How to find the first email from a specific sender within a certain date range, excluding replies and forwards?

  1. Disable Conversation View: Start by turning off conversation view in Gmail to manage each email individually. This setting can be adjusted by:
    • Clicking the gear icon in the upper-right corner of Gmail to access ‘Settings’.
    • Selecting ‘See all settings’ from the menu.
    • Going to the ‘General’ tab.
    • Finding ‘Conversation View’ and selecting ‘Conversation view off’.
    • Scrolling to the bottom and clicking ‘Save Changes’.
    • For detailed instructions, visit: How to Turn Off Threaded Conversations in Gmail.
  2. Compose Your Search Query: Use the Gmail search bar to enter a specific query. Example query: 
    from:example@example.com -subject:(RE: FWD:) after:2023-01-01 before:2023-01-31

    This query filters to show only original emails from “example@example.com” sent within January 2023, excluding any with ‘RE:’ or ‘FWD:’ in the subject. The -subject: operator is used to exclude emails whose subject contains certain words, in this case, ‘RE:’ or ‘FWD:’. Note: The dates and email address used here are for example purposes only. Replace them with your specific criteria.

  3. Review and Label the Search Results: With conversation view off, each email will appear separately. Examine the emails to identify the first from the specified sender within your defined date range. Sorting by date might help identify the earliest messages.

    After identifying the desired emails, you can organize them by saving the search results to a specific label:

    • Select the checkbox next to each email you want to label.
    • Click the ‘Label’ icon (looks like a tag) at the top of the page.
    • Choose an existing label or create a new one by typing the name and clicking ‘Create new’.
    • Once labeled, these emails will be easily accessible under the chosen label in the Gmail sidebar.
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