Keyboard Shortcuts
A question from a user this morning got me thinking. He said his toolbar disappeared and to create a new email message, he selects an old sent message and replaces the contents with new. When he needs to delete a message he right clicks and chooses delete because the X button is missing.
Yikes. 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).
How well could you manage in Outlook if your toolbars disappeared or your mouse died? While you can do everything in Outlook (or Windows) with just a keyboard, some things are easier to navigate with a mouse. However, most of us are overly dependent on the mouse, and use menus and toolbar buttons even though the common, easy to remember keyboard shortcuts are faster. (Myself included!)
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. A question from a user this morning got me thinking. He said his toolbar disappeared and to create a new email message, he selects an old sent message and replaces the contents with new. When he needs to delete a message he right clicks and chooses delete because the X button is missing.
Yikes. 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).
How well could you manage in Outlook if your toolbars disappeared or your mouse died? While you can do everything in Outlook (or Windows) with just a keyboard, some things are easier to navigate with a mouse. However, most of us are overly dependent on the mouse, and use menus and toolbar buttons even though the common, easy to remember keyboard shortcuts are faster. (Myself included!)
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.
