Quick Actions in Outlook for Windows (365/2021/2019) we’ll explain how to use it, why the name is wrong and the many limitations.
From a quick look (no pun intended) Quick Actions seems like a good idea. Alas, it’s not been well developed or integrated properly into Outlook. Quick Actions only leaves customers wanting more. Still, some people might find Quick Actions useful even in it’s limited form.
Outlook 365, Outlook 2021/2019
Quick Actions is in Outlook for Windows (Outlook 365, Outlook 2021, Outlook 2019). Right-click on any message to see ‘Set Quick Actions …’. Not in Outlook for Mac.
Under that link, you can setup the two Quick Actions (maximum two).
Quick Action options
There’s a limited set of Quick Action commands available. Very, very limited.
- None – a ‘no operation’ for when you only need one action.
- Archive – moves to the Archive folder.
- Delete – moves to Deleted Items folder.
- Move – moves to an Outlook folder that you have to choose each time.
- Flag / Clear Flag – is MISlabelled and should be called “Flag / Complete“. One click on a message will Flag the message for Today. Click the action again and the message is “Mark Complete” which is a different thing to ‘Clear Flag’.
- Mark as Read/Unread – the read status is toggled between Read and Unread.
Click a Quick Action
The only place the Quick Action appears is a tiny icon on the message list, above the date, between the Flag and Delete icons.
There’s a tooltip if you hover over the icon.
Move to where?
At least with Quick Steps you can choose a specific destination folder.
Quick Actions doesn’t let you choose a single destination. Any ‘Move’ Quick Action gives a prompt to choose a folder … which is a lot less quick.
Instead use Quick Steps which lets you choose a move destination folder.
Quick Action on more than one message
Selecting multiple messages then clicking one of the Quick Action icons will act on that for all the selected items.
Right-click menu
Quick Action doesn’t appear on the right-click menu as something to do. The Quick Action setup is done there but you can’t make it happen for the current message.
Ribbon or Quick Access toolbar
Quick Action has no button on the reading pane or fully open message. That would have been useful for consistency. A customer could choose the same actions from wherever they are viewing the message.
Quick Action hasn’t been added to the command list so it’s not possible to customize a ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) to include it.
Quick Actions shortcut
A keyboard shortcut for the two Quick Actions would make it even quicker … but there isn’t one.
Quick Actions aren’t Quick Steps
Quick Actions would seem to complement the long-standing Quick Steps features.
Quick Steps let you setup multiple actions to take on a message including reply, forwarding, move to specific folders etc. It’s the ‘grown up’ version of Quick Actions.
There’s no link between these two ‘Quick’ Outlook features. Ideally the Quick Action could be linked to a Quick Step to expand ‘actions’ beyond two.
The future?
Quick Actions aren’t very quick (especially if you want to move). It’s hard to find with a single tiny icon as the only way to access it (no shortcut, no menu, ribbon or QAT option).
The Quick Action icons are so small, it’s easy to miss them and accidentally open the message instead. Another reason why alternative access options (keyboard shortcut etc.) are needed.
Actions are limited to just two from a very short list of options.
Originally, we hoped that Quick Actions was just a small start towards a more useful Outlook feature. As it stands, Quick Actions might be useful for some, but most Outlook customers will soon balk at the restrictions and lack of integration with Outlook’s existing features.
