November 19, 2008

Microsoft Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts

Summary: Find your way around Microsoft Outlook with these keyboard shortcut keys.


Outlook is Microsoft's mail, diary and contacts program supplied with Microsoft Office or as a standalone product. If you don't have the exact version of a particular program then it may well be, that some or all of the shortcuts for a

particular program can still be used with different versions of the same program.

General Outlook shortcuts

Description

Shortcut Key

Send Message

Ctrl + Enter or Alt + S

Reformat an email message from RTF to plain text

Ctrl + Shift + O

Delete Message from message window

Ctrl + D

New Contact Dialog

Ctrl + Shift + C

New Office Document

Ctrl + Shift + H

Read Warning Header

Ctrl + Insert + W

To Save Non-Email Item in Current Folder

Alt + S

Cancel the current operation

Escape Key

Move up current level of treeview

Up Arrow

Move down current level of treeview

Down Arrow

Collapse current branch of treeview

Left Arrow

Expand current branch of treeview

Right Arrow

Launch go to folder dialog

Ctrl + Y

Save unfinished item in Drafts folder

Ctrl + S

Move selected item to Deleted Items folder

Delete Key

Open print dialog box

Ctrl + P

To delete current item

Ctrl + D

Mark as unread or read

Ctrl + Q

Select all

Ctrl + A

Copy highlighted items/text to clipboard

Ctrl + C

Cut highlighted items/text to clipboard

Ctrl + X

Paste items/text from clipboard

Ctrl + V

Open application menu (to maximise, minimise etc)

Alt + Spacebar

Create new item

Ctrl + N

Undo

Ctrl + Z

Move cursor to top of email list

Home

Move cursor to end of email list

End

Move edit cursor to top in new email message window

Ctrl + Home

Move edit cursor to end in new email message window

Ctrl + End

Check Names

Ctrl + K

Move cursor to Menu Bar

Alt + or F10

Launch Advanced Find

Ctrl + Shift + F or F3

Move to next Window pane

F6

Launch spell checker

F7

Move directly to Inbox

Ctrl + Shift + I

Move directly to Outbox

Ctrl + Shift + O

Copy selected item(s) to a folder

Ctrl + Shift + Y

Create new folder dialog

Ctrl + Shift + E

Move selected item to folder

Ctrl + Shift + V

Create a new email message

Ctrl + Shift + M

Create a new appointment item

Ctrl + Shift + A

Create a new contact item

Ctrl + Shift + C

Create a new task item

Ctrl + Shift + K

Create a new note item

Ctrl + Shift + N

Message options (from a new message window)

Alt + P

Open address book

Ctrl + Shift + B

Launch flag for follow up dialog box

Ctrl + Shift + G

Reply to sender

Ctrl + R

Reply to all

Ctrl + Shift + R

Forward message

Ctrl + F

In calendar week view

Description

Shortcut Key

Go to today’s date

Alt + D

Go to a date

Ctrl + G

Move to next date

Down Arrow

Down cialis free Arrow

Up Arrow

Move forward one week

Page Down

Move backwards one week

Page Up

Move to appointments on current date

Tab (hit enter twice to open item)

Main Jaws keystrokes in Outlook

Description

Shortcut Key

Say Line

Insert + Up Arrow

Say All

Insert + Down Arrow

Say Selected Text

Insert + Shift + Down Arrow

Move focus to attachments list

Insert + A

In spellchecker read misspelled word and suggestion

Insert + F7

Read Header Field One

Alt + 1

Read Header Field Two

Alt + 2

Read Header Field Three

Alt + 3

Read Header Field Four

Alt + 4

Read Header Field Five

Alt + 5

Click Cc Button

Alt + Shift + 4

Click To Button

Alt + Shift + 3

Launch Global keystrokes listbox

Insert + F8

Close Office Assistant

Ctrl + Insert + F4

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November 9, 2008

A bit of discipline can reduce Inbox clutter and keep it clean

  • Date: March 17th, 2008
  • Author: Susan Harkins

Lots of mail in your Inbox doesn’t mean you’re popular. It means you’re unorganized. It might even get you into trouble. Messages in a cluttered Inbox tend to fall off the screen and into a black hole.

