Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts

You can accomplish that using two of the easiest to remember keyboard shortcuts, ones we should all be using: Ctrl+N for new item, Del to delete (or Ctrl+D).

The following is a (very) short list of some of the most popular, useful, and easy to remember keyboard shortcuts – ones we should be using more often. There are a lot more keyboard shortcuts but this is a good starting point.

Ctrl+N will get you a new item form in any folder. If you’re in a mail folder, it will be a new message form, in the calendar, a new appointment form.  Use Ctrl+Shift+M for new Mail when looking in any folder, Ctrl+Shift+A for new Appointment, Ctrl+Shift+C for new Contact, Ctrl+Shift+N for Note, or Ctrl+Shift+J for Journal. If you have texting configured in Outlook 2010, Ctrl+Shift+T is a new text message. Notice the pattern? Tasks and Meetings break the pattern as you’ll use Ctrl+Shift+K for a new task and Ctrl+Shift+Q for a new meeting. Oh well, the most used items – mail, appointment, and contact are easily remembered.

To save, press Ctrl+S. Use Alt+S to send an email, meeting or task request. Note that Alt+S will save contacts, appointments, and tasks.

Want to delete the selected message? Use the Delete key. Ctrl+D will also work. Both are much faster than switching to the Home tab to click the Delete button. (I did that last week on my tablet. My excuse – no keyboard. I added the delete command to the QAT to speed it up.)

Reply? Ctrl+R, or Ctrl+Shift+R to reply all. Forward is Ctrl+F.  More patterns. :)
Copy cut, paste and select all work in most Windows programs (Ctrl+C, X, V and A). Oh, and Ctrl+P for print.

Want to initiate a send and receive? Use F9.

Alt+F4 will close the current window (this is a windows shortcut and works in most programs).

Alt+F1 toggles the navigation pane off, on, and minimized. Alt+F2 does the same for the To-Do bar.

Use Tab and Shift+Tab to roll forward and backward between the panels – navigation pane or folder list, to message list, to reading pane. (This is one place where a mouse can win the speed race.)

Ctrl+1 jumps to the mail module, while calendar is ctrl+2, contacts are 3. Ctrl+6 is the folder list. Ctrl+4, 5, 7, and 8 (9 if you use BCM) cover the rest of the navigation pane modules.

If you are looking at your day, week or monthly calendar, Alt+ 0 thru 9 (or, 1 through 0) displays the next 1 to 10 days.