How to Search in PST File: 5 Detailed Methods

A PST, also known as a Personal Storage Table, is an Outlook data file which holds mailbox contents locally. It might include emails, attachments, contacts, appointments, tasks, notes, journals, archived folders, etc. Companies as well as private individuals store PSTs as a backup of the mailbox or for archiving purposes. With the increasing size of the PST files, going through hundreds of folders and thousands of messages becomes tedious and time-consuming. With Learning How to Search in PST File, one will be able to find needed emails, sender, message content, attachments, dates, etc., in no time without going through all the items separately.

The present tutorial explains various methods of searching PST data including Outlook Instant Search, filters, Advanced Find, Search Folders, and PST viewer software.

Preparations Before Searching a PST File

Prior to this process, ensure that the PST file is reachable and is not stored in an external drive that is now disconnected. In addition, creating a duplicate of the PST file is advised especially when this file stores critical business and legal correspondence.

To open PST file in classic Outlook:

• Start Microsoft Outlook program.
• From the upper left part of the screen, click on File.
• Choose Open & Export.
• Select Open Outlook Data File.
• Find the folder where your PST file is stored.
• Choose the file and press Open.

Your PST file will appear as a separate mailbox/archive in Outlook Folder Pane. You should then expand it to find Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items and other folders within.

According to Microsoft, the PST file must first be opened in Outlook before you can conduct a search through it for the specified sender, phrase or keyword.

For new Outlook for Windows, go to Settings > Files > Outlook Data Files > Add file, and choose the PST file. At the moment, Microsoft still needs to have the classic Outlook running on the same PC, where both Outlook programs have either 32-bit or 64-bit architecture.

#1: How to Search in PST File using Outlook Instant Search?

The simplest way to answer How to Search in PST File is the Instant Search that is provided by Microsoft Outlook. In such case the user should have information like the sender name, email address, subject word, attachment name or any phrase from the required message.

Just perform the following steps:

• Open the desired PST file in Outlook.
• Expand the PST mailbox in the Folder Pane.
• Select the folder for searching.
• Click the Search box in the upper right corner.
• Type the keyword, sender, subject or email address.
• Check out the results in the pane below.

For example, typing the phrase project report will help you find the message containing these words in the subject, sender info or in the body of the message.

Select the Correct Search Scope

The search scope sets the folder locations that Outlook will look through. Based on your version of Outlook, you may have access to the following options:

• Current Folder: Searches only the selected folder.
• All Subfolders: Searches the selected folder and its subfolders.
• Current Mailbox: Searches the currently selected mailbox.
• All Mailboxes: Searches all connected mailboxes and all open data files.
• All Outlook Items: Searches emails, contacts, appointments, tasks, and other Outlook items.

According to Microsoft, by default, Outlook searches only the current mailbox. Other PSTs may not be included without changing the search scope.

To search an entire PST file, you should select the top level folder in it and use All Subfolders option.

#2: Apply Outlook Search Filters

Where there are too many results when doing general searches, apply filters. This will be useful where How to Search in PST File entails finding emails based on certain attributes.

After clicking the Search box, apply filters provided by Outlook, including:

• From: Searches messages from a particular sender.
• To: Searches messages for a particular recipient.
• Subject: Searches in the subject only.
• Has Attachments: Searches for messages having attachments.
• Unread: Searches for unread emails.
• Categorized: Searches for messages in a particular Outlook category.
• Date: Filters based on a chosen period.
• Flagged: Searches for flagged emails.

You can also enter search operators in the search box. Examples of which are:

from:alex@example.com
subject:invoice
hasattachments:yes
received:last month

Also, you can combine above operators to create a more specific search:

from:alex@example.com subject:invoice hasattachments:yes

However, if you want to find the exact phrase, enclose that phrase or word in quotation marks. For instance, “annual financial report”. This query is more specific rather than without quotation marks.

#3: Use Advanced Find in Classic Outlook

Advanced Find has more advanced search settings compared to Instant Search. The function is especially useful if How to Search in PST File requires certain conditions, including sender, date range, message size, importance, and presence of attachments.

Here are the steps to perform:

• Open PST File in the classic Outlook application.
• Press Ctrl + Shift + F.
• Specify the type of the item to be searched, for example, Messages, Contacts, Appointments, and so on.
• Input words, sender or recipient names.
• Add a condition about date.
• Go to the More Choices tab.
• Add categories, read status, importance, size or attachment settings.
• Go to the Advanced tab to add custom field conditions.
• Choose Browse and specify PST folders.
• Check the Search subfolders option.
• Click Find Now.

The results will be displayed in the bottom part of the Advanced Find window. You can open the selected item, sort the list, change the conditions, and search again.

For example, it is possible to find all unread messages from a specified sender in a certain month with attachments.

#4: Create a Search Folder

Search Folder is an Outlook virtual folder showing messages according to some specific pre-defined rules.

In no way can it change, copy, or duplicate original email messages.

This option would be convenient to use when it is needed to make the same search multiple times like:

• Unread messages
• Large messages
• Flagged items
• Messages from important clients
• Email messages with chosen words
• Messages with attachments

In order to create a Search Folder one should follow the next steps:

• Go to the PST mailbox in Outlook.
• Click the Folder tab.
• After that, select the New Search Folder.
• Choose a pre-defined search rule.
• Or click Create a custom Search Folder.
• Hit Choose and enter a folder name.
• Choose Criteria.
• Specify the sender, chosen words, dates, categories or some other parameters.
• Tap Browse and choose folders.
• Lastly, click OK to save a folder.

A Search Folder is a good way for How to Search in PST File, but it is based on Outlook search index.

#5: Search a PST Without Outlook

If there is no Microsoft Outlook on your PC, the reasons could be either it is not installed or not configured on your system. So, in such a case, it is better to prefer a standalone PST viewer tool to preview your emails and contact information present in the PST file.

Using Free PST Viewer tool, users can open PST file without Outlook that contains emails, contacts, calendars, and attachments and look up any messages from those PST files.

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Here’s what you’ll need to do in order to accomplish that task:

• Install and run the PST viewing software.
• Navigate to the PST file location.
• Import the PST file in the software.
• Let it scan and view the mailbox folders.
• Click on Search option.
• Specify sender, subject, phrase, or other search conditions.
• Check the result.

This method can come in handy in cases of read-only archive inspection and when Microsoft Outlook can’t be installed on your PC. Working with your PST, always make a copy of it first.

What to Do When PST Search Returns No Results?

But still even after correctly performing all the steps of How to Search in PST File, incomplete results may be obtained by Outlook. It happens due to several factors such as wrong search scope, incomplete indexing, corrupted PST file, hidden folders, or wrong filters.

Make sure that your PST is open and displayed in the Folder Pane. Select its root level folder and set the scope as All Subfolders. Apply no filters at all and run the search using the simplest sender name or word from the subject.

Rebuilding the Outlook Search Index

In the classic version of Outlook:

• Select File > Options > Search.
• Choose Indexing Options.
• Make sure that Microsoft Outlook is selected.
• Select Advanced.
• Open the Index Settings tab.
• Click Rebuild.
• Confirm the procedure.

It is advised by Microsoft to rebuild the Instant Search catalog if Outlook gives you incomplete results.

Repair a Damaged PST File

Should you have trouble opening your PST file or getting error messages related to your folders, then Microsoft offers you the Inbox Repair Tool, which is also known as SCANPST.EXE.

You should close Outlook, run the utility, pick the damaged PST file and proceed to scan it. You need to make sure that you create a backup prior to performing any repairs on the file, as the utility will be making changes to the file itself. According to Microsoft, the utility scans PST and OST files for structural problems and tries to fix them.

Best Practices for Accurate PST Searches

Try to use exact keywords rather than generic ones. Include information about sender together with either date, attachment status or subject in your search query. Choose the right folder scope especially when several mailboxes and PSTs are opened simultaneously.

Use smaller and more organized PST archives, name your folders in a proper way and do not store active PSTs in folders that are often synchronized via cloud services. Remember to create backups before fixing, moving or restructuring the file.

How to Search in PST File will become much easier once the right search scope, operators and filters are applied.

Conclusion

Instant Search is useful when you need to search by a particular keyword while filters allow narrowing down your search by such criteria as sender, subject, date, attachment and others. Hence, this properly answers the question on How to search in PST file. Advanced Find allows specifying complex conditions and Search Folders give you constantly updated results of your repeated queries.

Once Outlook is not available, you can try using stand-alone PST viewer. Choosing the right search scope, maintaining Outlook indexing and fixing damaged PST files will help you efficiently search for emails, attachments, contacts and other items stored in your PST.