The truth is that most of us use our Inbox as a storage bin and that’s a bad idea. An Inbox full of mail is oppressive. Trying to manage all that mail is like cleaning your garage-it’s hard work that you avoid at all cost. The more you avoid it, the bigger the mess grows.

The hardest part is making all those decisions. Each E-mail requires your attention:

  • Respond to it and delete it (when you’re lucky).
  • Keep it to act on later.
  • Keep it for future reference.

Now, you may have a broader list of possibilities, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have to make a decision for every message you receive. Managing E-mail is a three-layer line of defense:

  • Delete the old.
  • Divide (and conquer) what you must keep.
  • Let Outlook manage incoming mail.

The first step is the hardest but you must get rid of all those old messages. Create a personal folder and name it Old Stuff or something just as appropriate. Then, sort the messages in your Inbox by the Receive column. Move everything that’s older than a month (or a week if you’re really drowning) to the Old Stuff folder.The next step is to find some commonality among the messages that are left. For instance, you might receive a lot of mail from family and friends or you might have several messages regarding ongoing projects. Create personal folders to accommodate these categories. It doesn’t matter if you get it exactly right the first time. Just start. Later, you can combine folders or add more.

Once you have all the folders you need, drag messages from the Inbox into their respective folders. Next, create rules to download subsequent messages directly into these folders-bypassing the Inbox altogether.
Congratulations, you’ve seriously reduced the messages in your Inbox. Even better, you’ve reduced the number of subsequent messages that will ever see your Inbox.

All that should be left in your Inbox at this point is miscellaneous items. Go ahead and deal with them now. The goal is to empty your Inbox. If you find something you can’t delete, find a folder for it.

Now, you can’t just forget about all those moved messages. Go through the folders and continue to delete as much as you can. Use flags to identify, in some meaningful way, what’s left. It might cialis c20 take you a few days to come up with just the right flag system.

Once all your mail is in a folder and flagged, settle on a routine for checking new mail. Everything in your Inbox should be deleted or moved to an appropriate folder. All new messages in personal folders should be deleted or flagged.

By combining flags and search folders you can easily manage the E-mail you must keep. For instance, you might have many folders for current projects, but using just one  search folder you can view all messages flagged for an immediate response. You don’t have to sort through every folder. Just view the appropriate search folder.

Keeping the Inbox empty will be easier, but don’t expect miracles. Adjust rules or add new ones as necessary. The idea is to let Outlook filter messages into folders, bypassing the Inbox completely.

It will still take some effort on your part to keep things manageable:

  • Quickly pursue new E-mails in the Inbox by deleting them, or moving them and flagging them.
  • Check new messages in personal folders and delete them or flag them.
  • Use search folders to manage flagged messages.

Don’t forget about the Old Stuff folder. It might take you several days to get through all that old mail, but none of it’s going anywhere. Chances are you’ll delete most of it. When you find a message you need to keep, drag it to a folder, flag it, and use a search folder to manage it.

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August 30, 2008

Forward/Reply Formatting

Have you ever noticed how forwarded e-mails are so different from one person to the next? I mean, Sue forwards you a message where the original text has a ">" at the beginning of each line, while Jeff forwards you something and the original e-mail comes as an attachment.

Whatever propecia no prescription configuration you've seen or preferred, the big question is: What does MS Outlook do with your forward and reply e-mails? Now, a good question for you is: Do you like the configuration you have? If you said no, have you ever looked for the options to change it?

Well, if you've ever found yourself looking to control forward and reply formatting, this is the tip for you!

In Outlook, you're looking for the Tools menu, Options choice.

When the Options window opens, I found the E-mail Options button under the Preferences tab in newer versions of Outlook, including 2007.

Click on the E-mail Options button.

You're now looking for the "On replies and forwards" section.

You'll then see two categories: "When replying to a message" and "When forwarding a message."

Each of those have a drop down list of choices and a small preview of what the choice does to an e-mail. (The preview will change when a different choice is selected from the list).

