I've accidentally moved a folder when I tried to select a different folder. I'm now not able to find back the folder anymore to move it back where it belongs. I've got a lot of folders so going through each and every one of them isn't really an option.

Is there a way in Outlook to search for a folder name?

Where is my folder? buttonNo, Outlook doesn’t have an option like that, but there are other ways to locate your folder again as well.

Which method works best for you depends a bit on how long ago you might have moved it and whether or not you can remember (part of) the folder name or what should be in that folder.

Method 1: Search nearby folders

Since you’ve moved them by dragging and dropping, the folder really can’t be that far. The furthest it can go is 1 folder below any of the folders that are visible to you now. It cannot suddenly go 3 or 4 levels deeper.

By expanding the folder via the plus characters (+) or arrows next to the folders, you should be able to reveal your moved folder.

Expand and collapse folder icons in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010
Use the plus or arrow icons to expand the folders.

Method 2: Full Folder list

When you’ve noticed your accidental moving a little bit later, then the above method will not help you anymore. To prevent you from needing to click through every folder, you can also get a list of folders via the Folder Size option;

  1. Right click on the root of your mailbox.
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. Click the Folder Size… button

When using Office 365 with the Single Line Ribbon interface, you can access this same dialog via;

  • File-> section: Info-> button: Tools-> Mailbox Cleanup…-> View Mailbox Size…

Outlook will now list all your folders in an easy to scroll window so you can quickly review the names of the folders that you have. It will also reveal the full folder path so that you can easily browse to it once you’ve found it.

Folder Size dialog
Using the Folder Size dialog to find back a folder by name.

Note 1: If you already have an idea under which folder the moved folder could be, you can also use the Folder Size button of that folder to narrow down your search.