Switching Back to Windows 7 Style Outlook Email Alerts in Windows 10

In Windows 10, the Outlook 2016 desktop application sends email alerts to the Windows Notification Center. I don't like how big this email alert is and, more importantly, it's not possible to delete the email by clicking on the alert, which I could do in Windows 7. Instead, I have to go into Outlook and delete the email there.

The good news is that it is quite easy to switch back to the old-style email alert, which is smaller and has a delete button, as follows:

1. Right-click the Outlook shortcut icon and choose "Troubleshoot Compatibility"
2. In the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter dialog, select "Troubleshoot program"
3. Select "The program worked in earlier versions of Windows but won't install or run now"
4. Select "Windows 7"
5. Press "Test the program..." which will launch Outlook. Send yourself an email to confirm that the email alert is now back to Windows 7 style
6. Select "Yes, save these settings for this program"

Code Formatting Shortcut in Outlook 2010

I often have to write code snippets in my emails and find it such a hassle having to move my mouse to the font selection drop-down to change my font to Consolas every time. I thought that it would be so much easier if I had a keyboard shortcut to switch the font for me (a bit like stackoverflow). After searching around, I found that this can be achieved in Microsoft Outlook by creating a macro that changes the font of your selected text and then assigning a shortcut for that macro.

Creating the macro:

1. In Outlook, press Alt+F8 to open the Macros dialog
2. Enter a name for the macro e.g. SetCodeFont and press the Create button
3. Paste the following macro code into the Visual Basic Editor that opens:

   Sub SetCodeFont()
     Dim objItem As Object
     Dim objInsp As Outlook.Inspector
   
     Dim objWord As Word.Application
     Dim objDoc As Word.Document
     Dim objSel As Word.Selection
     On Error Resume Next
   
     Set objItem = Application.ActiveInspector.CurrentItem
     If Not objItem Is Nothing Then
       If objItem.Class = olMail Then
         Set objInsp = objItem.GetInspector
         If objInsp.EditorType = olEditorWord Then
           Set objDoc = objInsp.WordEditor
           Set objWord = objDoc.Application
           Set objSel = objWord.Selection
           objSel.Font.Name = "Consolas"
         End If
       End If
     End If
   
     Set objItem = Nothing
     Set objWord = Nothing
     Set objSel = Nothing
     Set objInsp = Nothing
   End Sub
   

4. On the menu bar of the Visual Basic Editor, click on Tools > References... and tick Microsoft Word 14.0 Object Library
5. Save (Ctrl+S) and close the Visual Basic Editor

Assigning a keyboard shortcut for the macro:

1. Open a new mail message
2. Click on the small drop-down arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar (usually located at the very top of the message window) and select More Commands...
3. In the Outlook Options dialog that opens, click on the Choose commands from: drop-down list and select Macros
4. Pick Project1.SetCodeFont and press Add >> to add it to the toolbar
5. Press OK and you should now see the SetCodeFont macro button appear on the Quick Access Toolbar

Running the macro:

You can run the macro by using Alt+NUM, where NUM is the position of the macro button on the toolbar. For example, if the macro button is the first button on the toolbar, use Alt+1 to run it. Try it out by typing some text in your email message, selecting it and pressing Alt+1 to change the font to Consolas. You can use Ctrl+Space to switch back to the default font.

Note: You may get a security popup when you run the macro, asking you to Allow or Deny access. You can change your security settings by going into File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings... > Macro Settings, but this will require Administrator privileges (I haven't tried this).

Reference:

Use Word Macro to Apply Formatting to Outlook Email by Diane Poremsky [www.slipstick.com]