There is one subtle, yet very important, difference between Google Apps and Microsoft Office that must be confronted and accepted by all users making the switch to a Google Apps suite of productivity software. Google Apps uses search as its engine for finding documents. By contrast, Microsoft Office uses hierarchical folders as its organizing mechanism (for the most part).
In practical terms, that means Google Apps users, assuming they want to be efficient and productive, will have to master the art of keyword search.
Basics
The basic search method of typing a keyword into the search box in Gmail for example is simple enough, but it can also often be ineffective. In Figure A, I searched my personal Gmail account for “TechRepublic” and, as you can see, I received a rather long list of emails.
Figure A
Searching just TechRepublic
Advanced
However, if I use the more advanced search tools, like in Figure B, I can limit the results to a potentially more pertinent list of emails. In this case, I am looking for emails mentioning TechRepublic, but only those sent to me by Bill Detwiler. I could also specify a specific subject and further narrow the search.
Figure B
Narrow the search to emails from Bill Detwiler
Help
The good news is you don’t have to memorize all of the various advanced search parameters. Click the dropdown button at the right end of the search box to get a dialog box (Figure C) where you can fill in the most common search limiting parameters.
Figure C
Common search limiting parameters
Google also provides a table (Table A) of the entire search limiting parameters available, which is useful if you find yourself in need of even more advanced search tools.
Table A
| Search Operators and Shortcuts Shortcut | Action | Examples |
| from: | Search for sender |
from:me Sent from you
from:joe Sent from Joe |
| to: | Search for recipient |
to:joe To Joe
to:example.com To anyone at example.com |
| subject: | Search in subject line |
subject:legal Contains “legal” in the subject
subject:legal from:lee From Lee with “legal” in subject |
| ” ” | Search for exact phrase | “purchase order” Contains “purchase order” |
| OR must be uppercase | Matches terms |
receipt OR invoice Contains the words “receipt” or “invoice”
from:amy OR lee From either Amy or Lee |
| - (hyphen) | Exclude terms from search |
subject:order -new Subject contains “order” but not “new”
“new books” -today Contains “new books” but not “today” |
| ( ) | Group search words using AND | from:amy (legal law) From Amy, contains “legal” and “law” |
| { } | Group search words using OR | from:amy {legal law} From Amy, contains “legal” or “law” |
| in: or label: | Search by label | from:joe in:action From Joe, with the label “Action” |
| list: | Search to/from mailing lists | list:info@example.com To or from “info@example.com” |
|
after:
before: |
Sent during specified time
(format: yyyy/mm/dd) |
after:2009/1/27 Sent/received after January 27, 2009
after:2008/5/1 before:2008/7/31 Sent/received after May 1, 2008 and before July 31, 2008 |
|
in:inbox in:trash
in:spam in:anywhere |
Search in the Inbox, Trash or Spam, or All labels |
in:inbox to:amy Sent to Amy and in your inbox
in:anywhere review Contains “review” in All Mail, Spam, Trash |
|
is:starred
is:unread / read |
Search messages that are starred, unread, or read | is:unread from:amy Unread messages from Amy |
| cc: / bcc: | Search cc: and bcc: fields | cc:lee Message cc’d to Lee |
| has:attachment | Search for attachments | has:attachment from:me Messages sent from you containing an attachment |
| filename: | Search attachments by name or type | filename:project Messages with attachments named “project” |
| is:chat | Search for chat messages | is:chat project Any chat message using the word “project” |
