Gmail: Using Advanced Search

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 term A or term B* *OR must be in all caps	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* *There isn’t a search operator for unlabeled messages	Example – from:amy label:friends Meaning – Messages from Amy that have the label “friends”Example – from:david label:my-family Meaning – Messages from David that have the label “My Family”
has:attachment	Search for messages with an attachment	Example – from:david has:attachment Meaning – Messages from David that have an attachment
list:	Search for messages on mailing lists	Example – list:info@example.com Meaning – Messages with the words info@example.com in the headers, sent to or from this list
filename:	Search for an attachment by name or type	Example – filename:physicshomework.txt Meaning – Messages with an attachment named “physicshomework.txt” Example – label:work filename:pdf Meaning – Messages labeled “work” that also have a PDF file as an attachment
” “ (quotes)	Used to search for an exact phrase* *Capitalization isn’t taken into consideration	Example – “i’m feeling lucky” Meaning – Messages containing the phrase “i’m feeling lucky” or “I’m feeling lucky” Example – subject:”dinner and a movie” Meaning – Messages containing the phrase “dinner and a movie” in the subject
( )	Used to group words Used to specify terms that shouldn’t be excluded	Example – from:amy(dinner OR movie) Meaning – Messages from Amy that contain either the word “dinner” or the word “movie” Example – subject:(dinner movie) Meaning – Messages in which the subject contains both the word “dinner” and the word “movie”
in:anywhere	Search for messages anywhere in Gmail* Messages in Spam* and Trash are excluded from searches by default	Example – in:anywhere movie Meaning – Messages in All Mail, Spam, and Trash that contain the word “movie”
in:inbox in:trash in:spam	Search for messages in Inbox, Trash, or Spam	Example – in:trash from:amy Meaning – Messages from Amy that are in Trash
is:starred is:unread is:read	Search for messages that are starred, unread or read	Example – is:read is:starred from:David Meaning – Messages from David that have been read and are marked with a star
cc: bcc:	Used to specify recipients in the cc: or bcc: fields* *Search on bcc: cannot retrieve messages on which you were blind carbon copied<!–	Example – cc:david Meaning – Messages that were cc-ed to David
after: before:	Search for messages sent during a certain period of time* *Dates must be in yyyy/mm/dd format.	Example – after:2004/04/16 before:2004/04/18 Meaning – Messages sent between April 16, 2004 and April 18, 2004.* *More precisely: Messages sent after 12:00 AM (or 00:00) April 16, 2004 and before April 18, 2004.
is:chat	Search for chat messages	Example – is:chat monkey Meaning – Any chat message including the word “monkey”.