How to Add a Sender to OS X Mail Contacts Quickly

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on June 30, 2022
Typing on Mac laptop
PeopleImages / Getty Images

What to Know

  • Add: Open sender's message > press Command+Shift+Y or select Message > Add Sender to Contacts.
  • Create shortcut: Select Apple > System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts tab > App Shortcuts > + > Mail.
  • Next: Type “Add Sender to Contacts” > select Keyboard Shortcut > press Command+Shift+Y > select Add.

This article explains how to set up and use keyboard shortcuts to quickly add a sender to the address book in macOS X.

Add a Sender to the Mac OS X Mail Address Book

  1. Open a message from the sender you wish to add.
  2. Press Command+Shift+Y.​
    1. If the keyboard shortcut is not working, see below for adding it.
    2. You can also select Message > Add Sender to Contacts from the menu.

This adds the sender's email address (together with her name, if one appears in the From: line) to the address book without asking any questions.

If you want to edit the newly added contact (to assign a picture to it, for example), open Contacts separately.

Keyboard Shortcut for Adding Senders in OS X Mail

To set up a keyboard shortcut for adding senders to the address book in OS X Mail:

  1. Select Apple > System Preferences…
  2. Open the Keyboard section.
  3. Go to the Shortcuts tab.
  4. Select App Shortcuts.
  5. Click +.
  6. Make sure Mail is selected under Application:.
  7. Type “Add Sender to Contacts” under Menu Title.
  8. Click on the Keyboard Shortcut field.
  9. Press Command+Shift+Y.
  10. Click Add.
Was this page helpful?