November 2026 · Folder Suggest

Outlook Quick Steps: How to Create, Edit and Use Them in Every Version

You file, flag or forward the same kind of email many times a day, and each one takes several clicks. Quick Steps turn that sequence into one click or one shortcut. Whether you have them depends on your Outlook and your account.

In short: a Quick Step is a saved set of actions, such as moving an email to a folder and marking it read, that Outlook runs when you click it or press its shortcut. In classic Outlook for Windows they are on the Home tab in the Quick Steps gallery: choose Create New to make one and Manage Quick Steps to edit them. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, open the Quick steps drop-down on the Home tab and select Manage quick steps, then +New quick step; shortcuts there are Ctrl+Shift+5 to Ctrl+Shift+9. On Outlook.com, Quick steps are a premium feature for Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers.

What Are Quick Steps in Outlook?

Microsoft’s Quick Steps article describes them as a way to apply several actions to a message at once. Select one or more emails, click the Quick Step or press its shortcut, and Outlook runs every action in it.

Typical actions include moving to a folder, marking as read or unread, flagging, categorizing, forwarding and deleting. Microsoft says a Quick Step can’t be undone with a menu command or Ctrl+Z, and Permanently Delete can’t be reversed at all, so test a new one on an email that doesn’t matter.

Where Quick Steps Are in Each Outlook

Outlook	Quick Steps?	Where
Classic Outlook for Windows	Yes	Home tab, Quick Steps gallery
New Outlook for Windows	Yes, rated “Partially Available” in Microsoft’s comparison of new and classic Outlook	Home tab, Quick steps drop-down
Outlook on the web (work or school)	Yes	Home tab, Quick steps drop-down
Outlook.com (personal)	Only with a Microsoft 365 consumer subscription, such as Personal or Family	Same as Outlook on the web
Outlook for Mac	Not documented by Microsoft	No Quick Steps instructions
Outlook for iPhone and Android	Not documented by Microsoft	Use Swipe Options instead

The Default Quick Steps in Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook comes with these Quick Steps in the gallery on the Home tab:

Move to: moves the message to a folder you choose and marks it as read.
To Manager: forwards the message to your manager.
Team E-mail: forwards the message to others on your team.
Done: moves the message to a folder, marks it complete and marks it as read.
Reply & Delete: opens a reply and deletes the original message.
Create New: builds your own Quick Step.

The first time you click some of these, Outlook asks you to set them up. Move to: and Done need a folder, for example. Microsoft says that if your organization uses Exchange or Microsoft 365, your manager’s and team’s names are filled in for To Manager and Team E-mail.

How to Create a Quick Step in Classic Outlook

Go to Mail and select the Home tab.
In the Quick Steps gallery, select Create New.
Type a name in the Name box. To pick an icon, select the icon button next to it.
Under Actions, choose the first action, such as moving to a folder, flagging or categorizing. Select Add Action for each further action.
To run it from the keyboard, choose a combination in the Shortcut key box.
Save the Quick Step. It appears at the top of the gallery.

How to Edit, Copy or Reorder Quick Steps in Classic Outlook

Microsoft’s edit or manage article gives these steps:

On the Home tab, open the Quick Steps gallery (the More arrow on the gallery’s edge) and select Manage Quick Steps.
In the Quick Step box, select the Quick Step and choose Edit.
Change or add actions under Actions, change the Shortcut key or the icon, then select Save.

In the same Manage Quick Steps window, Duplicate starts a new Quick Step from a copy of an existing one, the arrow buttons below the list change the order in the gallery, and you can delete a Quick Step you no longer use.

How to Create Quick Steps in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web

The steps are the same in new Outlook for Windows and in Outlook on the web:

Select Mail in the navigation pane.
On the Home tab, open the drop-down next to Quick steps and select Manage quick steps.
In the Settings window, under Quick steps, select +New quick step.
Enter a name, then pick an action under Choose an action. Select Add another action for more.
Optionally, add a description under Customize your quick step, and pick a shortcut under Choose a shortcut.
Select Save.

The keyboard shortcuts are limited to Ctrl+Shift+5 through Ctrl+Shift+9, so at most five Quick Steps get one.

To edit one, open Manage quick steps again and select the edit icon; the up and down arrows there change the order. New Outlook also has them under View > View settings > Mail > Quick Steps.

They do less than in classic Outlook. In a Microsoft Q&A answer (October 2025), a moderator from Microsoft’s external support staff said the Reply and Reply All actions are missing from new Outlook by design for now, and that Forward and Reply with Meeting are offered instead. Microsoft’s pages don’t publish the full list of actions.

