Outlook Status bar: Filter applied, no total or unread counts

I’m often asked about the “Filter Applied” notation in the status bar of Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013. The person often insists they did not apply a filter to the view and don't understand why it's there.

When I right-click on the status bar, Filter is unchecked, but shows "filter applied". Both "items in view" and "unread items in view" are checked but do not show number of items. This is true for all folders even though the number of unread items are shown in the individual mailbox folders.

Filter Applied means just that: there is a filter applied to the view.

So what is this mysterious filter? For many people, it's the current IMAP view. When you use an IMAP account, the default view is Hide Messages Marked for Deletion. While hiding messages marked for deletion is generally the best view for IMAP folders, you can change the view using the View tab > Change View command.

Customize the Status Bar

Many users are not aware that they can use the Customize Status Bar menu to customize the status bar.

right click to choose status bar options

Bring the menu up by right-clicking on the Status bar. Checked means the control will show on the status bar when the control is supported. If it's not checked, it means it won't show on the Status bar.

When Filter Applied is shown in the status bar, double-click on it to open the filter. If you're using an IMAP account, the filter to hide deleted messages is on the Advanced tab.

Even though the control says "items in view", Outlook can't properly count them in a filtered view so total items and unread item counts aren't shown. When the view is changed to one that doesn’t have a filter (or the filter is cleared), the counts will display when they are checked in the Customize Status Bar dialog.