# Outlook has no patience with thoughtful typists **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504 "2014-02-04T19:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/1 "2014-02-04T19:16:18Z")
This is truly MPSIMS but if you have a solution I’d be happy to hear it. I am using Outlook 2013. When I click on the Search criteria, and the box expands with the criteria, I can start typing things like From: Cecil Adams. But if I pause, even for a second, trying to remember if “Adams” has one d or two, Outlook plows ahead and starts the search, assuming that I must be finished typing. There is no Search Now button, it’s just based on when you stop typing. I can type fast, I just can’t \*think \*fast. If it starts before I’m ready I have to start all over again because of the kludgy way it takes my criteria and forms some sort of search specification string. ---
**Author:** ![Harmicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Harmicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmicky)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/2 "2014-02-05T03:06:42Z")
I share this frustration and have no solution. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/3 "2014-02-05T04:34:16Z")
Sometimes it is enough to know that I’m not alone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/4 "2014-02-05T06:15:33Z")
tested this out and the answer is to just keep typing. I mean, type pause (Outlook searches), type in another word (outlook searches on the new parameters). I just tried this. No need to mouse click or anything else. Type pause (ignore the Outlook search result) and type some more. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/5 "2014-02-05T06:46:14Z")
My outlook is 2010 and like China Guy, if I pause typing, it simply searches on what I have and then when I begin typing again, it automatically removes any hits that no longer match. However it sounds to me like you’re having an issue where the search bar in some way locks up when you cease typing and you have to clear it before you can modify the search term? I don’t believe that is standard behavior and you might want to look in the Outlook forums to see if anyone can help you troubleshoot your outlook install. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/6 "2014-02-05T15:13:53Z")
In 2013, if you type into a field, then it converts what you’ve typed into a name/value pair and puts it in the top search box automatically. If you pause typing, it searches and moves the cursor at the beginning of the search box–not the box you were typing in. [See image](http://seiglefamily.com/data/Outlooksearch1.jpg). When this shot was taken, I had typed “Cooking” into the From box. The search started, and the cursor is now located at the beginning of the string “from:Cooking”. Now if I start to type again, without moving the cursor back, what I type is goes to the left of the existing search string [like this](http://seiglefamily.com/data/Outlooksearch2.jpg). I think this search string is interpreted by Outlook, roughly, as “WTF?” This happens to me constantly if I pause while typing and then resume, without checking the screen to see what’s going on. This appears to be new behavior for 2013, or possibly a configuration setting. I have 2010 on another machine and it doesn’t do this. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/7 "2014-02-06T05:58:25Z")
hmmmm, you have me intrigued as I can’t find the screen that you posted. I’ve looked for it too. The advanced search function (alt key and then type in JSSSO one key at a time) brings up the search tools tab that has a search tools button. The search tools button doesn’t auto search but waits until you click on the advanced find button. Maybe this advanced search is more in line with what you want to do. ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/8 "2014-02-06T11:30:00Z")
There is actually a setting that controls this. Been awhile since I’ve used Outlook (I’m a gmail man now) but it’s absolutely controlled by a a setting. Something like “Display search results as I’m typing” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/9 "2014-02-06T23:56:03Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > hmmmm, you have me intrigued as I can’t find the screen that you posted. I’ve looked for it too.nced find button. Maybe this advanced search is more in line with what you want to do. [Here is what I see](http://www.seiglefamily.com/data/search1.jpg) before I start a search. [Here is what happens](http://www.seiglefamily.com/data/search2.jpg) after I click in the search box, but before I type anything. Then I start typing in one of the criteria boxes as described above. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/10 "2014-02-07T01:21:17Z")
In Outlook 2013: - Place your cursor in the search box. This will bring up a new SEARCH tab in the ribbon, which should be selected. - Click Search Tools \> Search Options ([http://i.imgur.com/4X7RzHi.png](http://i.imgur.com/4X7RzHi.png)) - Uncheck “When possible, display results as the query is typed” ([http://imgur.com/Vid3HBS.png](http://imgur.com/Vid3HBS.png)) That should settle it down a bit for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/11 "2014-02-07T05:08:30Z")
Roland - that was awesome. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out intuitively how to get the search tab to come up. Makes one wonder why the heck didn’t Microsoft just permanently put the search tab there? ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/12 "2014-02-07T05:35:11Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Roland - that was awesome. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out intuitively how to get the search tab to come up. Makes one wonder why the heck didn’t Microsoft just permanently put the search tab there? Part of their new “you ain’t need no controls” aesthetic, I imagine. Rule of thumb for Office 2013: if you can’t figure out how to do X to Y, select Y and see if you get a magical new tab. It’s similar to how, when in doubt, new Win 8 users should fling the mouse about the screen at random to hunt for lucky charms. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outlook-has-no-patience-with-thoughtful-typists/680504/13 "2014-03-12T15:58:09Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > In Outlook 2013: Worked like a charm, thanks very much for removing one annoyance from my life!! 🙂