Quick Steps in Outlook.com With a Personal Account

Microsoft lists Quick steps among the premium features in Outlook.com. They turn on for Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers, such as Personal or Family, whose subscription is linked to an Outlook.com mailbox (@outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com or @msn.com). Business plans don’t count. Without such a subscription, Microsoft says the premium benefits are deactivated, so Quick steps isn’t available.

Every Outlook.com account can instead pick one-click buttons under Settings > Mail > Customize actions (Microsoft’s steps). Each does one thing, not a chain.

Quick Steps in Outlook for Mac, iPhone and Android

A 2024 moderator answer on Microsoft Q&A, about the older Outlook for Mac, says it doesn’t have them, and Microsoft’s Quick Steps article still has no Mac instructions.

Microsoft has no Quick Steps instructions for the iPhone and Android apps either. The nearest thing is a swipe action, set up from Microsoft’s swipe options steps:

Tap Inbox at the top to open the side panel, then tap Settings.
Tap Mail, then Swipe Options. On some versions, Swipe Options is directly in Settings.
Tap Swipe Right or Swipe Left and choose an action, such as Archive, Move, Flag or Read & Archive.

Quick Steps vs Rules in Outlook

A Quick Step runs only when you click it or press its shortcut, on the emails you selected. A rule runs on its own as mail arrives or is sent. Use a Quick Step when you read an email before deciding, and a rule when the decision is always the same. To set up the automatic kind, see how to automatically file emails in Outlook, and if a rule isn’t doing its job, see why Outlook rules stop moving emails.

Quick Steps Missing or Greyed Out in Outlook

No Quick steps button in new Outlook: the button may not be on your ribbon. On the simplified ribbon, select More Options > Customize at the right end of the tab, following Microsoft’s ribbon steps. A Microsoft Q&A moderator said to tick Quick Steps in that window and select Save. If it isn’t listed there either, the feature may not have reached your account yet.
Greyed out in classic Outlook: after Version 2512 (Build 19530.20138), Quick Steps with an action that couldn’t apply to the selected email, such as clearing flags or categories that weren’t there, turned grey. Microsoft’s known-issue page says a service change fixed it on May 8, 2026, and you may need to restart Outlook. The page also says a Shortcut key runs the Quick Step even while it is grey.
Greyed out in new Outlook or on the web: a Quick Step whose move action is set to always ask for a folder can show grey. A Microsoft support moderator said on Microsoft Q&A in December 2025 that this choice is not fully supported there. Quick Steps with a fixed folder still work, so make one per folder you use often.

Why Your Quick Steps Didn’t Carry Over to New Outlook

New Outlook can bring Quick Steps across from classic Outlook. They are on Microsoft’s list of imported settings. The import only works if Store my Outlook settings in the cloud (requires restarting Outlook) was ticked under General in classic Outlook’s Options window.

In classic Outlook, turn that option on and restart Outlook.
In new Outlook, go to Settings > Accounts > Your accounts.
Select Manage next to your primary account, then Get Started to run the import again.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the keyboard shortcut for Quick Steps in Outlook?
There is no fixed one. You assign a shortcut to each Quick Step. In classic Outlook, choose it in the Shortcut key box when you create or edit the Quick Step. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, pick one under Choose a shortcut; only Ctrl+Shift+5 to Ctrl+Shift+9 are offered.

Can I undo a Quick Step?
Not with Ctrl+Z or a menu command, according to Microsoft. You have to reverse each action by hand, for example by moving the email back. An action such as Permanently Delete can’t be reversed at all.

Why don’t I see Quick Steps in Outlook.com?
Quick steps are a premium Outlook.com feature for Microsoft 365 consumer subscribers, such as Personal or Family, with an Outlook.com mailbox. Without that subscription, Quick steps isn’t available. Settings > Mail > Customize actions gives you one-click buttons for single actions instead.

Does Outlook for Mac have Quick Steps?
Microsoft doesn’t document them there. Its Quick Steps instructions cover classic Outlook, new Outlook and Outlook on the web only, and a 2024 moderator answer on Microsoft Q&A, about the older Outlook for Mac, says it doesn’t have them. Microsoft has no Quick Steps instructions for the iPhone and Android apps either; swipe options are the nearest thing there.

What is the difference between Quick Steps and rules in Outlook?
A Quick Step runs only when you click it or press its shortcut, on the emails you selected. A rule runs automatically on every message that matches its conditions. Quick Steps suit decisions you make after reading; rules suit decisions that are always the same.