How To Strikethrough In Outlook

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Tired of staring at those pesky, distracting strikethroughs in your Outlook emails? It’s time to take back control and wield the power of the strikethrough. Whether you want to cross out a completed task or highlight a section for revision, striking through text can enhance clarity and organization in your communications. This comprehensive guide will empower you with the knowledge and techniques to effortlessly strikethrough text in Outlook, transforming your emails into sleek and professional masterpieces.

To initiate the strikethrough magic, simply select the text you wish to cross out. Next, navigate to the “Font” group on the “Home” tab. Amidst the various formatting options, you’ll spot the “Strikethrough” button – an elegant letter “S” with a horizontal line running through it. With a single click, you’ll transform your selected text into a striking display of crossed-out grandeur. Now, your completed tasks or highlighted sections will stand out in bold relief, catching the reader’s attention with their newfound emphasis.

But what if you’re a keyboard enthusiast who prefers the tactile satisfaction of keystrokes? Fear not, for Outlook has you covered. Simply place your cursor within the text you want to strikethrough and hit the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + Shift + ~” (tilde). Voila! The selected text will magically don its strikethrough attire, ready to convey your intentions with crystal-clear elegance. Whether you’re a mouse maestro or a keyboard ninja, Outlook provides multiple avenues to effortlessly strikethrough text, empowering you to craft visually appealing and effective emails.

Utilizing Keyboard Shortcuts

Mastering keyboard shortcuts can significantly enhance your efficiency in Microsoft Outlook. To strikethrough text using a shortcut, simply follow these steps:

Windows Users:

Press the “Ctrl” key and hold it down.

While holding down “Ctrl”, press the letter “D” twice (i.e., “Ctrl+D+D”).

Mac Users:

Press and hold the “Command” key.

While holding down “Command”, press the letter “S” twice (i.e., “Command+S+S”).

By utilizing these shortcuts, you can quickly strikethrough text in your Outlook emails and other documents without having to navigate through the menus or toolbars.

Platform Keyboard Shortcut
Windows Ctrl+D+D
Mac Command+S+S

Customizing Strikethrough Styles

Microsoft Outlook offers a range of options to customize the appearance of strikethrough styles. These options allow you to tailor the strikethrough to your specific needs and preferences.

Modifying Strikethrough Color

You can change the color of your strikethrough line to match your document’s aesthetics. To do this, highlight the text you want to strikethrough, click the “Strikethrough” button on the Formatting toolbar, and then select “Font Color” from the drop-down menu. Choose the desired color from the palette.

Adjusting Strikethrough Thickness

The thickness of your strikethrough line can also be adjusted. Select the stricken-through text, open the “Font” dialog box, and go to the “Strikethrough” section. Use the slider to increase or decrease the thickness of the line, creating a subtle or more pronounced effect.

Applying Strikethrough to Specific Parts of Text

Sometimes, you may want to strikethrough only a portion of a word or phrase. To achieve this, select the specific text you want to strikethrough, open the “Font” dialog box, and go to the “Strikethrough” section. Enable the “Strike through selected text only” option. This will apply the strikethrough only to the highlighted text, leaving the rest of the word or phrase untouched.

Strikethrough Customization Options
Option Purpose
Strikethrough Color Change the color of the strikethrough line.
Strikethrough Thickness Adjust the thickness of the strikethrough line.
Strike through selected text only Apply strikethrough to a specific portion of text.

Applying Strikethrough to Email Text

To apply strikethrough to email text in Outlook, follow these steps:

  1. Highlight the text you want to strikethrough.
  2. Click the “Font” button in the “Font” group on the “Home” tab.
  3. In the “Font” dialog box, select the “Strikethrough” checkbox.
  4. Click “OK” to apply the strikethrough.

Using Keyboard Shortcut

You can also use a keyboard shortcut to apply strikethrough:

Operating System Keyboard Shortcut
Windows Ctrl + Shift + ~
Mac Command + Shift + X

Note: The keyboard shortcut may vary depending on your system’s language settings.

Troubleshooting Strikethrough Issues

If you’re experiencing issues using strikethrough in Outlook, here are some troubleshooting steps to help you resolve the problem:

1. Verify that strikethrough is enabled

Make sure that strikethrough formatting is enabled in Outlook. Go to the “Font” group on the Home tab and click the “Strikethrough” button.

2. Check for conflicts with other formatting

Strikethrough formatting may not work properly if other formatting, such as bold or underline, is applied to the text. Try removing any conflicting formatting and see if that resolves the issue.

3. Update Outlook

Ensure that you’re using the latest version of Outlook. Updates often include bug fixes that may resolve strikethrough issues.

4. Verify email compatibility

If you’re sending an email to a recipient using an older version of Outlook or a different email client, they may not be able to view strikethrough formatting correctly.

