Several readers recently asked about keyboard shortcuts in Outlook. Truth is I don’t use very many keyboard shortcuts myself… you save a second or two each time but they really don’t add up to much in the grand scheme of things. Here’s a big list of Outlook shortcuts… with the ones I think are useful highlighted in red.
| E-mail Shortcuts | |
| Ctrl-Shift-I | Go to Inbox |
| Ctrl-Shift-O | Go to Outbox |
| Alt-S or Ctrl-Enter | Send |
| Ctrl-P | |
| Ctrl-R | Reply to a message |
| Ctrl-Shift-R | Reply all to a message |
| Ctrl-F | Forward a message |
| Ctrl-Alt-F | Forward as attachment |
| Ctrl-Alt-J | Mark a message as not junk |
| Ctrl-Shift-I | Display blocked external content (in a message) |
| Ctrl-Shift-S | Post to a folder |
| Ctrl-Shift-N | Apply normal style |
| Ctrl-M or F9 | Check for new messages |
| Ctrl-N | Create a new message (when in Mail) |
| Ctrl-Shift-M | Create a new message (from any Outlook view) |
| Ctrl-O | Open a message |
| Ctrl-Shift-G | Display the Flag for Follow-up dialog box |
| Ctrl-Q | Mark a message as read |
| Ctrl-U | Mark a message as unread |
| F4 | Find or replace in a open message |
| Shift-F4 | Find next in an open message |
| Alt-Enter | Show the properties for the selected item |
| Ctrl-B | Display Send/Receive progress |
| Creating Items | |
| Ctrl-Shift-A | Create a Appointment |
| Ctrl-Shift-C | Create a Contact |
| Ctrl-Shift-L | Create a distribution list |
| Ctrl-Shift-X | Create a fax |
| Ctrl-Shift-F | Create a folder |
| Ctrl-Shift-J | Create a Journal entry |
| Ctrl-Shift-Q | Create a meeting request |
| Ctrl-Shift-M | Create an e-mail message |
| Ctrl-Shift-N | Create a note |
| Ctrl-Shift-H | Create a new Microsoft office document |
| Ctrl-Shift-S | Post to this folder |
| Ctrl-T | Post a reply in this folder |
| Ctrl-Shift-P | Create a search folder |
| Ctrl-Shift-K | Create a Task |
| General shortcuts | |
| Ctrl-1 | Go to mail |
| Ctrl-2 | Go to Calendar |
| Ctrl-3 | Go to Contacts |
| Ctrl-4 | Go to Task |
| Ctrl-5 | Go to notes |
| Ctrl-6 | Go to the folder list in the Navigation Pane |
| Ctrl-7 | Go to shortcuts |
| Ctrl-.(period) | Go to the next message (when you have a message open |
| Ctrl-,(comma) | Go to the previous message (when you have a message open |
| F6 or Ctrl-Shift-Tab | Move between the Navigation Pane, the main Outlook window, the Reading Pane and the To-Do Bar |
| Tab | Move between the main Outlook window, the smaller panes in the Navigation Pane, the Reading Pane and the sections in the To-Do Bar |
| Arrow Keys | Move around within the Navigation Pane |
| Ctrl-Y | Go to a different folder |
| F3 or Ctrl-E | Go to the Search box |
| Alt-Up arrow or Ctrl-,(comma) or Alt-Page Up | In the Reading Pane, Go to the previous message |
| Alt-Down arrow or Ctrl-.(period) or Alt-Page Down | In the Reading Pane, Go to the next message |
| Left arrow or Right arrow | Collapse or expand a folder in the Navigation Pane |
| Alt-B, Alt-Left arrow | Go back to the previous view in main Outlook window |
| Alt-Right arrow | Go forward to the next view in main Outlook window |
| Ctrl-Shift-W | Select the infobar and, if available, show the menu of commands. |
Don’t forget to let me know your favourite shortcut by leaving a comment.
