Quick Step Keyboard Shortcuts Work With Number Keys Above Keyboard, But Not On Keypad

Question

_{Monday, January 5, 2015 5:02 PM}

Had this same issue with Outlook 2013:

"I assigned hotkeys to several Quick Steps, and used the suggested convention of Ctrl + Shift +1, Ctrl + Shift + 2... through 5.

When I use the number keys above my QWERTY keys, all is well.

When I use the keys on my keypad, Outlook does funny things like collapsing all the day's e-mails into the "Today" heading."

Correct. The keypad values do different things and you can't substitute the keys - you need to use the row numbers with the QAT."

Ergonomically, the number keys on the numpad are far superior to the ones above the keyboard for processing email quickly and easily (and without carpel tunnel!). I'm right-handed so it's much more natural for me to hold down the same two control keys (alt-shift) with my left hand and select the action (a different key every time) I want with my right. Can do it opposite, but requires more conscious thought and is more subject to error (which defeats the whole purpose when I have to go fish a mis-acted on email out of the wrong folder).

Was wondering if this issue had been corrected in 2013 (or there was an easy workaround that doesn't involve writing and maintaining a separate macro or installing/maintaining a separate program like AutoHotKeys). The built-in functionality is 99% what I need, but the ergonomic issue may make it unusable for me.

All replies (1)

_{Tuesday, January 6, 2015 7:01 AM ✅Answered}

Hi,

I can confirm in Outlook 2013 the shortcut keys can only use the number keys above "QWERTY..." and we can't use the number keys on the keypad. This comes by design and is not changeable currently.

Thank you for focusing on our product, since I can do few on this issue, you can submit your feedback about this request from this link below, Microsoft treasures users voice:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-US/suggestions.aspx

Regards,

Melon Chen
TechNet Community Support

It's recommended to download and install Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT), which is developed by Microsoft Support teams. Once the tool is installed, you can run it at any time to scan for hundreds of known issues in Office programs.