ActiveWords Scripting in Outlook...

 I live in Outlook, and every day I find myself thinking about how to script more things in Outlook. I have been using Outlook 2008 since before it “shipped” and couldn’t imagine using a computer without it. But there are things inside Outlook that are baffling. A simple example is the idea of forwarding a vCard in an E-Mail. It is a bit like one of those conversations where you know it is there somewhere, but you just don’t know where.

If you hold down the “alt” key inside the contact window, certain keyboard equivalents are revealed, but not enough. Hence today I scripted the ability to forward a vCard using ActiveWords and it was pretty simple, e.g.

<ALT>H</ALT>NI

Which is ActiveWords speak for:

<ALT> lowers the alt key

H…=hit the “h” key

</ALT> lets up on the alt key

N … = send

I…= Use Internet format, e.g. a vCard.

So, the next time someone says, oh, you have say Buzz’s contact info, you find it, and type say “fv” and whammo the vCard is in a new E-Mail ready to address and send on.

Works way too well, and the same logic applies for pretty much everything else in Outlook.

p.s. I am also looking for what I am told is the “MOSS”, e.g. the mother of all spreadsheets with every keyboard equivalent in Office, Vista and Outlook. If you know where I can find it, or who to reach out to, don’t hesitate but to ping me!

Tags: Scripting

Comments

[Anne H]

Buzz...why don't you start a wiki for the keyboard equivalents so people can add or review them.

I don't know if this an absolute, but if you use the program's help feature and type "keyboard shortcuts" you often find a list.