How to Search a Date Range in Gmail
By C. Taylor
Although not immediately obvious, you can specify a specific date range when searching Gmail. But this feature is not available in the search options, which only allow you to specify a set time frame around an entered date. You can use this feature to estimate a date range, but to precisely limit your search within a date range, you have to manually tell Gmail to do so in the basic search field.
Step 1
Log-in to Gmail.
Step 2
Enter your search keyword in the basic search field at the top of Gmail, followed by a space. As an example, if you were searching for computers, you would type "computers " but don't press "Enter" just yet.
Step 3
Append the search with "after:YYYY/MM/DD " and substitute the formatting for the first date in the range. In the example, if you were limiting your search from Jan 15, 2010, your search field would now look like "computers after:2010/01/15 ". Do not press "Enter" yet.
Step 4
Add "before:YYYY/MM/DD" and substitute the formatting with the last date in your date range. In the example, if the last date in the range was Mar 10, 2010, then your search field would contain "computers after:2010/01/15 before:2010/03/10".
Step 5
Press "Enter" to see your results between those two dates. In the example, you would only see emails containing the keyword "computers" that were sent or received between Jan 15, 2010 and Mar 10, 2010.
Writer Bio
C. Taylor embarked on a professional writing career in 2009 and frequently writes about technology, science, business, finance, martial arts and the great outdoors. He writes for both online and offline publications, including the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Samsung, Radio Shack, Motley Fool, Chron, Synonym and more. He received a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences at College of Charleston. He also holds minors in statistics, physics and visual arts.