Shortcut Keys and Quick Access Toolbar

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About this lesson

This is a guide to getting the quickest keyboard commands and buttons to work in your favor.

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Quick reference

Shortcut keys and Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

Savvy users will quickly learn to skip around Outlook using shortcut keys and custom QAT buttons.

When to use

You will use these features daily and quickly skip around the Outlook Navigation sections.

Instructions

To set up the Quick Access Toolbar:

  1. Click the dropdown arrow on the right side of the QAT
  2. Put a checkmark on each of the desired button options
  3. As the last step, decide if you want the QAT below the ribbon, or leave it on the Title bar, above the ribbon.

You can add more buttons as you find them:

  • Right-click any button on any ribbon and select "Add to Quick Access Toolbar"

And likewise, you can remove buttons from the QAT:

  • Right-click any button on the QAT and select "Remove from the Quick Access Toolbar"

Hints & tips

Quickly switch between Inbox, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks:

  • Ctrl + 1: Inbox
  • Ctrl + 2: Calendar
  • Ctrl + 3: Contacts
  • Ctrl + 4: Tasks
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  • 00:05 There is a great way to move around your Outlook interface and
  • 00:08 that's with some keyboard commands.
  • 00:11 Up here on the right-hand side, you can see I've got them listed, Ctrl+1 for
  • 00:15 inbox, Ctrl+2 for calendar, 3 for context, 4 for tasks.
  • 00:19 Let's go ahead and
  • 00:20 see that in action and keep an eye on this left-hand navigation pane.
  • 00:25 All right, I'm already on my inbox, so I'll hit Ctrl+2,
  • 00:29 there's my calendar, Ctrl+3, there's my contacts,
  • 00:33 Ctrl+4 for tasks, and Ctrl+1 puts me back at my inbox.
  • 00:39 Now another great way to learn tooltips is to simply float your mouse on any button,
  • 00:44 and you can see the tooltip comes up, and says Ctrl+N for new email.
  • 00:48 What about delete?
  • 00:49 When I float my mouse there, Ctrl+D for delete.
  • 00:53 How about reply?
  • 00:55 Ctrl+R.
  • 00:56 Now not all of the buttons have shortcut keys, but many of them do and
  • 00:59 then you can decide if you want to memorize them or not.
  • 01:03 All right, let's take you to the top of the screen to the Quick Access Toolbar,
  • 01:06 also known as a QAT.
  • 01:08 It resides right alongside the Outlook icon.
  • 01:12 Now, by default, I have a Send-Receive, or a Refresh, and then I have an Undo.
  • 01:16 Now, notice the dropdown arrow.
  • 01:18 When I click this,
  • 01:19 I can now put a checkmark on any of these items on the list.
  • 01:23 The list vanishes, I have to hit it again and put another checkmark.
  • 01:27 Now let me assure you, you only have to set this up one time.
  • 01:30 They won't go away, they'll remember that you set them up.
  • 01:33 So I'll go ahead and finish these.
  • 01:43 After you have them set up, you now have the option to show below the ribbon.
  • 01:51 A lot of people don't like this because it takes up yet
  • 01:53 another quarter inch of their screen and shrinks the area of their inbox.
  • 01:58 I happen to agree with that.
  • 02:00 In the case of Outlook, I prefer my QA team to be on top.
  • 02:03 So I'll hit that dropdown arrow, and I'll hit the show above the ribbon,
  • 02:07 but remember, it's your personal preference.
  • 02:11 There's another way to add and remove buttons on the QAT.
  • 02:14 So let's say I want this button,
  • 02:16 Send to OneNote to be on my QAT because I use it all the time.
  • 02:20 So I'll simply hit the right-click on the Send to OneNote, read the list,
  • 02:25 the option at the top says add to quick access.
  • 02:29 Notice it did pop up right here.
  • 02:32 Now it looks different on the ribbon, it's color purple, but
  • 02:35 on the QAT it's a white outline.
  • 02:36 And there's a way to remove buttons from your QAT.
  • 02:41 For instance, the touch mouse mode.
  • 02:44 I don't really want that on my QAT.
  • 02:46 It simply spreads apart the buttons or shrinks the buttons, but I never use it.
  • 02:52 So I'm just going to remove that button entirely.
  • 02:55 So I can hit the dropdown and uncheck it, or
  • 02:58 I could right-click on that button and remove from QAT.
  • 03:03 So as you can see,
  • 03:04 sometimes it's faster just to right-click than to hit the dropdown.
  • 03:08 Another way to find buttons or remove buttons is by the More Commands.
  • 03:12 So I'm going to hit the dropdown at the end of the QAT,
  • 03:15 click on the More Commands, and over on the right-hand side, I really don't want
  • 03:20 Find Contacts on my QAT, so I can click it once and hit Remove, and it's gone.
  • 03:26 Maybe there's a button over here on the left that you want to add.
  • 03:28 Go ahead and click the button and hit Add, and it'll pop over there.
  • 03:33 So I'll go ahead and click OK right now.
  • 03:36 Please practice that.
  • 03:37 It's a great way to set up and customize your user interface.
  • 03:41 And if you want to memorize, Ctrl+1, 2, 3, and 4.
  • 03:44 I highly recommend it.

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