Search & Filtering

Learn how to find emails quickly using InboxZebra’s search and filtering features.

The search box at the top of InboxZebra searches across all your emails:

Searches:

  • Email subjects
  • Sender names and addresses
  • Email content

Just type and press Enter!

Filtering by Category

Using the Sidebar

The left sidebar shows all your categories:

Click any category to see only those emails:

  • Work → Show only work emails
  • Personal → Show only personal emails
  • Newsletters → Show only newsletters

Email count appears next to each category: Work (45)

You can search within a category:

  1. Click a category (e.g., “Work”)
  2. Type in search box
  3. Results show only work emails matching your search

Filtering by Label (Pro Feature)

Label Sidebar

Below categories, you’ll see labels that are currently in use:

Labels
├─ Important (5)
├─ Receipts (12)
├─ Projects (8)

Click any label to show only emails with that label.

Combining Category + Label

For precise filtering:

  1. Click category: “Work”
  2. Then click label: “Important”
  3. Result: Only important work emails

Advanced Search (Pro Feature)

InboxZebra includes semantic search that understands your questions:

How to access:

  1. Click “Search” button in toolbar (magnifying glass)
  2. Enter natural language query

Example queries:

  • “Client feedback about the new design mockups”
  • “Investor emails about the pitch deck from last week”
  • “Payment confirmations from Stripe in December”
  • “Contract discussions needing my signature”

Search Scope

Choose how many emails to search:

  • 100 emails - Quick search, recent emails
  • 250 emails - Last few weeks
  • 500 emails - Last month or two
  • All emails - Complete search (slower)

Refining Results

After initial search:

  • Enter follow-up query to refine
  • Example: “Only urgent ones” or “From last month”
  • Results update based on your refinement

Sorting

Sort Options

Click column headers to sort:

  • Date - Newest or oldest first
  • Subject - Alphabetical
  • Sender - Grouped by sender

Click again to reverse sort order (ascending/descending).

Date Filtering

Using Date Pickers

The top toolbar has date pickers:

Use them to:

  • Show emails from specific date range
  • Filter to last week, month, or year
  • Find emails from specific period

How to use:

  1. Click “From” date → Select start date
  2. Click “To” date → Select end date
  3. Emails filter to that range automatically

Common Date Ranges

Quick options:

  • Last 7 days
  • Last 30 days
  • Last 3 months
  • Last 6 months
  • Specific dates (tax year, project timeline, etc.)

Filtering Tips

Find Receipts

Method 1:

  • Click category: Financial
  • Click label: Receipts

Method 2:

  • Search: “invoice” or “payment confirmation”
  • Filter by sender: stripe.com, paypal.com, etc.

Find Urgent Emails

Method 1:

  • Click category: Urgent

Method 2:

  • Click label: Important
  • Sort by date (newest first)

Find Emails from Specific Person

Method 1:

  • Type sender’s name in search box

Method 2:

  • Use AI search: “emails from my client at acme.com”

Find Unread Emails

Currently InboxZebra shows read status but doesn’t filter by it. All emails are treated as read once processed.

Saved Searches (Future Feature)

Currently in development:

  • Save common search queries
  • Quick access to frequent filters
  • Custom views

Search Best Practices

Be Specific

Good searches:

  • ✅ “invoice from client at acme.com”
  • ✅ “pitch meeting followup last week”
  • ✅ “emails from contact@clientcompany.com about website redesign project”

Too vague:

  • ❌ “important”
  • ❌ “emails”
  • ❌ “work”

Use Categories First

Most efficient:

  1. Filter by category (narrows results)
  2. Then search within category
  3. Or apply label filter

This is faster than searching all emails.

Combine Filters

For best results:

  • Category: Client Projects
  • Label: Urgent
  • Search: “contract”
  • Date: Last 30 days

Gets you exactly what you need!

Common Questions

Q: Can I search email bodies? A: Yes! Search looks at subject, sender, and email content.

Q: Does search work on archived emails? A: Only emails currently in InboxZebra’s cache. Archived emails are removed from cache.

Q: How do I clear a search? A: Clear the search box and press Enter, or click the X in search field.

Q: Can I save frequent searches? A: Not yet - planned for future release.

Next Steps