Tricks: How to search in Gmails

Many times we need to search some emails in the Gmail, but instead of simply searching for a name or key word, there are many useful tricks in Gmail that can save you a lot of time. Here are some of the tricks I use all the time for search in my life. 

Using different operators

• Finding emails with Obama in subject line

subject:Obama

• Finding the unread emails from Obama with attachment that emails

is:unread from:Obama has:attachment

• Finding emails larger than 10 MB in size: 

size:10MB

• Finding emails larger than 5 MB and smaller than 10 MB in size: 

larger_than:5m smaller_than:10M 

• Finding emails larger than 5 MB and older than 1 year

larger:5m older_than:1y

• Finding emails with word document as the attachment

filename:.doc

• Finding all the emails with attachment in drafts

in:drafts has:attachment 

• Finding emails between two dates

after:2011/08/22 before:2011/08/31 

Combining operators

By default, Gmail combines with multiple operators with 'AND', for example, the above one is finding the emails after 2011/08/22 AND 2011/08/31. But there are more options:

• Search exact phrase

"good day"

Note that, if you search only for good day, you will get results from emails contain both good and day in them, but they may not contain good day phrase. 

• Search emails containing either Iron man OR Spider man

"Iron man" OR "Spider man"

• Search emails not containing day but have good in it

good -day

• Search emails have dinner and movie in the subject line

subject:(dinner movie)

This will find emails have both dinner and movie in the subject line, but they are maybe not a phrase.