6 Dec 2021

10 Keyboard shortcuts to boost your productivity

Have you ever wished that you could increase your work speed in exactly one second? All it takes to gain super speed is to learn simple keyboard shortcuts. We’ve created a list of helpful shortcuts that will bring you closer to achieving your productivity dreams. These useful keyboard shortcuts will help you quickly compose messages and manage your emails with only a couple of buttons. Start using these eM Client shortcuts (or create your own!) for your email, calendar, and contacts and become a keyboard expert.

10 useful shortcuts in eM Client

Here’s our favorite keyboard shortcuts available in eM Client:

  • F5Send and Receive, Refresh
    Never manually click the Refresh button ever again. The shortcut key to send emails (and more) is F5. Pressing F5 will refresh your mailboxes or send and receive messages. You can also refresh your Calendar and Contacts with this shortcut.

  • Ctrl + RReply email
    Instead of manually clicking the reply button for every email you need to respond to; use the Ctrl + R shortcut to instantly open a message editor and create a reply to the selected email.

  • Ctrl + FForward email
    Make the task delegation process faster by pressing Ctrl + F to forward emails to relevant recipients. To forward an email as an attachment (.eml file), use the Ctrl + Alt + F shortcut.

  • Ctrl + Z - Undo
    This is a lovely universal shortcut that reverses actions and can undo your mistakes; like recovering emails that were accidentally deleted. It can also be used to reverse unwanted text modifications without having to manually take back your text changes.

  • Ctrl + UMark as Unread
    Mark a message as unread if you need to get back to it later. Or use the Snooze email feature to move a new email out of your inbox for a specified time period. Snooze will return it to your inbox after the time period ends as a new message.
    If you want to perform the opposite action, use Ctrl + QMark as Read

  • Ctrl + ASelect all
    If you want to select all emails in one folder to easily move them to another folder, use Ctrl + A and every email will be highlighted. This shortcut can also be used to highlight text in message windows.
    To swiftly delete all older conversations when replying or forwarding a longer email, use Ctrl + A to highlight the entire text, and press Delete afterwards.

  • Ctrl + JMove to Spam
    There are two additional ways to move emails to spam. Right click and navigate to Menu > Message > Move to Junk. Or use the Ctrl + J shortcut.

  • InsertFollow up (flags a message)
    Click Insert on your keyboard to mark your important emails with a flag instead of wasting time with a mouse or touchpad.

  • Tab (space)Go to Next Section
    Use the Tab (space key) button to scroll down while viewing a long email. This works in either the message preview or the message window to scroll. Use the Tab button to conveniently navigate instead of clicking or pressing arrows to scroll down.

  • Shift + Delete - Delete Permanently
    Skip the trash folder and save time by deleting unwanted messages and items right away. Be careful not to permanently delete the wrong message!

Keep in mind that different computers could use different commands. A Mac keyboard shortcut and a Windows keyboard shortcut will use slightly different keys. Instead of Ctrl, macOS devices use the Command key.

Other useful eM Client shortcuts

  • F1 - Help

  • Ctrl + N - Create new Mail / Event / Task / Contact. Depends on the opened (selected) section.

  • Ctrl + P – Print

  • Ctrl + S - Save As

  • Ctrl + A - Select All

  • Ctrl + Shift + F - Find

  • Ctrl + Shift + V - Move to Folder

  • Ctrl + Shift + C - Copy to Folder

  • Ctrl + < - Previous Message

  • Ctrl + > - Next Message

  • Ctrl + Shift + R - Reply All

  • Alt + M - Hide Completed (in Tasks)


Your shortcut options are almost endless and customizable! Learn even more useful eM Client shortcuts here.

How to create custom shortcuts in eM Client

It’s awkward to make the switch to a different application when you’re used to certain keyboard shortcuts. If you like specific email shortcuts and want to keep using them on eM Client – you can! For example, if you’re used to the Gmail compose shortcut (Ctrl + N), or any of the Yahoo mail shortcut keys you can go to settings and modify the shortcut commands. Go to Menu > Settings > General > Shortcutsto do this. On this page, you can select the shortcut you want to modify and change it according to your preferences.

eM Client: Shortcuts settings

Modify the commands used for the keyboard shortcut in the field labeled “Shortcut.” Type the combination (or single key) that will be used to access the feature on eM Client.

How to remove shortcuts changes

Maybe you created a single key shortcut that’s getting in the way. Or maybe you thought of a more convenient key combination for a shortcut and need to delete the current keyboard shortcut settings. It’s okay to change your mind – you can reset one (or all) of your keyboard shortcuts back to the original settings.

To remove your new shortcuts, navigate back to Menu > Settings > General > Shortcuts and then click Reset all to default. This will return all of your shortcut settings back to their original settings. If you need to only revert one shortcut back to the default, select the shortcut you want to change and then click Reset to Default. You can do this as needed for any individual shortcut.

Whether you’re trying to reach your Inbox Zero goals, or just trying out new email tricks – using keyboard shortcuts are a great way to improve your workflow. Learn more helpful email tips and tricks by checking out our blog.

New to eM Client?

Try it out! It's free and fabulous.

If you’re ready for more, buy the PRO license and enjoy:

  • unlimited email accounts

  • unlimited commercial use

  • professional VIP support

  • Notes and Attachments sections

  • Snooze Email

  • Mass Mail

  • Send Email Later

  • Watch for Replies
    and more.

And in the meantime, check out our YouTube channel for how-to videos.