Outlook & OneNote Shortcuts
Outlook and OneNote shortcuts in one place, because most people use them in the same half hour. Filter with the box; print it for the wall.
Outlook has one shortcut that catches everyone out: Ctrl+F is Forward, not Find. Searching is Ctrl+E. That single difference is responsible for a lot of accidentally forwarded messages, so it is at the top of the table.
The OneNote half is short on purpose. The tag shortcuts — Ctrl+1 for a to-do, Ctrl+2 for important — are the ones that change how the application gets used, because tagged items roll up into a searchable list and to-do tags can become Outlook tasks.
Want the skill rather than the keystroke? The Outlook courses cover this material with an instructor, and the Office 365 guides cover it in writing, free.
Outlook — mail
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + R | ⌘ + R | Reply to the sender | |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | ⌘ + Shift + R | Reply to everyone | |
| Ctrl + F | ⌘ + J | Forward the messageNot Find. This is the shortcut people get wrong most often in Outlook. | |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | ⌘ + N | New message | |
| Alt + S | ⌘ + Return | Send | |
| Ctrl + Q / Ctrl + U | — | Mark as read, or mark as unread | |
| Insert | — | Flag or unflag the selected message | |
| Ctrl + Shift + G | — | Open the follow-up flag dialog with a date | |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | — | Move the message to a folder |
Outlook — moving around
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + E | ⌘ + ⌥ + F | Search — the one that is not Ctrl+F | |
| Ctrl + 1 | — | Go to Mail | |
| Ctrl + 2 | — | Go to Calendar | |
| Ctrl + 3 | — | Go to Contacts | |
| Ctrl + 4 | — | Go to Tasks | |
| Ctrl + Shift + I | — | Jump straight to the Inbox from anywhere |
Outlook — calendar and tasks
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + Shift + A | — | New appointment | |
| Ctrl + Shift + Q | — | New meeting request | |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | — | New task | |
| Ctrl + Shift + B | — | Open the address book |
OneNote — notebooks
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | ⌘ + N | New page in the current section | |
| Ctrl + T | ⌘ + T | New section | |
| Ctrl + E | ⌘ + ⌥ + F | Search every notebookSearches text inside images and scanned documents too, which is the feature most people never discover. | |
| Ctrl + M | — | Open a new OneNote window | |
| Ctrl + Alt + D | — | Dock OneNote to the side of the desktop |
OneNote — tags and lists
| Keys | Mac | What it does | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + 1 | ⌘ + 1 | Tag the line as a to-doTo-do tags can be sent to Outlook as tasks, which is how meeting notes turn into actions. | |
| Ctrl + 2 | ⌘ + 2 | Tag the line as important | |
| Ctrl + 3 | ⌘ + 3 | Tag the line as a question | |
| Ctrl + . | ⌘ + . | Start a bulleted list | |
| Ctrl + / | ⌘ + / | Start a numbered list |
Nothing on this sheet matches that. Clear the box to see everything, or try another cheat sheet.
Other cheat sheets
- Excel Keyboard ShortcutsThe Excel shortcuts worth committing to memory, grouped by what you are trying to do. Type in the box to filter; the whole table prints on two pages.
- Microsoft 365 ShortcutsShortcuts that work everywhere in Microsoft 365, plus the handful of app-specific ones worth the memory. Filter the table or print it.
- Bookkeeping Month-End ChecklistThe order to do a month-end close in, written for Canadian small business. Tick down the list; print it and keep it beside the screen.
All four are listed on the cheat sheets index, and the rest of the free material is in the guide library.