Troubleshoot Search Folders

Search Folders are virtual folders that contain views of e-mail items satisfying specific search criteria. Because the items are not actually saved in the Search Folder, the items cannot be copied or moved. However, you can select the items within a Search Folder and copy or move them to another Microsoft Outlook folder.

Deleting an e-mail message from a Search Folder removes the e-mail message from the Microsoft Outlook folder where it is stored. You may be able to recover your deleted e-mail message from the Deleted Items folder. If you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account, you can use the Recover Deleted Items feature.

When you delete a Search Folder, the e-mail messages shown in it are not deleted, because the items are never saved, only viewed, in a Search Folder. However, opening or selecting one or more e-mail messages shown in a Search Folder, and then deleting the e-mail messages will delete them from the Microsoft Outlook folder where they are stored.