
For example, you might want to see all of your unread messages for today in one folder so you can quickly work through them before leaving for the day.īefore we go any further, I want to explain how search folders delete messages: A search folder is a virtual folder that provides a view of messages that match specific search criteria. You can sort the largest emails to the top of the Inbox, if you remember, but a search folder will do that for you every day. How to use search folders to find large messages in Microsoft Outlook How to connect an Apple wireless keyboard to Windows 10 Microsoft offers Windows 11 for HoloLens 2 Windows 11 update brings Bing Chat into the taskbar Microsoft PowerToys 0.69.0: A breakdown of the new Registry Preview app The key to keeping Outlook in good shape is regular maintenance. You can do this regularly, but if you’re like me, you’ll forget until Outlook starts to slow down again. Sorting in the Inbox can help you find large messages so you can delete them in bulk. Notice, also, that Outlook uses a header to separate the messages by size: However, keep in mind that the attachment icon can also represent graphic content and links used in newsletters.įigure B Image: Susan Harkins/TechRepublic. That is likely the reason the messages are large, and not the messages themselves. The first think that stands out is that the largest messages all have an attachment, as shown in Figure B. In the Reading pane, click the By Date dropdown and choose Size ( Figure A).įigure A Image: Susan Harkins/TechRepublic. However, you can sort by most any field, including Size. Your most recent arrivals are at the top of the Inbox for quick perusal. How to sort for large emails in Microsoft Outlookīy default, the Inbox sorts by date, which makes sense. There’s no demonstration file you won’t need one. Outlook on the web doesn’t support search folders. I’m using Microsoft 365 desktop on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can use earlier versions through Outlook 2010. SEE: Windows, Linux, and Mac commands everyone needs to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic) In this tutorial, I’ll show you two ways to quickly find the largest messages and delete them in bulk to free up space in Outlook’s data file. If you regularly delete at least the large messages you no longer need, you might avoid the whole problem. Most of us probably have tons of messages that we should have deleted weeks or even months ago. The quickest way to remedy the problem is to delete unneeded messages regularly.

Microsoft Outlook is notorious for slowing down or not even responding when its data files grow too large.

Part of a regular maintenance routine should include deleting large emails that you no longer need. Lots of email will slow down Microsoft Outlook’s performance. How to free up space by deleting large email messages in Microsoft Outlook
