If you use folders to organize your messages, chances are you’ve encountered situations where one message could easily fit into two folders. On the other hand, you might have a situation where separate messages in two or more folders might also fit in another folder altogether. Fortunately, you can use Outlook 2003’s Search Folders feature to create virtual folders that will dynamically scan all your folders for those messages that meet your search criteria. Messages that match will be virtually copied to your Search Folder. The original messages remain intact in their original folders.

The Search Folders feature offers several predefined Search Folder types that let you simply fill in text boxes associated with the search criteria. In addition, you can create custom Search Folders from scratch.

To create a Search Folder based on specific words in a message:

1. Open the File menu, point to New, and select Search Folder.

2. When the New Search Folder dialog box appears, scroll down the Select A Search Folder list and select Mail With Specific Words from the Organizing Mail section.

3. Click the Choose button in the Customize Search Folder area.

4. In the Search Text dialog box, type the word(s) to search for in the empty field and click the Add button. (You can add as many words as you want.)

5. Click OK to close the Search Text dialog box.

6. Click OK to close the New Search Folder dialog box.

Outlook will begin scanning all your folders and will instantly populate your Search Folder with messages that match your search criteria.