When you know the keyboard shortcuts, it’s usually faster to use them than it is to mouse around menus.
The following is a list of the many of the most commonly used shortcuts. Links to a list of all shortcuts for Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003 is at the end.
These work in Outlook’s main window:
| Open Mail module in Navigation pane | Ctrl+ 1 |
| Open Calendar module | Ctrl+ 2 |
| Open Contacts module | Ctrl+ 3 |
| Open Tasks Module | Ctrl+ 4 |
| Open Notes Module | Ctrl+ 5 |
| Open Folder list | Ctrl+ 6 |
| Open Shortcuts Module | Ctrl+ 7 |
| Open Journal module | Ctrl+ 8 |
| Open Folder picker dialog | Ctrl+ Y |
| Rotate Navigation pane on, off, minimized | Alt+F1 |
| Rotate To-Do bar on, off, minimized | Alt+F2 |
| Switch to Inbox | Ctrl+Shift+ I |
| Switch to Outbox | Ctrl+Shift+ O |
| Open the Address Book | Ctrl+Shift+ B |
| Open Send and Receive Settings dialog | Ctrl+Alt+ S |
| Open Advanced find dialog | Ctrl+Alt+ F |
| Add a Quick Flag or mark completed. | Insert |
| Reply to a message | Ctrl+ R |
| Reply All to a message | Ctrl+Shift+ R |
| Forward | Ctrl+ F |
| Forward as attachment | Ctrl+Alt+ F |
| Mark a message as read | Ctrl+ Q |
| Mark message as unread | Ctrl+ U |
| Advance through message in reading pane, then move to next message. (Can be enabled or disabled in Tools, Options, Other Tab, Reading pane- Single key reading with space bar.) | Spacebar |
| Delete an item | Ctrl+ D or Del |
| Create a new item of the current folder type | Ctrl+ N |
| Create a new Appointment (from any Outlook folder) | Ctrl+Shift+ A |
| Create a new Contact (from any Outlook folder) | Ctrl+Shift+ C |
| Create a new Task (from any Outlook folder) | Ctrl+Shift+ K |
| Create a new Message (from any Outlook folder) | Ctrl+Shift+ M |
| Create a new folder | Ctrl+Shift+ E |
| Create a new journal entry | Ctrl+Shift+ J |
| Create a new distribution list | Ctrl+Shift+ L |
| Create a new meeting request | Ctrl+Shift+ Q |
| Create a new note | Ctrl+Shift+ N |
| Create a new task request | Ctrl+Shift+ U |
| Create a new Post | Ctrl+Shift+ S |
| Open Help | F1 |
| Open Find dialog or Find pane. | F3 |
| Expand dropdown menus, use arrow keys to select from list | F4 |
| Refresh the current window (Send/Receive in older versions) | F5 |
| Move to next window element (navigation pane, message list, reading pane, or to-do bar) | F6 |
| Run spell check | F7 |
| Send/Receive | F9 |
| Open VBA Editor | Alt+F11 |
Reading messages:
| With a message open, Move to the Previous or Next message | Ctrl + < or > |
Working with folder and list views:
| Expand or collapse the folder list | Plus, minus or multiply (*) on numeric keypad |
| Expand or collapse all groups in list view | Ctrl+ Plus or minus on numeric keypad |
| Expand or collapse current group in list view | Ctrl+ left or right arrow keys |
| Move between header elements, attachment row, and body in the reading pane | Ctrl+Tab (Shift+Ctrl+Tab for reverse) |
When editing items
| Increase or decrease font size when composing HTML | Ctrl+ [ or ] |
| Show/hide formatting marks | Ctrl+Shift+ 8 |
| Toggle form fields off and on | Alt+F9 |
| Send Message or meeting /task request; Save and Close other forms | Alt+ S |
| Save | Ctrl+ S |
| Send (enable or disable in Tools, Options, Email options, Advanced) | Ctrl+Enter |
Appointment and meeting shortcuts
You can use shortcuts to enter dates. Use w for weeks, d for day, mo for month, and y for year. Enter date in 1w format. Use h for hours and m for minutes for times.
Can type times as numbers only: 230 instead of 2:30 PM.
When typing times in the snooze field, shortcuts won’t work. You need to type week, day, hour or minute out.
| Set up recurrence for an appointment or task | Ctrl+G |
Calendar shortcuts
| Show 1 day | Alt+ 1 |
| Show 2 days | Alt+ 2 |
| Show 3 days | Alt+ 3 |
| Show 4 days | Alt+ 4 |
| Show 5 days | Alt+ 5 |
| Show 6 days | Alt+ 6 |
| Show 7 days | Alt+ 7 |
| Show 8 days | Alt+ 8 |
| Show 9 days | Alt+ 9 |
| Show 10 days | Alt+ 0 |
| Switch to Month view | Alt+ = (equal) |
| Switch to Full Week view | Alt+ – (minus) |
| Switch to Work Week view | Ctrl+Alt+2 |
| Go to a date | Ctrl+ G |
| Go to the next or previous day | Ctrl+ left or right arrow |
| Go to the next or previous week | Alt+ up or down arrow |
| Go to the next or previous month | Alt+ page up or page down |
| Go to the start or end of the week | Alt+ Home or End |
| Go to next or previous appointment | Ctrl+ comma or period |
Common Windows shortcuts which work in Outlook and many other programs
| Select all text | Ctrl+ A |
| Save | Ctrl+ S |
| Copy text | Ctrl+ C |
| Paste text | Ctrl+ V |
| Cut text | Ctrl+ X |
| Undo | Ctrl+ Z |
| Ctrl+ P | |
| Move forward through a form’s fields/windows | TAB |
| Move backward through a form’s fields/windows | Shift+TAB |
| Close the active window | Alt+F4 |
| Cancel edits and close a form | ESC |
| Move the cursor to the start of the next or previous word | Ctrl+ right or left arrow |
Learn More about Time and Date shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook 2007
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook 2003
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Calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, shortcut and journal do not appear in my Navigation Pane under Personal Folders….only Deleted Items and Drafts…..how can I restore Calendar, etc back under Personal Folders.
Which module are you viewing? If you press Ctrl+6 to go to the folder list do you see those folders?
Ctrl+1 will get you back to mail – Calendar and Contacts are CtrL+2 and Ctrl+3.
I’m trying to figure how to disable the ctrl+ shortcuts bcz while I’m typing, my left palm keeps hitting the ctrl button and whatever other key and my few word emails keep getting sent prematurely.
Please advise.
Robert
AFAIK, you can’t disable all of the Ctrl shortcuts, only Ctrl+Enter. See Prevent accidental sending for instructions.
In addition to the ideas on that page, you can create a rule to delay sending mail for a few minutes, this will give you time to recover them from the outbox. See Delay sending mail
Hi there, i need a keyboard shortcut to insert a signature in a new mail item. There are 3 signatures to choose from.
I just need to find how to get to the insert tab once i’ve typed the email and to select signatures and how to choose the signature I want – using a keyboard is the key here – no mouse clicks at all :)