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Keyboard shortcut for "Reply All" not working

Massis Chahbazian 70 Reputation points
2025-07-15T16:28:59.91+00:00

The "reply All" feature is functional when using the pull-down menu, but not by using the keyboard shortcut. Shift-Command-R normally works. Running version 16.99 Outlook for Mac

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Kai-L 12,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-07-15T21:28:51.87+00:00

    Dear Massis Chahbazian,

    Thank you for the update! It's clear from your testing suggests that an inconsistency in how the shortcut is handled after the latest update. While this behavior is being investigated, creating a custom macOS keyboard shortcut is an excellent alternative workaround if you prefer to continue using the New Outlook experience. This allows you to override the default application shortcut at the operating system level. Here are the steps to set that up:

     

    1.Open System Settings

    Click the Apple menu and select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).

    2.Go to Keyboard settings

    • Select Keyboard from the sidebar.

    3.Find Keyboard Shortcuts

    • Click Keyboard Shortcuts button.

    4.Add a New App Shortcut

    • In the sidebar, select App Shortcuts (bottom of the list).

    5.Click the + button to add a new shortcut.

    6.Configure the Shortcut

    • Application: Select Microsoft Outlook from the app list. (If Outlook isn’t shown, choose Other… and navigate to the Microsoft Outlook app in your Applications folder.)

    7.Menu Title: Type Reply All exactly as it appears in Outlook's Message menu. (Use exact capitalization and spacing.)

    8.Keyboard Shortcut: Press Shift + Command + R.

    9.Save the Shortcut

    • Click Done to save.

    This custom shortcut should help force the "Reply All" command to work.

    Please consider reporting this behavior directly to Microsoft from within Outlook (usually via Help > Contact Support or Give Feedback). This helps their development team investigate and address such issues in future updates.

    I hope this helps you get back to efficient emailing! If you have any further questions, please let me know.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    6 people found this answer helpful.

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  1. MDRider 5 Reputation points
    2025-07-21T15:41:37.7033333+00:00

    I have the same problem, not fixed by deleting preference panes.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  2. Kai-L 12,735 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-07-15T17:26:37.14+00:00

    Dear Massis Chahbazian,

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Community. 

    It's certainly inconvenient when a frequently used keyboard shortcut suddenly stops working, especially for a core function like "Reply All" in Outlook for Mac! Since the menu option works, the issue is likely with how the shortcut is registered or if there's a conflict.

    Here’s how to troubleshoot this:

    1.Check macOS System Settings for Conflicts:

    • Go to System Settings (or System Preferences) > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts.
    • Review all sections, especially "App Shortcuts" and "Mission Control" or "Spotlight", to ensure another app or macOS itself hasn't claimed Shift-Command-R.

    2.Reset Outlook Preferences (Cache):

    • Quit Outlook completely.
    • Open Finder > Go (menu) > Go to Folder...
    • Type ~/Library/Containers/ and press Enter.
    • Drag the Microsoft Outlook folder to your Desktop (as a backup).
    • Restart Outlook. It will rebuild its preferences.

    3.Verify Outlook's Menu Shortcut:

    • Open Outlook, go to the Message menu (or File menu, depending on Outlook's layout for this function).
    • Locate "Reply All". Does it still show Shift-Command-R next to it? This confirms Outlook itself still expects that shortcut.

    4.Ensure Outlook and macOS are Updated:

    For Outlook: Help > Check for Updates.

    For macOS: System Settings > General > Software Update.

    Please let me know if there are any updates after trying these steps. I'm happy to assist further whenever needed.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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