The Unread Mail Folder - How to Use and Restore the Unread Mail Search Folder

The "Unread Mail" Search folder (usually just referred to as Unread Mail or the "Unread Mail folder") is one of the cooler features Microsoft added to Outlook when they released Outlook 2003. This virtual folder is actually a persistent search.

When you click the "Unread Mail" folder icon, Outlook conducts a search of all the mail folders in your Inbox, looking for any messages that are marked as Unread. It displays all of these messages, regardless of where which folder they are in, as if the messages were in the Unread Mail folder.

Why Is This a Good Thing?

This is a very good thing, and here's why. Outlook allows you to create rules that move messages into folders other than the Inbox. This happens as soon as the messages arrive, and before you read them. That's great because it lets you organize your mail into different folders until you are ready to deal with it.

Think about it. If you are working on Project XYZ right now, do you really want to have to read a message about Project ABC just to get it out of the way? Rules allow you to have Outlook put all of Project XYZ's mail in one folder and Project ABC's in another, so you can concentrate on one thing at a time.

This brings us back to search folders. Sometimes you will just want to see the messages you haven't read yet, regardless of which project they are related to. But if Outlook is putting everything into folders for you automatically, you don't have an easy way to find all the unread messages. You would have to create a search that goes through all the folders lookinf for unread messages.

Or you could use the Unread Mail folder. This search is exactly what the Unread Mail folder does for you. But instead of you having to create the search each time you need it, you can click the Unread Mail folder icon to do that search instantly.

To give you even quicker access, you can drag the "Unread Mail" folder from the "Search Folders" folder (yes, the terminology for this is clumsy) into the "Favorites" section of the Navigation Pane. Now finding all the unread messages is just a quick, one-click process.

There's Just One Problem

So everything is good, except for one minor problem. Sometimes, for reasons I don't understand, the "Unread Mail" folder is flat out missing. I'm constantly getting messages from my students saying that they do not have an "Unread Mail" folder, neither in the "Search Folders" folder nor in the "Favorites" section of the Navigation Pane.

At this point, the only thing left to do is show them how to make a new "Unread Mail" folder. Keep reading and I'll show you too.

Restore the Unread Mail Folder

It only takes a moment or two to create a new copy of the Unread Mail folder for Outlook 2007 and later. Follow these steps to restore the Unread Mail folder:

1. Click Mail in the "Navigation Pane" (or press CTRL+1). This takes you to the "Mail" view.


2. In the Navigation Pane, right-click the Search Folders folder.


3. In the shortcut menu that appears, click New Search Folder. This opens the New Search Folder dialog box shown below.







4. In the "Select a Search Folder" list, under the "Reading Mail" heading, select Unread Mail.


5. At the bottom of the box, under "Customize Search Folder," ensure that the "Search mail in" field contains the name of the email account that needs the "Unread Mail" folder restored.


6. Click OK. This closes the dialog box and returns you to the "Mail" view.


7. You should now see an "Unread Mail" folder under "Search Folders." You may need to double-click Search Folders to see the folders under it.


8. Drag the Unread Mail folder to the "Favorite Folders" section of the Navigation Pane for easier access.

The "Unread Mail" search folder is now restored and ready to use.

From here you can:

• Return to the top of this Unread Mail folder page.


• Go to the Email Search page.


• Go to the Outlook Mail Tips page.