Outlook find option searches old emails first

C

carbeely

Outlook find option searches old emails first

When you try to find a message in a folder (huge folder, by the way),
it starts to show the old emails first before looking at the newer emails.

Is there any way to switch this? or Re-index Outlook


The problem is the same for PSTs, Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers.

Thanks
 
D

DL

Why is it neccessary to keep a 'huge' amount of email in a single pst?
Create folders / archive etc
 
C

carbeely

Well in a financial institution where emails are of a legal nature it is
sometimes required by law to reproduce emails concerning certain topics.
Which make sit hard to delete any emails besides spam for the most part. Also
in finiancial institutions they store research information which is also the
bulk of emails that are downloaded. Creating PST files and Archives also
gives the comkpany a greater risk of misplacing or deleting the files when a
person gets a new computer or changes departments etc. The question would be
why not keep a large amount of emails if that is what Exchange is designed
for but outlook is not. Besides if you read my question it states that it
happens with PST files just the same.
 
D

DL

I'm aware of the legal requirements for some institutions
I have 5 years of archives, that I can open/search at any time together with
on / off site backups of the same.
If we are referring to a company setup its the companies obligation /
interest to ensure they have backups of the individuals workstation data, in
any case an Institution should have copies of mail even if an individual
deletes it from their workstation. (that's how many people have been
caught).
There have been a number of studies that showed that access to too much data
was counter productive.
My point being that if you went into a library the contents of which weren't
catalogued / indexed you would have trouble finding the relevant books
I wasn't specifically referring to exchange, neither was I meaning to be
'flippant'
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

The rationale is that you are more likely to remember that email you got
last week from FooBar Inc. than the one you got from the same company a
couple of months ago announcing a new product. Therefore, the search is in
reverse order, oldest (least remembered) to newest (most remembered.) It is
perfectly logical to me and I don't understand the complaints about it.

However, it is not configurable which is something that I would complain
about except that Outlook 2007 does it a whole lot better so the point is
moot in the next version of Outlook. For Outlook 2003 and earlier, folks
are out of luck.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, carbeely asked:

| Outlook find option searches old emails first
|
| When you try to find a message in a folder (huge folder, by the way),
| it starts to show the old emails first before looking at the newer
| emails.
|
| Is there any way to switch this? or Re-index Outlook
|
|
| The problem is the same for PSTs, Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers.
|
| Thanks
 
C

carbeely

Yeah except the fact that the date never changes I have to wait to look at an
email I got last month because the find date starts in January which leaves a
few emails to go through. hehe

The one sure way I know of is to defrag the exchange db and then it starts
again but to do this every week would be a little more work than I am willing
to do at this time expecially with other problems that are looming.
 
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