10 Shortcuts for Outlook (Plus: Free Cheat Sheet)

Appointments, contacts, messages: Microsoft Outlook helps us plan and organize our (working) days. Microsoft has put together a detailed list of shortcuts for Microsoft Outlook to make using the personal information manager as efficient as possible. We’ve picked our top ten most valuable shortcuts for Microsoft Outlook that are certain to save you time and energy. The nifty Outlook cheat sheet to print out and stick to your monitor makes sure you’ll always have our favorite shortcuts right in front of your eyes.

The shortcuts apply to Outlook 2013 und 2016. You need to set the Outlook language to English.

#1 Go to a different folder

Do you manage a large number of mailboxes in Outlook? The shortcut "Ctrl+Y" saves you a lot of clicks and time when switching between the individual folders.

#2 Expand the search to include mail and calendar items or contacts

Where was that e-mail from Andrew? It can get quite tricky to keep things organized when dozens of e-mails are flooding in and the various folders in your mailbox are creaking under the load. Searching for names or key words is helpful here. The Outlook shortcut "Ctrl+Alt+A" expands the search to all folders.

#3 Create a Microsoft Office document

A colleague sends you an e-mail to let you know that a cost summary for a certain project is needed urgently. On the spot, if possible. Press "Ctrl+Shift+H" in Outlook to immediately open an Excel spreadsheet or another Office document.

#4 New message from any Outlook view

It doesn’t matter which Outlook view you are currently using, the Microsoft Outlook shortcut "Ctrl+Shift+M" will open a new e-mail and save you the bother of fiddling with the keyboard AND the mouse.

#5 Insert a new hyperlink

The video about cats you just watched on YouTube was so side-splittingly amusing you simply have to share it with your colleagues? The keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+K" makes it that bit easier to add web content to your mails.

#6 Forward a message

Press "Ctrl+F" if the content of an e-mail would be of interest to your colleague Anna as well. This Outlook shortcut lets you forward your messages in an instant.

#7 Open the flag for follow-up dialogue box to assign a flag

Everything hinges on your organization, especially in longer-term projects. The small follow-up flags help to group and sort all e-mails relating to one project. Use the shortcut "Ctrl+Shift+G" to save yourself the bother of opening the dialog box to assign a flag.

#8 New meeting request

Do you want to bring your colleagues up-to-speed with the latest developments in your project? Simply use the keyboard combination "Ctrl+Shift+Q" to send your team a meeting request.

#9 New contact form any Outlook view

The keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+Shift+C" saves time in adding contact data to your address book if you’ve made new business contacts at a conference or trade show.

#10 Open the address book

No matter if you want to contact old business partners or new ones, you’ll find it a tad easier to open the address book using the Microsoft Outlook shortcut "Ctrl+Shift+B".