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If you've not tried shortcut keys you should as they offer several benefits. The examples listed in this article can do the specified task faster than using your mouse. Secondly, if you ever lose your mouse or have a repetitive stress injury, you'll appreciate the alternate methods.

The shortcut process is simple. You press a set of defined keys in a sequence. The + sign indicates the next key to be pressed. Each key is held down until all the keys have been pressed. Chances are you've already used some shortcut keys in Windows such as CTRL + C to copy an item to Windows Clipboard.

To make the learning easier, Ill focus on the shortcuts that use the CTRL key. I think this key in combination with others gives you the most control within Outlook. I've broken these shortcuts into two categories.

• Those that work anywhere within Outlook
• Those that are specific to one area or folder

I've also noted the shortcut keys as capitals for easier reading.

Shortcut Keys to Navigate Outlook

Outlook includes a set of default folders based on the information type. These include: Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes. You can get quick access to these areas by using the CTRL key and the numbers 1-5.

If you're viewing your Inbox and want to see your calendar, type CTRL + 2. To return to your Inbox, type CTRL + 1. One way to remember the numbers is to look at their position on the Outlook bar.

Click to enlarge

These shortcuts won't work if you drill down to a folder item. For example, if you were reading a specific email or viewing a friends contact and pressed CTRL + 4 to go to Tasks, nothing would happen. You need to be up one level.

Creating Outlook Items with Shortcut Keys

While the above shortcuts, work at the top level the next set works anywhere in Microsoft Outlook. This is ideal since you often need to create a task or appointment while reading an email.

These shortcuts all use the CTRL key in combination with the SHIFT key. You might remember this by thinking of SHIFTing your focus to another area. You can also see the last letter in the sequence is usually the first letter of the information type. The exception being Tasks which requires a “K”.

Gaining Email Efficiency

The next set is designed to work specifically with email which is where most of spend out time. We often need to act on the email we’re reading. The nice part is these shortcuts work whether you’re at your Inbox or reading a specific email.

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