How to Search Messages Using Barracuda Archive Search for Outlook

If you are performing large or complex search queries, or a search for the purpose of litigation, Barracuda Networks recommends using the Advanced Search option () from the Search page in the Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service web interface. For additional guidance, see the following articles:

This article refers to the Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service and Barracuda Archive Search for Outlook. For best results, confirm you are using the latest Archive Search for Outlook client version. Barracuda Archive Search for Outlook is available for Outlook versions supported in Windows 11 and Outlook for Microsoft 365 (classic).

Note the following are not supported by Archive Search for Outlook:

Outlook for Mac versions
New version of Windows Mail, Outlook for Windows

Archive Search for Outlook search results are limited based on your assigned role and customization options applied during deployment. For example, if you are assigned the User role, the search result is limited to 50,000 messages. For best results, refine your search criteria.

For discovery purposes, Barracuda Networks recommends logging in to the web interface, and running your search using the Advanced () options on the Search page.

Search Archived Items

To search archived items, click the Search Archive (

) icon to open the Search dialog box:

Look for drop-down menu – Select the type of item you wish to search for; select Any type of Item, Appointments, Contacts, Messages, Notes, Social Media, or Tasks.
In drop-down list – Select the search location:
- All data – Search everywhere in the selected item type
- Specific folders – Click Specific folders, or click Browse to select one or more folders across all of your Archiver stores in which to search; click OK to save your selections
In drop-down list – Select the search location:
- Entire message
- Subject or body
- Subject only
- Body only
- Keyword expression

The administrator can associate an LDAP user or group to a role and list of email addresses in the Users > LDAP account add/update page. If addresses are excluded, and a configured user runs a search through Archive Search for Outlook, the following rules apply:

If an address is excluded (blocked), the address does not display unless the mail includes the user performing the search to assure that a user can always see their own mail.
The exclusion rules always take precedence; addresses that are allowed are searchable only if the exclusion rules do not block the mail.
If a user is not configured and is a member of a group, then the allow and block rules assigned to that group apply to that user.
If a user is assigned to a group, when the user logs in via Archive Search for Outlook, only that user’s mail displays. For example, if an LDAP user has the Auditor role, mail available to the Auditor role does not display.

Logical Operators

Build search queries using AND, OR, NOT, and -term.

When including more than one logical operator in a query, the order in which these terms are placed is important. For example,

Add the first term "A", and then add term "and B"; the query searches as: (A AND B)
Add a term "OR C"; the query searches as: ((A AND B) OR C)
Add a term "AND D"; the query searches as: (((A AND B) OR C) AND D)
Add a term "NOT E", the query searches as: ((((A AND B) OR C) AND D) NOT E)

Typically, you first build a population of results by using "OR" or "NOT", and then subtract items from that population by using "AND".

To force a different order of operations, place parentheses yourself using Keyword expression.

Keyword Expressions

When you enter a logical operator or a keyword expression in the Search for field, the rest of your search criteria is AND'd with the query. For example, if you enter "A AND -B" you can still specify a recipient in the Sent To field.

Table 1. Commonly Used search_field Keyword Expression Values

Term	Description	Search Type
to	Search is limited to the To and Cc fields of each message	Text
from	Search is limited to the From field of each message	Text
domain	Search is limited to the domain names in the From, To, and Cc fields of each message	Domain
subject	Search is limited to the Subject line of each message	Text
body	Searches are performed in the Body of each message as well as in the contents of any message attachments	Text
attachment	Search is limited to the contents of message attachments	Text
all	Searches all fields and all data contained in each message	Text
stored_size	The actual message size on disk	Integer number
size	The raw size of the message	Integer number
header_date	The date header from the mail	Text
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_pretty_name	The envelope recipient's pretty name	Text
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_user	The envelope recipient	Text
header_bcc	The Bcc: header	Text
header_to	The To: header	Text
header_in_reply_to	The In reply to: header	Text
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_domain	The domain of the envelope recipient	Text
header_from	The From: header	Text
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_message_mode	Inbound / Outbound / Internal	Text
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_addr	Email address of envelope recipient	Text
header_subject	Subject of the email	Text
header_message_id	The message ID header	Text
object_type	Type of entry (calendar, mail, etc.)	Text
body_excerpt	The body of the email	Text
attachment_name	The attachment name	Text
attachment_mimetype	The attachment MIME type	Text
attachment_extension	The attachment's extension	Text

You may specify other search_field values as long as the correct name for the field is used. Consult Barracuda Networks Technical Support if you are unsure of the exact syntax.

