In Outlook 365 I want to search my online archive for an exact phrase. When I put the search term in quotation marks, I still get results that do not exactly match the phrase.
Searching for an exact phrase in my inbox works fine.
A remedy is presented here, by editing a registry key:
However for some reason, the critical registry key is missing from my system:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\Search
Note xx.0 in this registry path corresponds to the Outlook version (16.0 = Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019 or Outlook for Office 365, 15.0 = Outlook 2013, 14.0 = Outlook 2010).
Can anyone suggest an alternative solution?
13 Answers
I can confirm that searching for "any phrase in quotes" is broken in Outlook 365. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
When it works: search a specific folder, or select the "Current Mailbox" option.
When it doesn't work: select All Outlook Items or All Mailboxes
So the workaround is to select any folder in your online archive, select Current Mailbox from the dropdown next to the search box, then type your search "in quotes".
The article you found explained how to find whole words, not phrases.
To search for a phrase, just type it with quotes in the Search box.
For example, type "this is my search" in the Search box.
This will search all emails in the current email folder which contain the entire specific phrase.
To search in all email folders, click "All Mail Items" under the Search tab.
For more details with screenshots see the articleHow to search entire specific phrase in Outlook?
4Agree with harrymc, also if you need search a phrase in subject only, we could click "subject" option or type the phrase like below:
