Outlook for Windows shortcuts for Apple Mail.
Switched from a PC to a Mac and still reach for Ctrl? 4AM is a small Mac menu bar app that puts Outlook for Windows shortcuts on the Mac’s Control key in Apple Mail: ⌃R to reply, ⌃F to forward, ⌃N for a new message, and ⌃C and ⌃V to copy and paste.
Free for 7 days with everything working. One-time purchase of USD$9.99, no subscription. Requires macOS 27 or later.
Every key
Outlook for Windows shortcuts in Apple Mail, key by key
The Mac’s Control key stands in for Ctrl, so your fingers go where they always have. Archive and junk have no dependable shortcut in Outlook for Windows, so those keep Apple Mail’s own keys.
| Action | With 4AM’s Outlook for Windows set | Apple Mail by itself | Choose your own |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reply | ⌃R | ⌘R | ✓any key |
| Reply all | ⌃⇧R | ⇧⌘R | ✓any key |
| Forward | ⌃F | ⇧⌘F | ✓any key |
| New message | ⌃N | ⌘N | ✓any key |
| Send | ⌃↩ | ⇧⌘D | ✓with ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ |
| Archive | ⌃⌘A Apple Mail’s own key | ⌃⌘A | ✓any key |
| Delete | ⌫ Apple Mail’s own key | ⌫ | ✓any key |
| Next message | ↓ Apple Mail’s own key | ↓ | ✓any key |
| Previous message | ↑ Apple Mail’s own key | ↑ | ✓any key |
| Flag | ⌃⇧G | ⇧⌘L | ✓any key |
| Mark read | ⌃Q | ⇧⌘U | ✓any key |
| Mark unread | ⌃U | ⇧⌘U | ✓any key |
| Mark as spam | ⇧⌘J Apple Mail’s own key | ⇧⌘J | ✓any key |
| Undo | ⌃Z | ⌘Z | ✓any key |
| Search | ⌃E | ⌥⌘F | ✓any key |
| Open message | ↩ | ⌘O | ✓any key |
| Copy | ⌃C | ⌘C | ✓with ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ |
| Paste | ⌃V | ⌘V | ✓with ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ |
| Cut | ⌃X | ⌘X | ✓with ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ |
⌃ is Control, ⌘ is Command, ⇧ is Shift, ⌥ is Option and ↩ is Return. Choose your own: every shortcut can be changed to a key you pick. Click Edit Shortcuts in the 4AM menu, click the action and press your key. Send, copy, paste and cut work while you’re typing, so those need ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ held down.
Getting started
How to turn on Outlook for Windows shortcuts in Apple Mail
It takes about a minute. 4AM lives in your menu bar, with no Dock icon and no window to manage.
- Install 4AM
Open the download and drag 4AM into your Applications folder, then open it. - Allow Accessibility
macOS asks you to let 4AM control your Mac. Choose Open System Settings and switch 4AM on. If it isn’t in the list, add it with the + button. - Choose Outlook for Windows
Click the 4AM icon in the menu bar and choose Outlook for Windows under Shortcut Set. Then select a message in Mail and press a key.
Good to know
How the Outlook for Windows set behaves
The details that matter when you move your habits over to Apple Mail.
Control is your Ctrl key
A Mac keyboard has both Control and Command. Outlook for Windows shortcuts go on Control, which sits where Ctrl does on a PC keyboard. The Mac’s Command shortcuts all keep working alongside them.
Copy, paste and cut work while you write
⌃C, ⌃V and ⌃X copy, paste and cut anywhere in Mail, including in a message you’re writing. The other shortcuts work when the message list is selected. More on Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V in Apple Mail.
Control-Return sends
In a compose window, ⌃↩ sends the message, the same as Ctrl+Enter in Outlook for Windows.
Flag uses Control-Shift-G
Outlook for Windows flags with the Insert key, which Mac keyboards don’t have. 4AM uses classic Outlook’s Ctrl+Shift+G instead.
Nothing you type is recorded
4AM checks each key against the shortcut list and forgets it. Nothing is logged or stored, and it only looks at the keyboard while Mail is the app in front.
Questions
Outlook for Windows shortcuts in Apple Mail, answered
The things people ask before trying it.
Can I use Windows Outlook shortcuts in Apple Mail on a Mac?
Yes, with 4AM. Choose its Outlook for Windows set and the Mac’s Control key works like Ctrl: Control-R replies, Control-Shift-R replies to all, Control-F forwards and Control-N starts a new message.
How do I make Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V work in Apple Mail?
With 4AM’s Outlook for Windows set, Control-C copies, Control-V pastes and Control-X cuts anywhere in Apple Mail. The Mac’s own Command-C and Command-V keep working as well.
What is Ctrl+R in Apple Mail?
Apple Mail’s own reply shortcut is Command-R. With 4AM’s Outlook for Windows set, Control-R replies too, as Ctrl+R does in Outlook on a PC.
Does Ctrl+Enter send an email in Apple Mail?
Not by itself: Apple Mail sends with Shift-Command-D. With 4AM’s Outlook for Windows set, Control-Return sends the message you’re writing.
Do the shortcuts work in other Mac apps?
No. 4AM only acts while Apple Mail is the app in front, so the Control shortcuts apply in Mail and nowhere else.
Can I change a key I don’t like?
Yes. With Outlook for Windows selected, click Edit Shortcuts in the 4AM menu, click the action and press the keys you want. Your changes are saved as a Custom set that starts from the Outlook for Windows keys.
Other sets
More shortcuts for Apple Mail
4AM includes every set, and you can switch between them from its menu. More about 4AM.
Gmail shortcuts for Apple Mail
Single keys, as in Gmail: E archives, J and K move through your inbox, R replies and # deletes.
Outlook for Mac shortcuts for Apple Mail
The Outlook for Mac keys that Apple Mail does differently: ⌃E archives, ⌘J forwards, ⌘T marks as read.
Your own shortcuts
Choose Custom, start from any set, then click an action and press the keys you want for it.
4AM is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple, Google or Microsoft. Apple Mail and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc. Gmail is a trademark of Google LLC. Outlook and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 4AM privacy policy · 4AM license terms