![Outlook Outlook](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125449009/846031638.png)
As soon as was possible, I left Entourage in favor of Outlook 2011 Mac. I'm using Exchange 2010. I seem to recall being able to create custom 'Smart Folders' when I used Outlook on Windows, but can't seem to find a way to do it in Outlook 2011 on Mac.
Outlook for Office 365 for Mac Outlook 2016 for Mac Office 2016 for Mac Outlook for Mac 2011 Outlook 2019 for Mac A Smart Folder, also known as a saved search or a search folder, is a virtual folder that dynamically displays a set of search results. For example, you could create a search to find all the items in the Manager category that are flagged for follow up but not yet completed. This search can be saved as a Smart Folder so that you can use these search criteria later without having to manually re-create the advanced search. Save a search. In the upper-right corner of the Outlook window, click in the search box. The Search tab appears.
Define the scope of the search by clicking a scope button on the Search tab, such as All Mail or All Items. Use the buttons on the Search tab to define your search criteria. To make further refinements, click Advanced and add, remove, or revise specific search criteria. Click Save Search. The Smart Folder for your search appears highlighted in the navigation pane.
Type a name for the Smart Folder.
![Smart Smart](http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/it/howto/email/img/maconcomputerlist.jpg)
When I first heard of the Libraries feature in Windows 7, I only skimmed over the details quickly and so had a very warped idea of how it worked. The result was I had the impression they’d be like the ‘smart playlists’ I can make for my iPod in iTunes i.e. Set up certain rules/criteria and it would automatically be populated with matching files and would change as new files fit the criteria and old ones didn’t (I think Mac's work like this but I've never used one so don't know for sure) For example, I might want a smart folder that contained all the files that fell within the following rules: all files of a certain format, containing the word ‘project’ in the title and changed within the last 7 days. Later, of course, I looked into the Libraries feature in more detail and discovered they didn’t work like this:( I’ve recently started using Windows 7 Pro’ (after using XP for many years) and find myself wishing the Libraries worked as I'd first imagined. So, is there a (free) way to add smart folder type functionality to Windows 7?