Today’s Unread Mail folder

Do you want to conveniently manage all your mail you’ve received today even when you have rules configured which scatter them across different folders? This is my personal favorite Search Folder.

My "Today’s Unread Mail" Search Folder is pretty much the folder where I live in Outlook. As the name suggests, it contains all the emails I’ve received today but haven’t read yet. As it is a Search Folder, it doesn’t matter in which folder I have received the message. I also have it configured to show my Drafts and Outbox folder to easily see the emails I’m working on.

Here is how you can create it;

1. Start with a New Search folder;
• Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007
  File-> New-> Search Folder…
• Outlook 2010
  tab Folder-> button New Search Folder
2. Scroll to the bottom of the New Search Folder dialog and choose;
   Custom-> Create a custom Search Folder
3. Press button "Choose…"
4. Name: Today’s Unread Mail
5. Press button "Criteria…"
6. On the Messages tab set the following condition
   Time: received today
7. On the More Choices tab set the following condition
   Only items that are: unread
8. Press OK
9. Press button "Browse…"
10. Deselect the option "Outlook Today" and select the following folders;
    Drafts, Inbox, Outbox
    (of course you can select more top folders if you want like Junk E-mail to really see all your email that you have received today)
11. Verify that the option "Search in subfolders" is enabled
12. Press OK to close the open dialog

To keep the items sorted, I have the view set to "Arrange By Folder" and have "Show in Groups" enabled (you can set these options via the View menu (Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007) or the View tab (Outlook 2010).

To really finish it off, I’ve placed the Today’s Unread Mail folder on the top my Favorite Folders list and have configured Outlook to startup in that folder.

See which new messages from today you haven’t read.