# Searching and filtering the email log

Source: https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/search-and-filter-the-log/
Updated: 2026-10-19 · By Duane Garner

Find a specific email in the log by status, subject, sender or recipient, and move through long result lists page by page.

When your site sends many emails, scrolling is not enough. This article shows you how to narrow the **Email Log** list to the messages you care about. It is for anyone tracking down one email, such as a customer's missing order receipt.

 

## Where the filters are

 

Go to **CRM-NG SMTP → Settings → Email Log**. Above the list of emails you will find, from left to right:

 
- A status menu that starts at **All statuses**
- A search box that reads **Search subject or address**
- The **Filter** button
- The **Export CSV** button

 

## Filter by status

 

Open the status menu and pick one:

 

| Option | Shows |
| --- | --- |
| All statuses | Every logged email |
| Sent | Emails your mail service accepted |
| Sent Backup | Emails the backup SMTP transport sent after the main mailer failed |
| Failed | Emails that could not be sent |
| Blocked | Emails stopped by Do Not Send |
| Pending | Emails still waiting for a result |

 

Press **Filter** to apply it.

 

> **Daily check:** Choose **Failed** and press **Filter** once a day or once a week. An empty list means nothing has gone wrong since the last cleanup.

 

## Search

 

Type part of a word or address into **Search subject or address** and press **Filter**. The search looks for your text anywhere in:

 
- the **Subject**
- the **From** address
- the **To** addresses

 

It is not case-sensitive and matches partial text. For example:

 

| You type | It finds |
| --- | --- |
| jane@ | Emails to or from any address starting with "jane@" |
| @example.com | Every email to or from that domain |
| order | Subjects such as "Your order #1042" and "Order cancelled" |
| reset | Password reset emails |

 

The search does not look inside message bodies, CC or BCC addresses, or error text.

 

## Combine status and search

 

The status menu and the search box work together. Choose **Failed**, type `@example.com`, and press **Filter** to see only failed emails to that domain. To clear the filters, set the menu back to **All statuses**, empty the search box, and press **Filter** again.

 

## Paging

 

The list shows 25 emails per page, newest first. When there are more, page links appear under the list. Your status and search choices stay in place as you move between pages.

 

The filters are part of the page address, so you can bookmark a filtered view or share the link with another administrator.

 

## Open a result

 

Click any subject to see the full entry, including the error text and delivery status. **Back to email log** returns you to the list. See [Viewing the email log](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/viewing-the-email-log/) for what each field means.

 

## Can't find an email?

 

If a message you expect is missing:

 
- **Was logging on at the time?** Only emails sent while **Enable local email logging** was on are recorded.
- **Is it older than your retention period?** Entries older than the **Retention** setting are deleted daily.
- **Did it go through CRM-NG SMTP?** Some plugins send mail their own way, not through WordPress. Those emails never reach CRM-NG SMTP and are not logged.
- **Was another mail plugin sending?** If CRM-NG SMTP is installed but another plugin still handles your mail, nothing is logged. See [Switching from another mail plugin](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/switching-from-another-mail-plugin/).

 

## Related

 
- [Viewing the email log](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/viewing-the-email-log/)
- [Exporting the email log](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/export-the-log/)
- [Retention and deleting log entries](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/log-retention-and-deleting/)
- [Testing for plugin and theme conflicts](https://catalystgroup.gg/docs/email-delivery/plugin-and-theme-conflicts/)