A useful shortcut for people with a lot of folders is the ability to press keys to move to the next folder that begins with that character when using Outlook's folder list. Press I to move to the Inbox, C to toggle between Calendar, Contacts, and folders named "Charlie" and "College". (This handy tip works in Windows Explorer too.)

The function keys include some great shortcuts too. In Outlook, F6 moves between the folder list, message list and preview (or reading) pane. You can use it in other programs, including Windows, to move between elements. Many of the F-keys have the same function in Windows and many programs, making it easier to remember what they do.

• F1 -- Open Help
• F3 -- Open Find dialog or Find pane.
• F4 -- Expand dropdown menus, use arrow keys to select from list
• F5 -- Refresh the current window (Outlook 2003) - Send/Receive in older versions
• F6 -- Move to next window element
• F7 -- Run spell check
• F9 -- Send/Receive