The phrase can only contain a single item. However, that one item can be any one of the items described in Table 2.

Table 2. Phrase Values

Single Item	Description	Example
Text-based string	A single string or phrase of text, to be matched exactly as entered. Valid formats are: a single word (with no whitespace) or a single double-quoted sequence of words (separated by spaces).	Sales matches sales guide but not salesmen "Reviews due now" matches performance reviews due now but does not match reviews for all employees are due now
Integer number-based string	A single integer string in bytes to be matched exactly to an index attribute as entered. Valid formats are: a single number (with no whitespace). To find a range, use a Compound Search String.	stored_size:100 matches all emails with an actual message size on disk of 100 bytes
Single Wildcarded string	Wildcards are characters in search strings that can match arbitrary characters in a search. They can only be used as part of a single word, and are not allowed as the first character of a search word. They are also not allowed in any double-quoted string containing multiple words (that is, spaces). Wildcards are not allowed as part of a phrase, or any search string that is comprised of more than one word, regardless of the use of double quotes.	nation* matches this nation and nationality luck? matches lucky but not luck J???son matches Johnson but not Jason because the number of question marks denotes the exact number of characters to be matched
Domain-based string (for to and from* search_field only)*	The domain part, or everything after the at-sign (@), of an email.	example.com matches anyuse@example.com but does not match anyuser@sub.example.com
Compound search strings	A combination of two or more strings in any of the above formats (Text-based, Multi-Text, Wildcard, or Domain as applicable to the fields being searched) or with other Compound search strings, each separated by the keywords AND, OR or NOT. Surround logical groupings with parentheses as needed to determine order of operations. You can also use the Google syntax -term to exclude content. Important When creating compound search strings, the keywords 'AND', 'OR', and 'NOT' must be capitalized.	*body:(Version AND (1.1 OR 1.2))* matches items whose body contains, in any order, BOTH the word "version" and a word that starts with either "1.1" or "1.2" (from:(barracuda.com OR barracudanetworks.com) AND body:datasheets) matches all items that were sent from any user in either the "barracuda.com" or "barracudanetworks.com" domains that ALSO contain the word "datasheets" omewhere in the body of the item (from:(barracuda.com NOT barracudanetworks.com) AND (Archiver AND -archives) matches all items that were sent from any user in the "barracuda.com" domains that ALSO contain the word "Archiver" somewhere in the body of the item

Table 3. Sample Keyword Expressions

to:chrislee	All messages that have "chrislee" in the To or Cc fields.
to:patbrown@mycompany.com	All messages containing "patbrown@mycompany.com" anywhere in the To field.
subject:"Barracuda Message Archiver"	All messages that contain the exact phrase "Barracuda Message Archiver" anywhere in the Subject line.
domain:(barracuda.com OR barracudanetworks.com)	All messages that were sent to or from any user in either the "barracuda.com" or "barracudanetworks.com" domain.
header_barracuda_envelope_rcpt_domain:sub.mycompany.com	All messages sent to any user in the @sub.mycompany.com domain.

Table 4. Sample Proximity Syntax

For the keyword proximity syntax form, each keyword must be in a single Text-based string. Enter the keyword proximity syntax as search_field:"keyword keyword"~NumericValue, where search_field is the part of the email to search through.

subject:"release Barracuda"~4	All messages containing "release" and "Barracuda" in the Subject field within four words of each other.
to:"Zac Britt"~4	All messages containing "Zac" and "Britt" anywhere in the To field within four words of each other.

Table 5. Sample Fuzzy Search Syntax

Fuzzy search allows you to find words that are similar to a specified search term. For the fuzzy search syntax, enter a single keyword followed by the tilde (~). For the fuzzy search syntax form, the keyword must be in a single Text-based string.

roam~

All messages containing words similar to roam, for example, foam, roams.

