Using Search

The Zimbra search feature is a powerful tool. Although you can learn to create complex text queries as described in Query language description, a quick shortcut is to simply type in a name or word, without any keywords. For example, to find all mail containing the word "tim" anywhere in the subject line, to: from: cc: or bcc: lines, message body, or file attachment, you could simply type tim into the Find text box and click Search.

You can search for messages or personal contacts. You can enter any value, such as a word, first name, last name, phone number, or domain name.   For more options, you can use the  asterisk * as a wildcard.  

Using * as a wildcard in Search

The asterisk * can be used as a wildcard  in a search to find content that contains words that have similar spellings.  

Use the asterisk * as a wildcard after a prefix. That is search for do* returns items with the word dog, door, etc.

To search for contacts in your address books, the query must be a whole word. For example, to search contacts by phone number you would have to enter the full phone number as it appears in the contact entry; you could not search just by the area code alone.

To search for contacts in your address book:
  1. In the Find text section, select Personal Contacts from the drop down. This will search through all of your address books.

  2. Enter a name or other contact data in the Find text box.

  3. Click Search, to execute the search.

To quick search for email messages:
  1. In the Find text section, select Email Messages from the drop down.

  2. Enter a word, name or other mail-related data in the Find text box.

  3. Click Search, to execute the search.

Create a Complex Search Query

If you execute the same search query frequently or want to search for specific detailed information, you may want to create a search query and save it in your Search folder. When you want to run the search again, you can simply click the search.

To create and save a Search Query

  1. In the Search Overview panel, click edit. A Create New Search pane opens.

  2. Select where to create the search folder.  If you save in the root folder, the search will display in the Search section. If you select another folder, the search will be saved in that folder.

  3. In the Search name field, name the search.

  4. In the Search query field, type your query using the query language described in Query language description. Also you can use And or Or in your query.

    Using And or OR when building your Search query

    For searches using multiple criteria, you can either find items that match one of the specified criteria or all of them. :

    • Searching for messages that match any of the specified criteria is called an OR search, because if the message contains either X or Y, then it is considered a match.

    • Searching for messages that contain both X and Y is called an AND search, because the message must meet all the specified criteria in order to be considered a match.

  5. Click Create Search to create and search and save it to the folder you specified.

To run a your search, click the search name in the Overview pane. The search results are displayed in the Content pane.