Folders, flags, and finding a message later

Folders give you a place to keep related messages together. Microsoft’s folder page (opened 10 November 2026) says folders can organize email, calendars, contacts, and tasks. Today you will make one mail folder for a project — for practice, something like Saturday market — and put matching messages in it.

The words on the screen depend on your version. In new Outlook, Microsoft says to right-click your email address in the folder pane on the left (or hover and choose More options) and choose Create new folder, then type a name and press Enter. To make a folder inside another folder, right-click that folder and choose Create new subfolder. In classic Outlook, right-click in the left pane of Mail where you want the folder and choose New Folder, type a name, and press Enter. Outlook on the web and Outlook.com use similar “create new folder” steps. If the label you see is slightly different, ask a tutor rather than guessing at a reset.

Name the folder for the work it holds, not for the word “Stuff.” Saturday-market or Hall booking is easier to scan later than New folder. You do not need a dozen empty folders on the first day. One folder you will actually open is enough practice.

To put a message in the folder, Microsoft’s move page (opened 10 November 2026) gives two everyday methods that work in both new and classic Outlook. Select the message, drag it onto the destination folder, and release the mouse button. Or select the message and, on the ribbon in the Move group, choose Move, then pick the folder. You can also right-click the message and look for Move. If the folder is not in the short list, Microsoft says to choose the “different folder” or Other Folder option and pick it from the full list.

Filing is not the same as deleting. The message should still be there when you open the folder. If you cannot find it, look in Inbox and in the new folder before you assume it is gone.

A folder keeps a topic together. A flag marks a message you still need to do something about — reply by Thursday, bring chairs, or check a heater note. Microsoft’s page on categories, flags, or reminders (opened 10 November 2026) says to select the flag icon on an email to make it a to-do item. The flag turns red.

For more detail, right-click the flag. Choose Add Reminder to open the menu. In the Custom box, for Flag to, you can select Follow up or type a short description. Check the Reminder box, pick a date and time, then choose OK. An alarm-bell icon appears on the message. Reminders show in the message list and the reading pane.

To see all follow-up flags, Microsoft says to choose View > Layout > To-Do Bar > Tasks. The To-Do Bar opens and lists the flags. When you finish the follow-up, right-click the message and choose Follow Up > Mark Complete. The flag changes to a green checkmark and the item leaves the To-Do Bar.

You can also add a category by right-clicking a message and choosing Categorize. Microsoft notes that the first time you use a category, Outlook may ask if you want to rename it; otherwise it is named for a colour (the menu may say Color). Categories are only seen by you. They are optional today. A red flag plus a clearly named folder already gives you two ways to find the work again.

Do not flag every message, just as you do not mark every message High Importance. If everything is flagged, nothing stands out. Flag the notes that need a next step.

Even a neat folder list cannot replace search when you remember only a word or a sender. Microsoft’s search page (opened 10 November 2026) says the search box sits at the top of the Outlook window. Click it and type a word or phrase. Outlook scans email messages and many types of attachments. A search for chairs can find a message that mentions chairs in the subject, the body, or even some attached files.

You can narrow a search with short keywords. To find messages from one person, type from: and then the address, such as from:jordan.lee@sampletown-centre.example. To find a message by subject, search for a few words from that subject rather than the whole line. Microsoft’s example is that a long subject is easier to find if you search for two or three of its words. Punctuation is ignored, so a period at the end of a phrase does not change the results.

If the list is long, make the search more specific. Microsoft notes that Outlook returns only the first 1,000 search results so the program keeps running smoothly (page opened 10 November 2026). If the message you want is not in that list, add a sender, a subject word, or both.

Search does not replace careful filing, and filing does not replace search. Use both. When you have filed Saturday’s notes and flagged the one that needs a reply, you can find them again next week without scrolling the whole Inbox.

1. Create a folder named something clear, such as Saturday market.
2. Move at least one sample message into it (drag, or ribbon Move).
3. Flag a message that needs a follow-up. Optional: right-click the flag and add a reminder.
4. Use search: try a subject word such as chairs, then try from: with a sample address.
5. When the follow-up is done, mark the flag complete.
6. Use a practice account only.

If you are in a study group: share one folder name that would help you at work or in a volunteer role, and one kind of message you would flag rather than file and forget.