Search Criteria

The available search criteria differs based on the selected searched item type.

Table 6. Search Criteria

Search Item Type	Criteria	Description
Any Type of Item Appointments Contacts Messages Notes Tasks	Search for	List of keywords on which to search. If multiple keywords are entered, only items with all of the specified keywords are returned. If keywords are enclosed in double quotes (" "), then only items that contain all of the keywords exactly as specified appear in search results.
Any Type of Item Appointments Contacts Messages Notes Tasks	In	The part of the item in which to search for the specified keywords. Options vary based on the selected item.
Appointment	Organized By	Appointment creator. Only those items organized by the specified user(s) are searched. Enter user names or email addresses, or click From to select users from an address book.
	Attendees	Appointment recipient(s). Only those items that were sent to the specified user(s) are searched. Enter user names or email addresses, or click From to select users from an address book.
	Date	Date restrictions on the item. Search through only those appointments that were scheduled after and/or before the specified date(s).
Contacts	Email	Message recipient(s). Only those messages sent to or copied to the specified user(s) are searched. Enter user names or email addresses, or click Email to select users from an address book.
Messages	From	Message sender(s). Only those messages that were sent from the specified user(s) are searched. You can enter user names or email addresses, or click From to select users from an address book.
	Sent To	Message recipient(s). Only those messages that were sent to or copied to the specified user(s) are searched. Enter user names or email addresses, or click Sent To to select users from an address book.
	Date	Date restrictions on the item. Only those messages that were sent for after and/or before the specified date(s) are included in the search.
Tasks	Status	Only tasks matching the selected status are searched for the specified text.
Tasks	Due	Date restrictions on the tasks. Only those tasks due after and/or before the specified date(s) are included in the search.

You must specify at least one search criteria to complete a search; if you specify multiple criteria, only messages that meet all criteria are returned.

Keywords must be alpha-numeric characters, and are not case sensitive. Additionally, you can use wildcards to represent one or more other characters to use search patterns.

Table 7. Keywords

Wildcard Symbol	Represents
? (single question mark)	Specifies a single alphanumeric character. Question marks can be appended to search for a specific number of characters, for example, a???a returns five letter words that start and end with "a" or "A".
* (asterisk)	Specifies zero or more alphanumeric characters. For example, pl* returns "plane", "planning", etc.

The first character of a keyword cannot be a wildcard, and wildcards cannot be used when searching for a quote phrase.

Advanced Search Criteria

Click the Advanced tab to specify additional search criteria based on attachments and tags.

Any search criteria specified using the Advanced criteria () is used in conjunction with the criteria specified in the selected search item type search tab. Keywords in the Advanced tab must be alpha-numeric characters, and are not case sensitive. You can include wildcards in the Attachment Name field.

Table 8. Advanced Search Criteria

Criteria	Description
Attachments	Number of attachments required in the messages in which to search. Options are Any, One or more, and None.
Attachment Name	Attachment name on which to search. Only messages containing an attachment with the specified name are returned.
Tags	Tag(s) on which to search. Wildcards are NOT accepted in this field. Tags are defined and set on messages in the Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service web interface. If tags are defined and set on messages, use the tags in this field to quickly locate the messages. Options are Any and Specific tags. Contact your system administrator for more information.

Message Results

All messages that match the specified criteria are returned in the search window. Double-click an item to open it in Outlook, or right-click to select an action to perform on the selected item.

Table 9. Available Actions

Action	Description
Open	Open the selected item in the standard Outlook view; double-clicking an item performs the same action. Once an item is opened, it can be treated as any other non-archived item, including replying to and forwarding.
Reply Reply to All	Creates a Reply or Reply All to the selected item in the exact same manner as Outlook.
Forward	Creates a Forward of the selected item in the exact same manner as Outlook.
Copy to Folder	Opens the Select Folder dialog box in Outlook where you can select a folder to which to copy the selected item(s). Use Ctrl- or Shift-click to select and copy multiple messages in the returned search window to a folder. Select from your existing folders, or create a new folder for the selected item(s). Important If the Outlook window is hidden or in the background, you may need to click on the Windows taskbar and bring Outlook to the foreground to complete this action.