For example, hit 'l' and then type the word `proje' and hit return. Of all the messages in the index, only those that have the expression `proje' somewhere in the subject or address fields will be shown. To remove the limitation, hit `l.' (that's L followed by a period), which shows messages that contain any character at all, that is, every message. See section 7 for a complete list of patterns. For example, to limit by date, l ~d>2w to limit the index to all messages whose received date (~d) is greater than two weeks (>2w), or set l ~N to see only messages that have been flagged `new.'
If you forget what your criteria for limiting was, or would just like to confirm whether or not you are limiting them, pressing Esc-L will reveal in the status bar what the current limiter is.
The ~d sequence limits messages based on date criteria. This is highly useful. An example is worth a thousand words, so let the following serve as guides: