How to Search and Find Emails in Roundcube

Roundcube provides powerful search capabilities to help you find specific emails in your mailbox. You can perform simple keyword searches or use advanced filters to narrow down results. This guide covers all search methods available in Roundcube.

Basic Search

1. Log in to Roundcube Webmail.
2. At the top of the mailbox view, you will see a search bar.
3. Type your search keyword and press Enter.
4. Roundcube will search the current folder for emails matching your query in the sender, recipient, subject, and body.

Advanced Search

For more precise results, use the advanced search options:

1. Click the dropdown arrow next to the search bar (or click the Search options icon).
2. Select a search criterion:
   • From: Search by sender email address or name.
   • To: Search by recipient.
   • Subject: Search by subject line.
   • CC: Search by CC recipients.
   • Body: Search within the email content.
   • Date: Filter by date range (today, last week, last month, specific range).
   • Size: Filter by message size (larger than or smaller than).
   • Flagged: Search only flagged/starred messages.
   • Answered: Search only replied-to messages.
   • Unread: Search only unread messages.
3. Enter your search value and click Search.

Searching Across All Folders

By default, Roundcube searches only the current folder. To search across all folders:

1. Click the search options icon (dropdown next to the search bar).
2. Change the folder scope from "Current folder" to All folders.
3. Enter your search term and press Enter.

Search Operators

You can combine search terms using these operators:

• AND: Both terms must match (e.g., project AND report).
• OR: Either term can match (e.g., invoice OR receipt).
• NOT: Exclude emails containing the term (e.g., newsletter NOT unsubscribe).

Creating Saved Searches (Virtual Folders)

You can save frequently used searches as virtual folders for quick access:

1. Perform a search with your desired criteria.
2. Click the Save search icon (usually a bookmark or disk icon near the search bar).
3. Enter a name for the saved search (e.g., "Urgent emails from John").
4. The saved search will appear as a virtual folder in your folder list.
5. Clicking it at any time will re-run the search with the same criteria.

Tips for Efficient Searching

• Use specific search criteria (From, Date, Subject) instead of broad keyword searches for faster results.
• For large mailboxes, searching a single folder is faster than searching all folders.
• Use saved searches for queries you run regularly.
• If search results are too many, add more criteria to narrow them down.

Important Notes

• Search results only show emails in folders you have subscribed to in Roundcube.
• Search performance depends on mailbox size. Very large mailboxes may take longer to search.
• Roundcube search uses the IMAP SEARCH command, which may have limitations on some servers.

Troubleshooting

Search returns no results for known emails:

• Check that you are searching in the correct folder or have selected "All folders".
• Verify the spelling of your search terms.
• The email may have been moved to Trash or Junk. Search those folders as well.

Search is very slow:

• Large mailboxes can slow down search. Try narrowing to a specific folder first.
• Contact your hosting provider to check if IMAP search indexing is enabled on the server.

"Save search" option is not available:

• Your Roundcube version may not support saved searches. Check with your hosting provider.