The Inbox or any mail folder can be filtered to display only unread messages. By default, unread messages appear in bold in the message list (message list: The middle part of the main Outlook window that displays the contents of the selected folder.).
- In the Navigation Pane (Navigation Pane: The column on the left side of the Outlook window that includes buttons for the Mail, Calendar, and Tasks views and the folders within each view. Click a folder to show the items in the folder.), click Inbox or the folder that you want to filter.
- Do one of the following:
- Use Instant Search
- At the top of the message list, click in the Instant Search box.
- The Search Tab appears on the ribbon.
- On the Search tab, in the Refine group, click Unread.
- Use Filter E-mail
- In the Navigation Pane, click Inbox or the folder that you want to filter.
- On the Home tab, in the Find group, click Filter E-mail, and then click Unread.
Clear the search filter
The filter is cleared when you click a different folder in the Navigation Pane.
You can also use the Close Search command on the ribbon.
- On the Search tab, in the Close group, click Close Search.
View unread messages across all mail folders
To view all unread messages across multiple folders, use a Search Folder (Search Folder: A virtual folder that provides a view of all e-mail items that match specific search criteria. It is dynamically updated each time the folder is opened.). By default, a Search Folder named Unread Mail appears in the Navigation Pane under Search Folders. If the Unread Mail Search Folder is missing, you can create it by doing the following:
- In Mail, on the Folder tab, in the New group, click New Search Folder.
- Under Reading Mail, click Unread mail, and then click OK.
For more information about Search Folders, see Create a Search Folder.