Outlook Quick Steps apply several actions to an email at once, in one click, so a message you always file, forward or flag can be dealt with in a single move. You find them on the Home tab, and in new Outlook you build your own from the drop-down next to Quick steps by selecting Manage quick steps.
Here's the catch. Quick Steps can't be undone, not with a menu command and not with Ctrl+Z. Microsoft explains why: a Quick Step can contain actions such as Permanently Delete that can't be reversed. So test a new one on a message you don't need before you rely on it.
Quick Steps versus rules
People mix these up all the time. A Quick Step runs only when you click it, on the message you've selected. Outlook rules run on their own as mail arrives. If you want a decision made for every email, use a rule. If you want a one-click shortcut for something you decide case by case, use a Quick Step.
Microsoft's own examples show the idea. If you often move messages to one folder, a Quick Step moves them in one click. If you often pin an email and mark it as unread, one Quick Step does both together.
The default Quick Steps in classic Outlook
Classic Outlook comes with a starter set. You can customise any of them, and some ask you to configure them the first time you use them. For example, a step that moves messages won't work until you've told it which folder to use.
| Quick Step | What it does |
|---|---|
| Move to: | Moves the selected message to a folder you choose and marks it as read |
| To Manager | Forwards the message to your manager. On Microsoft Exchange Server or Microsoft 365, your manager's name is pulled from the Global Address List |
| Team E-mail | Forwards the message to your team, with names pulled from the Global Address List on Exchange or Microsoft 365 |
| Done | Moves the message to a chosen folder, marks it complete and marks it as read |
| Reply and Delete | Opens a reply to the message, then deletes the original |
| Create New | Lets you build your own sequence of commands, name it and give it an icon |
Notice that Reply and Delete removes the original as soon as you use it. Given there's no undo, that's the one I'd check twice before you click it.
How to create a Quick Step in new Outlook
If these steps don't match what you see, you may still be on classic Outlook, so use the classic steps further down. As of October 2026, in new Outlook for Windows:
- Select Mail from the navigation pane.
- On the Home tab, select the drop-down next to Quick steps, then Manage quick steps.
- In the Settings window, under Quick steps, select New quick step.
- Type a name for it.
- Under Choose an action, pick what it should do. Select Add another action to chain more.
- In the Optional section, add a description. It shows when you hover over the Quick Step in the ribbon.
- Pick a keyboard shortcut in the Choose a shortcut box if you want one, then select Save.
The keyboard shortcuts are limited. Microsoft lists Ctrl+Shift plus 5 to 9 as the available options, so you get five shortcuts at most. Give them to the steps you use every day.
Editing and reordering in new Outlook
Go back to Manage quick steps from the Home tab, find the step and select the Edit quick step icon. You can change or add actions, rename it, add a shortcut and update the description. To change the order they appear in on the Home tab, use the up and down arrows next to each step, then select Save. The new order shows in the Quick steps section of the ribbon.
How to create a Quick Step in classic Outlook
- On the Home tab, in the Quick Steps gallery, select Create New.
- Type a name in the Name box.
- Select the icon button next to the name, pick an icon and select OK.
- Under Actions, choose the first action, then select Add Action for more.
- Choose a keyboard shortcut in the Shortcut key box if you want one.
New steps appear at the top of the gallery. Steps you edit keep their place, but you can rearrange them in Manage Quick Steps, which you open with the More arrow at the side of the Quick Steps box. From there, select a step and choose Edit to change its actions, shortcut or icon.
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Quick Steps in Outlook on the web and Outlook.com
Microsoft notes this feature is available for Outlook on the web and for Microsoft 365 subscribers on Outlook.com, where it's listed among the premium features. The steps match new Outlook: select Mail, open Quick steps on the Home tab, choose Manage quick steps, then New quick step, name it, choose your actions and save. The same Ctrl+Shift 5 to 9 shortcuts apply.
My verdict on Outlook Quick Steps
Quick Steps are one of the most underused time savers in Outlook. If you do the same three clicks to file a client email twenty times a day, one Quick Step and one shortcut gets that back. Build them for your real daily habits, test each one on a throwaway email because there's no undo, and pair them with rules for the things that should happen without you. If you send the same replies over and over, email templates cover that side.
Quick Steps are a small taste of what happens when a team stops doing repeat work by hand. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement, AI automation and GEO, which is about getting your business seen and cited in AI answers. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
Can you undo an Outlook Quick Step?
No. Quick steps cannot be undone with a menu command or Ctrl+Z, because they can contain actions such as Permanently Delete that can't be undone.
What keyboard shortcuts can I give a Quick Step?
In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, Ctrl+Shift 5 to 9 are the available options.
Where are Quick Steps in Outlook?
They're on the Home tab. In new Outlook, select the drop-down next to Quick steps and choose Manage quick steps.
Are Quick Steps available on Outlook.com?
Microsoft says the feature is available for Outlook on the web and Microsoft 365 subscribers.
What's the difference between a Quick Step and a rule?
A Quick Step runs when you click it on the messages you've selected, while a rule runs automatically on mail as it arrives.
