...)? In addition, if the folder is empty / or its contents have been archived. the search does not seem to work ... Regards
 2018-11-05 -  Riccardo
Great thank you
 2018-11-05 -  Martin
Thank you very much for this procedure. Easy and efficient.
 2018-11-05 -  admin
@Martin Thank you for your feedback
 2018-11-05 -  Tom
works perfectly ! thank you so much
 2018-11-05 -  admin
@Tom Thanks for your feedback. Thumbnails did not actually point to images, now fixed.
 2018-11-05 -  Chiara
Thank you ! Very useful
 2018-11-05 -  Metz
Thank you I was looking for a long time! It's a pretty incredible lack ... Pictures in better definitions would have helped me ...
 2018-12-19 -  drag8300
hello and thank you for this method. On the other hand, it does not work if the folder is not in the main data file (by default for reception). - if it is in another data file, if we select this folder and if we do CTRL maj F we have this one selected in the in field but as soon as the search field is positioned at any type of outlook item the in field is forced to the main folder and the search does not work.
 2018-12-19 -  drag8300
sorry the message is limited and i couldn't finish. I hope I was clear. have you seen this problem and do you have a solution? I do not want to change my reception file too much each time we do a search ... thank you and have a good day.
 2019-03-18 -  Viviane
Thank you so much. Your advice is effective and useful, better than on the Microsoft forum.
 2019-03-18 -  Jordi Ferran Cases
Thank you very much for the method. It has saved me a lot of time looking for a lost folder. Thanks for sharing
 2019-07-13 -  Manuel
Absolutely great. Bravo!
 2021-08-29 -  Ayala
Well done both really working and clearly written and with pictures for illustration thank you very much

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