Searching in Gmail
>>Watch Google's Video on Advanced Search
>>See the Full List of Advanced Search Operators
Advanced Search
Google's search is a fast way to find email messages. With Advanced Search you can better refine your search to return more exact results.
The easiest way to perform an advanced search is to click Show search options.
Then use the additional search fields shown in green below.
Search Operators
Another method for advanced search is to use search operators. Search operators are words or symbols that perform special actions in Gmail search. Some of the most useful operators are listed below. Full list of search operators.
| Operator | Definition | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| from: | Used to specify the sender | Example - from:amy Meaning - Messages from Amy |
| to: | Used to specify a recipient | Example - to:david Meaning - All messages that were sent to David (by you or someone else) |
| subject: | Search for words in the subject line | Example - subject:dinner Meaning - Messages that have the word "dinner" in the subject |
| OR | Search for messages matching |
Example - from:amy OR from:david Meaning - Messages from Amy or from David |
| - (hyphen) |
Used to exclude messages from your search |
Example - dinner -movie Meaning - Messages that contain the word "dinner" but do not contain the word "movie" |
| label: | Search for messages by label* |
Example - from:david label:my-family |