6 Simple Ways to Strikethrough Text in Outlook

How to Strikethrough Text in Outlook

Take your emails to the next level with the ability to stylishly cross out words or phrases using strikethrough formatting in Outlook. Whether it’s emphasizing a correction, marking an item as completed, or visually separating important information, strikethrough text can be an incredibly useful tool for enhancing the clarity and impact of your messages. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the simple steps and provide helpful tips to ensure that you can effortlessly master the art of striking through text in Outlook.

Unlike other features in Outlook, strikethrough formatting isn’t readily available through a dedicated button or keyboard shortcut. However, this doesn’t mean it’s an impossible feat. Outlook offers a clever workaround using a combination of formatting options, making it a breeze to achieve this effect. By following our step-by-step instructions, you’ll quickly discover how this seemingly elusive formatting technique can become second nature in your daily email correspondence. Furthermore, we’ll provide additional insights to enhance your understanding of strikethrough formatting, ensuring that you can use it with confidence.

Moreover, we understand that every individual’s workflow is unique, and not everyone may be familiar with the intricacies of Outlook’s formatting options. That’s why we’ve designed this guide to be user-friendly, regardless of your experience level. We’ll provide clear and concise instructions, accompanied by illustrative examples, to ensure that you can effortlessly apply strikethrough formatting to your emails. Whether you’re a seasoned Outlook user looking to expand your formatting repertoire or a newcomer eager to master the basics, this guide has got you covered.

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

The keyboard shortcut for strikethrough in Outlook is **Ctrl + Shift + ~**. To use this shortcut, place the cursor anywhere within the text you want to strikethrough. Then, press and hold the **Ctrl** and **Shift** keys simultaneously, and finally press the **~** key (located to the left of the 1 key on most keyboards). The selected text will now be struck through with a single line.

This keyboard shortcut is a quick and easy way to add strikethrough formatting to your text. It’s especially useful when you need to quickly strikethrough a large block of text or when you want to add strikethrough formatting to multiple lines at once.

Here’s a table summarizing the steps involved in using the keyboard shortcut for strikethrough in Outlook:

Step	Action
1	Place the cursor anywhere within the text you want to strikethrough.
2	Press and hold the Ctrl and Shift keys simultaneously.
3	Press the ~ key.

Utilizing the Font Menu

The Font Menu offers a straightforward approach to strikethrough text in Outlook. Follow these steps to employ this method:

1. Highlight the Desired Text

Begin by selecting the text you wish to strikethrough. Use your mouse to drag over the text or utilize keyboard shortcuts like “Ctrl+A” to highlight the entire email body.

2. Access the Font Menu

Once the text is highlighted, navigate to the “Format Text” tab within the Ribbon menu. Click on the small downward-facing arrow next to the “Font” section.

Alternatively, you can utilize keyboard shortcuts to access the Font Menu: “Ctrl+Shift+F” for Windows or “Command+Shift+F” for Mac.

3. Enable Strikethrough

Within the Font Menu, you’ll find a section labeled “Effects.” Locate the “Strikethrough” option and toggle it on by clicking the checkbox or using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+5” (Windows) or “Command+5” (Mac).

As soon as you activate the Strikethrough option, the highlighted text will immediately display with a line through it, indicating successful strikethrough formatting.

Here’s a table summarizing the keystrokes for enabling strikethrough via the Font Menu:

Platform	Keyboard Shortcut
Windows	Ctrl+Shift+F, Ctrl+5
Mac	Command+Shift+F, Command+5

Enclosing Text in Strikethrough Tags

Markdown, an easy-to-use markup language, allows for simple text formatting, including the ability to strikethrough text. The enclosing text in strikethrough tags method involves using the tilde (~) character to enclose the text you want to strikethrough.

Formatting Text Using Markdown

To strikethrough text using Markdown in Outlook, follow these steps:

1. Open the email message you want to send.
2. In the message body, type the text you want to strikethrough.
3. Enclose the text in double tildes (~).
4. For example, to strikethrough the text “this is strikethrough text,” you would type:

“`
~this is strikethrough text~
“`

5. The result will be strikethrough text displayed like this: ~~this is strikethrough text~~.

Additional Options for Strikethrough

Outlook also supports other methods for strikethrough:

Keyboard Shortcut: Select the text you want to strikethrough and press Ctrl + Alt + T (Windows) or Command + Alt + T (Mac).
Ribbon Menu: In the Outlook ribbon, click the Home tab and select the Strikethrough button in the Font group.

Table of Strikethrough Formatting Options

Method	Steps
Markdown	Enclose text in double tildes (~)
Keyboard Shortcut	Select text and press `Ctrl` + `Alt` + `T` (Windows) or `Command` + `Alt` + `T` (Mac)
Ribbon Menu	Click the `Strikethrough` button in the `Home` tab, `Font` group

Customizing the Toolbar for Quick Access

You can customize the Quick Access Toolbar to add the Strikethrough button for easier access. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Display the Customize Quick Access Toolbar Menu

Click the down arrow at the end of the Quick Access Toolbar and select “Customize Quick Access Toolbar”.

2. Choose the Strikethrough Command

In the “Choose Commands From” dropdown menu, select “All Commands”. Scroll down and select the “Strikethrough” command.

3. Add the Strikethrough Button

Click the “Add >>” button to move the Strikethrough command to the Quick Access Toolbar. Click “OK” to save your changes.

4. Find the Strikethrough Button

The Strikethrough button will now appear in the Quick Access Toolbar, usually near the bottom.

5. Customize Button Visibility

If you don’t see the Strikethrough button, click the down arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar and select “More Commands”. In the “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” window, check the “Show below the Ribbon” option to display the Strikethrough button below the Ribbon.

6. Toggle Strikethrough

Once the Strikethrough button is added, you can easily toggle strikethrough formatting by clicking the button or using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 5.

7. Customize Button Position

You can adjust the position of the Strikethrough button by dragging and dropping it to the desired location.

8. Advanced Customization (Optional)

For advanced customization, you can edit the XML code of the Quick Access Toolbar. Follow these steps:

Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
In the “Customize the Ribbon” window, click the “Import/Export” button.
Select “Export all customizations” and save the file as an XML file.
Open the XML file in a text editor and search for the following line:

Before:	After:
`<commands>`	`<commands><command id="Strikethrough" label="Strikethrough" style="toggleButton" />`

Save the edited XML file and re-import it using the “Import/Export” button in the “Customize Ribbon” window.
Click “OK” to save your changes and restart Outlook.

Note: This advanced customization is not recommended for beginner users.

How To Strikethrough Text In Outlook

To strikethrough text in Outlook, follow these steps:

Select the text you want to strikethrough.
Click the “Font” group on the “Home” tab.
Click the “Strikethrough” button.

The selected text will now be strikethrough.