As you can see, the options are pretty self-explanatory, so just choose what makes the most sense to you.

If you choose "Prefix each line of the original message," the "Prefix each line with" field will become active so that you can determine what character Outlook should use.

And last, but not least, at the bottom of the section, there's a checkbox that, when selected, will mark any comments you place within the body of the original e-mail (instead of just above it like the usual reply or forward) with the text you indicate.

For example, after I entered "April:" into the "Mark my comments with" field and then forwarded an e-mail, the text I inserted into the body of the original message was marked so that it's easier to find:

Once you've set all your preferences, click on the OK button and then hit OK again to exit the Options window and go back to Outlook.

Now, you're ready to forward or reply an e-mail with your own sense of style!

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August 18, 2008

10 ways to customize Outlook menus and toolbars

  • Date: October 4th, 2007
  • Author: Susan Harkins

Outlook comes with two types of built-in command bar objects, the Menu Bar and toolbars. Only one Menu Bar is allowed, but you can customize both it and the built-in toolbars. In addition, you can add custom toolbars to automate specialized or repetitive tasks. Fortunately, command bars are easy to configure and create in any Office application, including Outlook. Here are some of the various ways you can tailor Outlook to suit your working style.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: Rearrange existing commands

Most of us use a few commands a lot, and seldom, if ever, use the rest. You can rearrange the commands on the Menu Bar or a toolbar, making selection a bit more efficient. To do so, choose Tools | Customize, click the Commands tab, and click Rearrange Commands. In the Rearrange Commands dialog box, select either the Menu Bar or Toolbar option. Then, choose the appropriate menu (if you selected the Menu Bar option) or toolbar (if you selected Toolbar) from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box. The Controls list box will display the commands, including submenus, as they appear from top to bottom on the menu (or left to right on the selected toolbar).

You can add, delete, or move a command up or down (or left and right). Clicking Add will position the new item above or to the left of the selected command. You can also modify the selection by changing its caption and other attributes. Select Begin A Group if you want to add a separator above or beside the selected command. Clicking Reset removes all the customization in case you need to start over.

#2: Move commands the easy way

You don’t have to use the Customize dialog box to move commands on a toolbar. Hold down the Alt key, click on a button, and drag it to an alternate position or off the toolbar completely. To restore the tool, reset the toolbar or use the Customize dialog box to put it back.

If you remove a custom command, you’ll have to rebuild it if you ever need it again. Consider removing custom commands to a custom toolbar created for the purpose of storing custom commands you think you no longer need. Someday, you may want that command and you can simply restore it from the custom toolbar instead of rebuilding it.

#3: Disable personalized menus

The personalized menu feature displays only the commands you use the most often. You might find this feature more irritating than helpful, especially when you’re looking for a seldom-used command and can’t find it simply because Outlook isn’t displaying it. To disable this feature, choose Customize | Tools. In the Options tab, check the Always Show Full Menus option and click Close. This option will affect the entire Office suite, not just Outlook.

Developers can find the details for personalized menus in a file named msout11.pip in the C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office folder.

#4: Store your customization

Outlook stores the changes you make to command bars in a file named outcmd.dat. If you want to reset all of your command bars to their default settings, simply delete this file. But be careful. Deleting this file will wipe out all of your custom command bars.

If you’ve spent a lot of time customizing Outlook, store a backup of outcmd.dat in a safe place. Then, if you have to reinstall Outlook, restore your customized command bars by replacing outcmd.dat with your stored copy. You can also use outcmd.dat to copy your customizations to other systems. Simply save it over the exiting file.

#5: Create custom toolbars

To create a custom toolbar, open the Customize dialog box by choosing Customize | Tools. Everything you need is in one spot. Click the Toolbars tab and then click New. In the New Toolbar dialog box, enter a name and click OK. Outlook will create a new, empty toolbar. Just switch to the Commands tab to add built-in commands to the new toolbar by dragging them from the Commands list.

You can create commands for any folder or form, except for Note forms. Outlook displays custom toolbars in all views, but it’s smart enough to enable only those commands that apply to the current view.

