How To Set Up Keyboard Shortcuts And Macros In Outlook

My Word 2007 installation is filled with macros and keyboard shortcuts, but I’d never realised that it was also possible to implement those within Outlook, which uses Word as its email editing interface. Microsoft’s Word Team Blog runs through the gory details (essentially, you have to store customisations in the NormalEmail template edited through Word, while for macros you need some object tagging so that Outlook doesn’t lose the plot when you try and run them). One point the post doesn’t note: you can’t edit the template while Outlook itself is running without serious file permission dramas. It’s a distinct nuisance that Microsoft’s design approach means you have to define keyboard customisations separately for Word and Outlook — integration is meant to be a selling point for Office — but at least it gives you a way of avoiding the painful Ribbon keyboard shortcuts.