Microsoft Outlook Essentials Cheatsheet

Browse / Microsoft Outlook Essentials

Office Suites / Microsoft Office

April 24, 2025 23:36

calendar

outlook

productivity

shortcuts

Download PDF

Missing something?

Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts

General Navigation & Actions

`Ctrl+1`	Switch to Mail view.
`Ctrl+2`	Switch to Calendar view.
`Ctrl+3`	Switch to Contacts (People) view.
`Ctrl+4`	Switch to Tasks view.
`Ctrl+E` or `F3`	Go to the Search box.
`Alt+H`	Go to the Home tab.
`F1`	Open Help.
`Ctrl+Z`	Undo last action.
`F9`	Send/Receive all folders.

Mail Composition & Sending

`Ctrl+N`	Create a new email (from Mail view).
`Ctrl+Shift+M`	Create a new email (from any Outlook view).
`Ctrl+R`	Reply to an email.
`Ctrl+Shift+R`	Reply All to an email.
`Ctrl+F`	Forward an email.
`Ctrl+K`	Check names in To, Cc, Bcc fields.
`Alt+S` or `Ctrl+Enter`	Send the email.
`Ctrl+S` or `Shift+F12`	Save draft message.
`Ctrl+Shift+G`	Flag message for follow-up.

Calendar Navigation & Actions

`Ctrl+N`	Create a new appointment (from Calendar view).
`Ctrl+Shift+A`	Create a new appointment (from any Outlook view).
`Ctrl+Shift+Q`	Create a new meeting request.
`Alt+Down Arrow`	Go to the next day/week/month (depending on view).
`Alt+Up Arrow`	Go to the previous day/week/month.
`Alt+Home`	Go to the beginning of the week.
`Alt+End`	Go to the end of the week.
`Ctrl+G`	Go to a specific date.
`Alt+=` or `Ctrl+Alt+2`	Switch to Work Week view.

Outlook Tips & Tricks

Email Management

Use Rules to Auto-Sort: Set up rules (File > Manage Rules & Alerts) to automatically move incoming emails to specific folders, mark them as read, or flag them.

Clean Up Conversation: Use the ‘Clean Up’ tool (Home tab) to remove redundant messages in an email thread.

Ignore Conversation: Mute noisy email threads you don’t need to follow by selecting ‘Ignore’ (Home tab). Future messages in that thread will go directly to Deleted Items.

Schedule Email Delivery: Compose an email and delay its delivery (Options tab > Delay Delivery). Useful for sending emails at appropriate times.

Use @Mentions: Type @ followed by a contact’s name in the body of an email or meeting invite to automatically add them to the To line and highlight the mention for them.

Recall or Replace Sent Messages: If you use Microsoft Exchange, you might be able to recall or replace a message you’ve already sent (Open sent message > File > Info > Resend or Recall).

Utilize Flags and Categories: Use colored Categories and Follow-Up Flags to organize and prioritize emails visually.

Calendar & Meetings

Scheduling Assistant: When creating a meeting, use the Scheduling Assistant (Meeting tab) to easily find times when all attendees are free.

Overlay Calendars: View multiple calendars side-by-side or in overlay mode (Right-click calendar > Overlay) to compare schedules.

Create Appointments/Meetings from Email: Drag an email onto the Calendar icon in the navigation pane to create a new appointment or meeting with the email content included.

Share Your Calendar: Share your calendar with colleagues, specifying the level of detail they can see (Home tab > Share Calendar).

Set Working Hours: Define your working hours (File > Options > Calendar) so others know your availability when using the Scheduling Assistant.

Use Time Zones: Add multiple time zones to your calendar view (File > Options > Calendar > Time zones) if you work with people internationally.

Propose New Time (Meetings): If you can’t make a meeting, use the ‘Propose New Time’ feature instead of just declining.

Quick Steps & Automation

Customize Quick Steps: Create custom Quick Steps (Home tab) to perform multiple actions with one click (e.g., move to folder and mark as read, forward to manager, create task from email).

Create Email Templates: Save frequently sent emails as templates (.oft files) via File > Save As > Outlook Template. Open them via New Items > More Items > Choose Form > User Templates in File System.

Use Quick Parts: Save reusable blocks of text or images as Quick Parts (Insert tab > Quick Parts) to quickly insert them into emails.

Automate with Rules: Beyond sorting, use rules to play sounds, display alerts, forward messages, or run scripts based on specific criteria.

Conditional Formatting: Make important emails stand out in your inbox by applying conditional formatting (View tab > View Settings > Conditional Formatting) based on sender, subject, etc.

Turn Off Notifications (Focus): Manage notifications (File > Options > Mail > Message arrival) to reduce distractions. Consider turning off desktop alerts.

Add Shared Mailboxes: Easily add and manage shared mailboxes you have access to (File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced > Add).

Search & Organization

Refine Search Queries: Use keywords like from:, subject:, hasattachment:yes, received:last week in the search bar (Ctrl+E) for more specific results.

Search Folders: Create Search Folders (Folder tab > New Search Folder) for dynamic views of emails matching specific criteria (e.g., all unread mail, mail flagged for follow-up) without moving the actual emails.

Use Conversation View: Group emails by conversation (View tab > Show as Conversations) to keep threads organized.

Manage Mailbox Size: Check your mailbox size (File > Info) and use Mailbox Cleanup tools to archive old items or delete large attachments.

Create Tasks from Emails: Drag an email onto the Tasks icon in the navigation pane to create a new task with the email content.

Advanced Find: Use Advanced Find (Ctrl+Shift+F) for highly detailed searches across different item types and fields.

Organize with Folders: Create a logical folder structure under your Inbox or at the root level to manually organize emails. Use rules to automate filing.