# 6: Create hyperlinks for quick access

All of us have a folder we use more than the others. It might contain e-mail from family and friends or store critical information about your current project. Instead of wading through the folders hierarchy to access it, add a hyperlink command to a command bar.

First, display the Web toolbar (right-click any toolbar and select Web). Then, navigate to the folder in question so you can see its path displayed in the Web toolbar’s address box. For instance, if you selected the Inbox, the Web toolbar would display the path Outlook:Inbox.

Next, choose Tools | Customize, click the Commands tab, and choose Web from the Categories list. Scroll to the bottom of the Commands list box and drag the Folder command to a toolbar. Right-click the Folder command, choose Assign Hyperlink, and then select Open from the resulting submenu to open the Assign Hyperlink: Open dialog box. Enter the folder’s path in the Address field and click OK. Now, anytime you want to access that folder, just click the new hyperlink command. This shortcut also works for Web addresses and local files.

#7: Create a Mail To hyperlink

If you send the same e-mail message to the same list on a regular basis, you can create a hyperlink command to reduce some of your work. For instance, let’s suppose your group has a weekly meeting and before that meeting, you e-mail an agenda to everyone in the group. Now, there’s more than one way you could automate this task, but a hyperlink command is the simplest.

Begin by choosing Tools | Customize and clicking the Commands tab. With File selected in the Categories list box, drag Mail Message from the Commands list box to a toolbar. Right-click the Mail Message command to display its properties. Since Outlook uses the New Mail Message icon, choose Text Only or select Change Button Image to pick a different icon for the command.

Next, click the Assign Hyperlink option and choose Open from the resulting submenu. In the Edit Hyperlink: Open dialog box, click E-mail Address in the Link To section (bottom left). Then, enter the name of your group’s distribution list or enter each individual’s e-mail address separately in the E-mail Address field. Add a descriptive subject and then click OK.

Each week, when you’re ready to send the meeting’s agenda, click the hyperlink command and Outlook will display a new e-mail form, pre-filled with the appropriate e-mail addresses and subject text.

#8: Use command bar shortcuts

Not everyone uses propecia insurance the mouse for everything. If you’re more at home using the keyboard, you probably appreciate keyboard shortcuts. There are a number for working with command bars. First, activate the menu bar by pressing F10. Then you can use any of these shortcuts:

Action Result
Ctrl+Tab Select next toolbar
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Select previous toolbar
Tab Select next button or menu
Shift+Tab Select previous button or menu
Up or Down arrow+Enter Select an option from a menu or drop-down list

#9: Create a button image

Use the Office Button Editor to create custom icons for your custom commands. It’s a bit limited, but it will get the job done most of the time. With the Customize dialog box open (Tools | Customize), right-click the command and choose Edit Button Image to launch Button Editor. Choose a color and then click a square or selection of squares in the Picture grid. You can also paste in a bitmap file that’s 32 x 32 pixels or smaller.

#10: Beware of the Reset option

If you add a custom tool to the Menu Bar or to one of Outlook’s built-in toolbars, you need to be careful about the Reset option. In fact, you might be better off creating a custom toolbar instead of altering the built-in Menu Bar or toolbars. It’s just too easy to reset them without realizing that you’re wiping out a custom tool — until later when you need it and it’s no longer there. To reset the Menu Bar or a built-in toolbar, all you do is choose Tools | Customize, click the Toolbars tab, select the object you want to reset, and click Reset. This will remove all customization from the selected command bar, so make sure that’s what you really want to do.

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Resend an Outlook message

  • Date: July 11th, 2008
  • Author: Susan Harkins

If you’re like me, you sometimes do things the hard way because you just don’t know any better. For years, I’ve been forwarding e-mail messages when what I really wanted to do was resend them. Forwarding a message requires you to enter an address. Why should you do that if you want to resend the message to the original address? Well, you shouldn’t.

To propecia finasteride generic resend a message, locate it in the Sent Items folder (or the folder where you store sent messages). From the Actions menu, choose Resend This Message. In Outlook 2007, you can find this in the Actions group.

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