Key Takeaways
- Learn keyboard shortcuts for quick, efficient work in Outlook on Windows 11, such as Ctrl+N to start a new email.
- To read your emails, start with the Navigation Pane (where your folders are stored) by pressing Ctrl+Y.
- Use Ctrl+E to activate the Search function, where you can locate an email in any folder in an instant.
In this guide, I'll share some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for the Microsoft Outlook desktop app (v.2401 or newer) on Windows 11.
Outlook lets you access your calendar, contacts, and some of the Microsoft 365 apps. However, in this article, we'll look at the keyboard shortcuts that specifically apply to the app's email section. With Outlook open, press Ctrl+1 to navigate to emails (for example, if you're in the Outlook Calendar section).
Press Ctrl+F to search for a specific command within this article.
Starting Emails
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Start a new email | Ctrl+N |
Jump between To, CC, Subject, and Message Body | Tab |
Select text in your email | Shift+Arrows |
Make the selected text bold | Ctrl+B |
Make the selected text italic | Ctrl+I |
Underline the selected text | Ctrl+U |
Add a hyperlink to selected text | Ctrl+K |
Send an email you have typed | Ctrl+Enter |
Replying to and Forwarding Emails
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Forward a selected email | Ctrl+F |
Reply to a selected email | Ctrl+R |
Reply To All in a selected email | Ctrl+Shift+R |
The Three Main Panes
In this section, we'll look at some of the shortcut keys for the app's three main panes:
- The Navigation pane
- The Message pane
- The Reading pane (which becomes the New Message pane when you press Ctrl+N)
Navigation Pane
This is where you can see your email folders.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Activate the Navigation Pane | Ctrl+Y |
Go to the Inbox folder | Ctrl+Shift+i |
Go to the Outbox folder | Ctrl+Shift+O |
Collapse or expand a section that has an arrow next to its title | Left or Right Arrow |
Move up and down between email folders | Up or Down Arrow (and press Space to select a folder) |
Open the selected folder and activate the Message Pane | Enter |
To jump to a folder quickly, press Ctrl+Y, and then type the first few letters of the folder's title.
Message Pane
Here, you can see the subjects and the first few words of the messages in the selected folder. Use the arrow keys to move up and down between each message, which you can see in full in the Reading Pane on the right as you do.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Activate the Message Pane | Ctrl+Y, then Enter |
Move a selected email to deleted items | Delete |
Permanently delete a selected email or item | Shift+Delete |
Mark a selected email as read | Ctrl+Q |
Mark a selected email as unread | Ctrl+U |
Select several adjacent emails in the selected folder | Shift+Up or Shift+Down |
Select several non-adjacent emails in the selected folder | Hold Ctrl, while pressing the Up or Down arrow to locate the relevant email, and pressing space to select it |
Go to the first or last email in the selected folder | Home or End |
Open a selected email in a new window | Shift+Enter (and Esc to close) |
Activate the Reading Pane for the selected email | Tab |
Reading Pane
This is where you can read a selected email in full.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Go to the start or end of the email thread | Home or End |
Move up or down a long email thread quickly | Page Up or Page Down |
Jump to a link in an email | Press Tab repeatedly (and Enter to open) |
Only open a link in an email if you are sure you can trust the sender. Always double-check that the email isn't a scam!
Search
Outlook's Search field lets you find emails in all folders in an instant.
Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
Go to the search box | Ctrl+E |
Navigate between search results | Up or Down, and then Enter |
If you're a fan of keyboard shortcuts, check out our Windows 11 shortcut alphabet!
- Microsoft
- Microsoft Outlook
- Keyboards
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