{"id":3635,"date":"2016-03-24T12:53:05","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T19:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.michaellinenberger.com\/blog\/?p=3635"},"modified":"2016-03-28T17:26:04","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T00:26:04","slug":"navigating-outlook-faster-video-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.michaellinenberger.com\/blog\/navigating-outlook-faster-video-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Outlook Faster (Video Available)"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 24, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a tip that works with all versions of Windows Outlook, but that is especially useful for Outlook 2013 and 2016. It is to add a set of quick-navigation buttons to the top left portion of the Outlook window.<\/p>\n

Note: A video version of this article has been added to the MYN-Outlook Complete Video Training set. It\u2019s Lesson #27 and it is available to paid subscribers (must login) here<\/a>. If you want to subscribe, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why You May Want to Use this Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a pet peeve with Outlook 2013 and 2016. It\u2019s the Peek view that pops up every time your mouse passes over one of the major navigation buttons in the lower left corner of the Outlook window (i.e. the Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks buttons). I don\u2019t use that Peek view; in fact I don\u2019t like it, and I don\u2019t want it to pop up, but amazingly there\u2019s no way to turn it off<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So I try to ignore it, and yet, every time I move my mouse down to those buttons to navigate, the Peek window pops up. And sometimes it mistakes my first click on one of those buttons as a desire to see the corresponding Peek window, and so it ignores my first click. If that happens I\u2019m left waiting for the module to open, it doesn\u2019t, so then I have to click again. It\u2019s rather frustrating when I am trying to move quickly through Outlook.<\/p>\n

A Simple Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well here is a rather simple solution and it\u2019s in many ways much better than using the default navigation buttons. The solution is to add miniature versions of these same navigation buttons to the upper left corner of your Outlook window.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how these new buttons look at the top of the Outlook window once added (icons inside red box):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When you click on one, it takes you to the corresponding main Outlook module, just like the default ones at the bottom, but NO PEEK! Another advantage (that applies to all Windows Outlook versions) is these buttons sit right above the ribbon menus where your mouse is often hovering anyway when looking for other commands.<\/p>\n

The official name of the area you\u2019re adding them to is called the Quick Access Toolbar, and there are tons of commands you can add here. For example, I showed in an earlier article how to add a button that opens and closes the To-Do Bar (at this link<\/a>; scroll down to Method #3).<\/p>\n

Adding these navigation buttons is slightly trickier since they are not standard Ribbon commands. Here are instructions on how to add them:<\/p>\n

How to Install Quick-Navigation Buttons<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Click on the on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar arrow, it\u2019s the tiny down-pointing arrow icon just above the home tab as I show in the red box here:
    \n\"\"<\/li>\n
  2. From the drop-down menu choose More Commands\u2026<\/li>\n
  3. Then in the window that opens, at the top of the middle left where is says Choose Commands From<\/em>, choose the second item: Commands Not in the Ribbon. That changes the list below it.<\/li>\n
  4. In that list below, scroll down to the M\u2019s and select Mail. Click the Add button at the middle right.<\/li>\n
  5. Then scroll up to the C\u2019s and select Calendar. Click the Add button at the middle right.<\/li>\n
  6. Then find and select Contacts. Click the Add button at the middle right.<\/li>\n
  7. Then scroll down to the T\u2019s and select Tasks. Click the Add button at the middle right.<\/li>\n
  8. Then Click OK in the lower right corner.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You\u2019ve now got your new navigation buttons added!<\/p>\n

    And if for some reason you decide you don\u2019t like one or more of those buttons, just right-click the button and choose: Remover from Quick Access Toolbar.<\/p>\n

    Keyboard Shortcuts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    By the way, for those of you who like keyboard shortcuts, here are the shortcuts for these navigation commands (they work whether you add the buttons above or not):<\/p>\n