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Word lets you customize keyboard shortcuts from inside the Customize Ribbon preference pane. Outlook seems to lack this feature, but I'm admittedly not an Outlook guru.

Is there a way that I can invoke the Archive button using a keyboard shortcut? This is the button I'm referring to:

Outlook 2016 Archive button

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2 Answers 2

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In versions of Outlook pre-2016, this functionality existed in the Move To: Quick Step. It was renamed Archive in Outlook 2016, and there's a larger button, but it's the same as the old Quick Step.

  1. Right click Archive in the Quick Step pane (or Move To if you're using an older version of Outlook
  2. Click Edit Archive (or Edit Move To in older versions of Outlook)
  3. Specify a Shortcut key combination from the drop-down

In Outlook 2016, if you hover over the Archive button, it tells you that Backspace is also a keyboard shortcut. I can't speak for other versions of Outlook.

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  • Oh, I was unfamiliar with Quick Steps. As it happens, "Move To" has been renamed to "Archive", and indeed you can assign it a keyboard shortcut. Alas, the keyboard shortcuts are limited to Ctrl+Shift+Num, which is a bummer, as Ctrl+Shift is awkward on Kinesis keyboards...
    – rianjs
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 14:46
  • I edited your answer to include step-by-step instructions for assigning the keyboard shortcuts, and to explain a bit of the UI changes between Outlook versions. (Just in case my comment above looks ridiculous to someone else with the same question. :) )
    – rianjs
    Commented Jun 28, 2016 at 17:02
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    Cautionary note: if you're on Outlook 2016 for Mac and using a PC keyboard, the backspace key does not Archive the message - it deletes it. The correct shortcut on Mac is CTRL+E.
    – Chiara Coetzee
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 18:09
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    Another cautionary note: in Outlook 2013 for PC the backspace key also does not Archive the message, but deletes it.
    – Paul
    Commented Feb 14, 2018 at 23:26
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Archive in the ribbon archives an entire folder.

To set up hotkey archive of individual or groups of emails, right-click an email in your inbox, go to Quick Steps > Create New. Then you can set up a quick step and select a hotkey combination.

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