Outlook. Where is my folder?

This image has annoyed me for a while. It appears after you click the Try searching again in All Mail Items link when searching your e-mails.

To be fair, Outlook is jolly good at finding your e-mails for you (well after the 2003 version). But I’m quite finicky about storing my e-mails and have quite a deep hierarchy.

Which is why the image above is so frustrating. Thanks for telling me what folder the e-mail is in, but what about where that “_Car(VW Golf)” folder lives!

I know there’s something else in that folder that I want to look at … take me to the folder too!

Perhaps it’s just me. Perhaps there’s a magic way to find out where the folder actually lives?

If there is, I don’t know it. Being a developer I thought I’d try and find a solution in the Outlook API. Turns out it’s quite straightforward to do with macros. I’ve done the hard work, you just need to import the module:

1. Show the Developer Tab in Outlook.
2. Enable macros.
3. Download my FolderHelper module and save it on your Desktop (or wherever).
4. In Outlook select Developer Tab, then click the Visual Basic button.
5. Right-click on Modules in the left hand pane, and select Import
6. Select the FolderHelper.bas module downloaded earlier.

Once installed, usage is much simpler:

1. Performance a search (Ctrl+E), then click the Try searching again in All Mail Items link.
2. Double click on a relevant e-mail (so it’s out of the Preview Pane)
3. Click the Developer Tab and select either:
   a) WhereAmI - brings up a dialog box with the path showing, or
   b) SyncOutlookToMailItemLocation - which will select the folder in the folder pane:
   

And that’s basically it.

Hope this helps, until next time!

Posted in : techie-stuff, tips, office, rants