Here’s a little tweak that I did to Outlook Search (in Outlook 2013) to make it work faster for me.
What is Outlook Search
Outlook displays a Search box at the top of your emails. Simply click in the search and type the words that you are looking for.
In Outlook 2013, you can also change where the Search is done (current folder, current mailbox, all mailboxes etc) directly from the same screen
How to make Outlook Search your Inbox faster
By default Outlook searches for emails in the current folder except if you’re in the Inbox. IF you are searching from the Inbox, Outlook searches for emails in all folders in your current mail box.
The problem with this is that Searching for emails from your Inbox can be slow because it is searching for emails in all folders instead of just the current folder.
You can change where to search each time but this seems to almost hang Outlook if the Search has already started.
Instead you can change Outlooks settings to search only the current folder when you are in the Inbox.
Open Outlook
Click File > Options
Click the Search tab to display Search Options.
Select Current Folder and click OK
Now when I do a Search from the Inbox the results are almost instant. I can still Search all folders by selecting Current Mailbox or All Mailboxes from the list on the right of my Search box if I want to do a wider search.
Why this works for me
This works for me because I usually go to the folder I am interested in before I do my Search. When I am searching my Inbox, I know that I am looking for an email in my Inbox.
Share your own thoughts on Searching by leaving a comment below.
