How to quickly select all emails, contacts, or calendar items in Outlook?

Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to select every item within a folder in Outlook. They are particularly suitable for those who prefer quick, hands-on navigation and for scenarios where you need to select all items but have not customized toolbars. Consider the following shortcut combinations:

    A. Ctrl + A: Open the relevant folder in Outlook. Click any email, contact, calendar item, or task, then press Ctrl + A to instantly select all items in the folder.
    B. Ctrl + Shift + End: To select a continuous range from a starting point through to the final item, first select the initial item, then press Ctrl + Shift + End.
    C. Shift: Click the first item in the folder, then scroll down and click the last item while holding the Shift key. This selects all items between your first and last click, which is especially handy for selecting a specific range.

Tips: These shortcuts work across most item list views in Outlook, but if you are in a non-list view (like certain calendar displays), you may need to switch to a table or list view first. If pressing the shortcuts does not yield the desired selection, ensure that the current Outlook window or pane is active and that you have clicked an item in the correct folder.

Advantages: No setup required, very fast for experienced keyboard users.
Limitations: Less visual feedback and may be difficult for new users or those who prefer mouse navigation.

Quickly search and delete duplicate emails in Outlook

Kutools for Outlook provides a straightforward Duplicate Emails feature that enables users to efficiently locate and remove duplicate messages from multiple mail folders. You can either perform a scan across all folders or focus only on selected ones, typically with just a couple of clicks. This helps maintain a cleaner mailbox and reduces clutter, making further bulk selections and management easier.

In Outlook 2010 and later versions, you can make selection even more convenient by adding the Select All button to the Quick Access Toolbar. This mouse-based solution is handy for those who prefer visual controls and regular use of multi-selection tasks.

1. Click the downward arrow located on the Quick Access Toolbar at the top of the Outlook interface, and select More Commands from the drop-down menu.

2. In the Outlook Options window:
(1) Select All Commands in the Choose commands from drop-down.
(2) Scroll down and highlight Select All in the command list.
(3) Click Add to place the button on your Quick Access Toolbar.
(4) Finally, click OK to confirm the changes.

3. The Select All button will now appear on the Quick Access Toolbar for easy access in any folder.

Notes:
    (1) To use this feature, first navigate to the desired folder (mail, contacts, or calendar), then click the Select All button on the toolbar. This will select every visible item in the folder.
    (2) Once added, the Select All button remains available on the Quick Access Toolbar across all Outlook folders, providing consistent access without repeated setup.

Benefits: Offers a visual, familiar interface for users; reduces risk of finger fatigue from repeating keyboard shortcuts; ideal for frequent bulk operations in various folder types.

Outlook 2007 users can also configure a Select All button in their interface, although the process involves customizing the Advanced Toolbar. This is useful for those who frequently need to manage large lists of items in their legacy Outlook installation.

1. First, add the Advanced Toolbar to the Outlook ribbon by right-clicking anywhere on the ribbon and then checking Advanced in the available menu.

Afterwards, you should see the Advanced toolbar displayed on the ribbon, as shown to the right.

2. With the Advanced Toolbar enabled, navigate to the Outlook folder you want to select all items from. Right-click on the Advanced toolbar itself, then choose Customize from the context menu.

3. In the Customize dialog:
(1) Switch to the Commands tab.
(2) Click Edit in the Categories section.
(3) Locate and drag the Select All command from the list onto the Advanced Toolbar.

After dragging, the Select All button will appear on your toolbar for immediate use.

Note:
In Outlook 2007, the Select All button is available and works in Mail and Contacts views. For Calendar selection, change the view to "List" to ensure the Select All button is visible and functional. Non-list views do not support the Select All function directly.

For more advanced users or those performing repetitive tasks, Outlook’s VBA editor can be used to select all items in the currently active folder programmatically. This approach is ideal if you are automating other processes and want bulk selection as part of your workflow. You can further customize VBA scripts to suit specific selection criteria.

Before using VBA: Make sure you have enabled macro functionality in Outlook and saved all work, as macros can modify current selection. This method is best for experienced users familiar with the VBA editor.

1. Open Outlook and select the folder where you want all items to be selected.

2. Press Alt + F11 to launch the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications editor.

3. In the VBA window, go to Insert > Module. Copy and paste the following VBA code into the new module:

VBA code: Select all items in the active folder

Sub SelectAllItemsInFolder()
    Dim olExp As Explorer
    Dim olFldr As Folder
    On Error Resume Next
    xTitleId = "KutoolsforOutlook"
    Set olExp = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer
    Set olFldr = olExp.CurrentFolder
    If olFldr Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "No folder is currently selected!", vbExclamation, xTitleId
        Exit Sub
    End If
    If olFldr.Items.Count = 0 Then
        MsgBox "The folder is empty.", vbInformation, xTitleId
    Else
        olExp.SelectAllItems
        MsgBox "All items in the folder have been selected.", vbInformation, xTitleId
    End If
    Set olExp = Nothing
    Set olFldr = Nothing
End Sub

4. To execute the macro and select all items, press F5 from the VBA window. The macro will automatically select every item in the active folder and display a confirmation dialog.