How to create Quick Steps in Outlook

Quick Steps in Outlook allow you to automate actions that you use on a regular basis. These actions may include forwarding emails to a specific person or group, moving emails to a specific folder or replying to an email. Quick Steps even allow you to group multiple actions into one quick step to help save time.

Customise a built-in Quick Step in Outlook Classic

Outlook Classic version provides you with several default Quick Steps ready for you to configure and start using. You can also create Quick Steps from scratch.

Note: The New Outlook does not have any preconfigured options ready to go – you need to create them all from scratch.

To configure a default Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook Classic version.
2. From the Home tab, locate the Quick Steps gallery:

3. Click to select the To Manager Quick Step.
4. The First Time Setup window will appear:

5. With the First Time Setup window, you can rename the Quick Step to something more specific to what it will do. E.g. To Tania.
6. Change the Name of the Quick Step.
7. Next you can configure the Actions being taken. This specific Quick Step is set to Forward an email to someone:

8. Click the To button and select an individual, multiple people or a group from your Address Book.
9. Double click the person(s) names so they are displayed in the To section:

10. Click OK.
11. Click Save.
12. The Quick Step will now be renamed within the gallery:

13. Select an email message from your Inbox, click the new Quick Step you created.
14. Immediately the email will open a forwarded copy with the persons email address in the To field. You can still add a message to the email body, but you didn’t need to click forward AND add the email address manually.

Create a new Quick Step in Outlook Classic

Whilst Outlook Classic provides you with some default Quick Steps which you can customise, what if you want to create a second or third Quick Step of the same type. What if you want to group multiple actions together into one Quick Step?

To create a new Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. From the Home tab, click the More button from the Quick Steps gallery:

2. From the menu, choose New Quick Step.
3. You will see a list of Quick Step categories. Select Custom.
4. The Edit Quick Step dialog box will appear:

5. Give the Quick Step a Name so you can identify it in the list.
6. Now click the Choose an Action drop-down menu and select the first action you want to perform as part of the Quick Step. E.g. Forward.
7. Click the To button and select the person to forward the email to:

8. Now click Add Action.
9. Click the Choose an Action drop-down menu and select the second action you want to perform. E.g. Move to Folder.
10. Click the Choose Folder menu and select a folder:

11. You can repeat the above process to add a more actions to the Quick Step.
12. To assign a Shortcut key for the Quick Step, use the drop-down menu provided.
13. Click Finish.
14. Now test the Quick Step: select an email from the Inbox. Click to select the new Quick Step.
15. Edit the forwarding email and click Send.
16. The email will then be automatically moved to the folder you configured within the Quick Step.

Edit a Quick Step in Outlook Classic

A Quick Step can easily to edited should you decide that adjustments are needed.

To edit a Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. From the Home tab, click the More button from the Quick Steps gallery:

2. From the menu, choose Manage Quick Steps.
3. The Manage Quick Steps dialog box will appear:

4. Select the Quick Step you want to edit.
5. Click the Edit button.
6. The Edit Quick Step dialog box will appear:

7. Make adjustments as needed.
8. Click Save.

Delete a Quick Step in Outlook Classic

Don’t need a Quick Step anymore? No problems, simply delete it from Outlook.

To delete a Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. From the Home tab, click the More button from the Quick Steps gallery:

2. From the menu, choose Manage Quick Steps.
3. The Manage Quick Steps dialog box will appear.
4. Select the Quick Step you want to delete.
5. Click the Delete button.
6. The Quick Step will be deleted.

Create a new Quick Step in the new Outlook

Let’s look at how to create a new Quick Step in the new Outlook app.

To create a new Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. Open the new Outlook app.
2. From the Home tab, click the Quick steps button:

3. The Settings window will appear showing the Quick steps options:

4. Click the Add quick step button.
5. The Quick steps settings will appear:

6. Click in the Name your quick step field and enter a name e.g. Forward to XYZ.
7. Now click the Choose an Action drop-down menu and select the first action you want to perform as part of the Quick Step. E.g. Forward to:

8. Click the next field and type the name of the person to forward the email to.
9. To add more steps, click Add another action.
10. Click the Choose an action drop-down menu and select the second action you want to perform. E.g. Move to.
11. Click the next field and choose the folder you want to move the email to:

12. You can repeat the above process to add a more actions if needed.
13. To assign a shortcut key for the Quick Step, click the drop-down labelled Choose a shortcut.
14. Now click Save and then Close the window.
15. Now test the Quick Step: select an email from the Inbox.
16. Click to select the new Quick Step:

17. The email should open as a forwarded email to the recipient you chose. Add a message and click Send.
18. The email will then be automatically moved to the folder you configured within the Quick Step.

Edit a Quick Step in the new Outlook

A Quick Step can easily to edited should you decide that adjustments are needed.

To edit a Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. From the Home tab, click the drop-down menu for Quick steps:

2. From the menu, choose Manage quick steps.
3. The Quick steps dialog box will appear:

4. Click the Edit quick step button (pencil icon) for the quick step:

5. The Quick Step dialog box will appear with the settings shown.
6. Make adjustments as needed.
7. Click Save.

Delete a Quick Step in the new Outlook

Don’t need a Quick Step anymore? No problems, simply delete it from Outlook.

To delete a Quick Step, follow these steps:

1. From the Home tab, click the drop-down menu for Quick steps:

2. From the menu, choose Manage quick steps.
3. The Quick Steps dialog box will appear.
4. Click the Delete quick step button (rubbish bin icon) for the quick step:

5. The Quick Step will be deleted.

I hope this has helped to learn how to use Quick Steps in Outlook. This feature can provide some great time saving options and help you to keep your Inbox in check and manageable. Want to learn some more time savers in Outlook? Check out these options:

• How to use Search Folders in Outlook
• How to send bulk emails using Mail Merge in Word
• How to use Quick Parts in Outlook
• Create your own custom email template in Outlook

Comment below if you have any questions.