How-To

How to Open Attachments in Outlook Without a Mouse

Email

Looking for a quick way to open up Outlook email attachments using only your keyboard? No need to go mouse hunting, spiff up on your keyboard kung fu with this groovy tip.

Sometimes you can’t reach your mouse, and other times it is just more convenient to use the keyboard. If you’re a power user and follow the path of keyboard kung fu, this groovy tip is a necessity. And it also works in Outlook 2010 and 2007.

Open Attachments in Outlook Without a Mouse

If you don’t have a mouse handy, you can use the Tab key to select the message column and then use the arrow keys + Enter to select the message you want to open.

outlook home screen

From here, use the tab button until the Message button is highlighted on the same line as the attachments.

outlook 2013 attachments hotkey

Then use the left or right arrow keys to select the attachment you want, and press Enter to open it. Notice on my attachment it displays a preview.

attachment preview image

Previous versions only showed image previews, but Outlook will open a viewable version of Microsoft Office files inside the email pane. For example, here’s a Word document opened in Outlook.

preview docs in outlook

That’s all there is to it. Have fun opening attachments in Outlook without a mouse. It takes a bit of getting used to but works like a charm when you’re in a pinch without a mouse available.

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