You cannot search Gmail, Outlook and Slack in one box with the tools themselves. Each one searches only its own data, and each has its own operators for a person, an attachment or a date. What you can do is learn the three equivalents once and run the same query in each place. The table below is that cheat sheet, built from the three help pages as they read on October 22, 2026.
The same three searches in Gmail, Outlook and Slack
A person, a time window and an attachment cover most searches for an old message, and all three tools handle the first two. Slack is the odd one out on attachments, because its has: modifier on the page we opened covers emoji reactions and pinned messages.
| Feature | Gmail | Outlook | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| From a person | from:amy@example.com | from:"bobby moore" | from: before a display name |
| In a time window | after:2026/10/01 before:2026/10/15 | received:1/15/2026 or received:"this week" | before:, after:, on:, during: |
| With an attachment | has:attachment | hasattachment:yes | Not listed on the page |
| Widen or narrow the scope | in:anywhere (includes Spam and Trash) | Advanced Search and the Refine group | in: limits to a channel, person or section |
The Gmail column is from Google's search operator list, the Outlook column from Microsoft's "How to search in Outlook" page, the Slack column from Slack's "Search in Slack" article. Slack's page also says you can combine modifiers, put quotation marks around an exact phrase and a dash before a word to exclude it.
Where each search stops
Each search has a limit that can make a message look missing. Knowing the three saves a second guess.
- Outlook returns only the first 1,000 results, and since build 16.0.14314 day and month names in the Received refiner are no longer supported, so use a numeric date.
- Gmail leaves Spam and Trash out unless you add
in:anywhere. - Slack's page lists messages, files, people, channels and canvases as result types. It says nothing about plan based history limits, so check your workspace if old messages do not show.
- Whether Outlook search covers Teams messages is not stated on Microsoft's page.
A routine for finding one message across all three
Search the person first, then the window, then the keyword, in that order and in all three tools. The person is the most reliable handle and the keyword the least, because people rarely repeat the word you remember.
- Search the sender or the person, with no keyword, in the tool where you expect it.
- Add a window of two weeks around the date you remember.
- Repeat both in the other two tools. A client often moves from email to a chat after the first mail.
- Only then add a keyword, an exact phrase in quotes.
- If Gmail shows nothing, add
in:anywherebefore you give up.
For the reading side of the same problem, see how to check Gmail, Slack and Teams without missing a client and how to combine Gmail and Slack in one inbox.
When you want one search box
One search box needs a tool that connects to every account. Nolario is our product, so weigh this pick accordingly. We list it here because its search runs across the accounts you connected and groups the results by source, so Gmail, Outlook, Slack and Teams hits appear in one list, matching the words you type and, when AI search is available, the meaning too.
The limits are plain. Nolario searches what it has loaded for your account, not the full archive a provider holds, and it does not translate the operators above into one syntax. It is a desktop web app, it never sends anything, and access is by waitlist. If you mostly need one list of what matters today, rather than finding an old message, the priority rules guide covers the cheap first layer. See the integrations and pricing pages for what connects today.
