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How to Use AIM Mail and AOL Mail Fast with Keyboard Shortcuts

By , About.com Guide

The mouse is great if you need to point somewhere on the screen or drag something around. Text is usually entered faster using a keyboard.

If you know the proper key combinations to press, the keyboard can also be faster executing commands than, say, clicking on a button with the mouse. This is especially true when what you have just been doing is entering text — composing an email, for example.

In AIM Mail or AOL Mail, a few handy shortcuts give you keyboard-only (thus superiorly snappy) access to some oft-used commands. Unfortunately, others — like Send — are missing.

Use AIM Mail and AOL Mail Fast with Keyboard Shortcuts

To use keyboard shortcuts in AIM Mail and AOL Mail, remember the following keys. On Windows and Linux, use them in combination with the Alt key, on a Mac with either Command (Safari) or Ctrl. The W shortcut becomes Alt-W, Ctrl-W or Command-W.

When Reading a Message in AIM Mail or AOL Mail

  • D: Delete
  • R: Reply
  • A: Reply to all
  • F: Forward
  • T: Print
  • P: Go to the previous message
  • N: Go to the next message

When Composing a Message in AIM Mail or AOL Mail

  • =: Check the spelling
  • T: Pick a To: address from the address book
  • C: Pick a Cc: address from the address book
  • B: Pick a Bcc: address from the address book
    • You can scroll the address book with N (next page) and P (previous page).

In the Main AIM Mail or AOL Mail Window

  • W: Write a new message
  • If the folder has more than a page full of messages in it:
    • N: Go to the next page
    • P: Go to the previous page

After You Have Opened an AIM Mail or AOL Mail "Quick Action" Menu

If you click with the right mouse button on any message in an AIM Mail or AOL Mail folder, a menu comes up. In addition to the keyboard shortcuts listed above, you can press any of the highlighted and underlined keys in the menu to perform that action while the menu is visible. No Alt, Ctrl or Command needed.

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