5. Check for add-ins

Some Outlook add-ins can interfere with formatting features. Try disabling any non-essential add-ins and see if that solves the problem.

6. Repair Outlook

If the above steps don’t resolve the issue, try repairing Outlook. This can often fix corrupted files or settings that may be causing the strikethrough issue.

7. Advanced troubleshooting

If the strikethrough issue persists after trying the previous troubleshooting steps, consider the following advanced troubleshooting options:

Issue Resolution
Strikethrough not visible when sending HTML emails Ensure that the HTML editor is set to use the correct character encoding. Go to File > Options > Mail > Composing messages > HTML and select “Western European (ISO)” or “Unicode (UTF-8)”.
Strikethrough appears as underscores This can occur if the recipient’s email client doesn’t support strikethrough formatting. Consider using a different formatting style, such as a dotted line or deletion line.
Strikethrough not working in certain applications Some third-party applications may not support strikethrough formatting. Try using a different application or exporting the text to a different format, such as a PDF.

Tips for Effective Strikethrough Usage

Strikethrough can be a useful formatting tool when you need to indicate that text has been crossed out or deleted. Here are some tips for using strikethrough effectively:

Use it sparingly

Strikethrough can be visually distracting, so it’s best to use it sparingly. Only use it when you really need to draw attention to the fact that text has been crossed out or deleted.

Don’t use it for emphasis

Strikethrough is not a good way to emphasize text. Use bold, italics, or underlining instead.

Be consistent

If you’re using strikethrough to cross out text, make sure you do it consistently throughout your document. This will help to create a more professional and polished look.

Use it for its intended purpose

Strikethrough is most commonly used to cross out or delete text. However, it can also be used for other purposes, such as indicating that text is incomplete or has been superseded.

Don’t use it on headings

Strikethrough can make headings difficult to read, so it’s best to avoid using it on them.

Be aware of cross-platform compatibility

Not all email clients support strikethrough. If you’re sending an email to someone who may not have access to a client that supports strikethrough, you may want to use a different formatting option, such as bold or italics.

Use it to highlight changes

Strikethrough can be used to highlight changes that have been made to a document. This can be useful for tracking changes or for providing feedback on a draft.

Consider using it for emphasis (in moderation)

While it’s generally better to avoid using strikethrough for emphasis, there may be some cases where it can be used effectively. For example, you could use strikethrough to emphasize a word or phrase that you want to stand out from the rest of the text. However, it’s important to use this technique sparingly, as it can quickly become distracting.

Pros Cons
Can be used to cross out or delete text Can be visually distracting
Can be used to indicate that text is incomplete or has been superseded Not all email clients support strikethrough
Can be used to highlight changes that have been made to a document Can be difficult to read on headings

Alternatives to Strikethrough in Outlook

If you’re unable to use strikethrough in Outlook, there are several alternative methods you can use to achieve similar results:

1. Tilde (~)

Enclose the text you want to strikethrough with two tildes (~):

~this text will be struck through~

The resulting text will appear as: this text will be struck through

2. Double Underscore (__)

Use two double underscores before and after the text you want to strikethrough:

__this text will be struck through__

The resulting text will appear as: this text will be struck through

3. Markdown

If you’re using Markdown in Outlook, you can use the following syntax to strikethrough text:

~~this text will be struck through~~

The resulting text will appear as: this text will be struck through

4. HTML

You can add a strikethrough line to text using the HTML code :

this text will be struck through

The resulting text will appear as: this text will be struck through

5. Custom Styles

In Outlook, you can create custom text styles that include strikethrough formatting. Here's how:

  1. Select the text you want to strikethrough.
  2. Click the "Font" button in the "Format Text" section of the ribbon.
  3. In the "Font" dialog box, click the "Strikethrough" checkbox.
  4. Click "OK" to save the style.
  5. You can apply the custom style to any text by selecting it and choosing the style from the "Styles" drop-down menu in the "Font" group.

6. Thunderbird Extension

If you use Mozilla Thunderbird instead of Outlook, you can install the "Strikethrough" extension to add strikethrough functionality.

7. Copy and Paste

If you have access to a program that supports strikethrough formatting (such as Microsoft Word), you can copy the struck-through text from that program and paste it into Outlook.

8. Snippet Manager

There are snippet managers available that allow you to save and reuse text snippets, including struck-through text. You can insert the snippets into Outlook as needed.

9. Strikethrough Converter Tools

There are various online tools and browser extensions that can convert regular text into struck-through text. Here are some examples:

Tool Description
TextFancy Converts text to struck-through with different styles.
Strikethrough.io Converts text to struck-through using JavaScript.
Strikethrough Text Extension for Chrome Adds a strikethrough button to the browser toolbar.
Strikethrough Extension for Firefox Adds a strikethrough button to the Firefox toolbar.

You can use these tools to convert text into struck-through format and then copy and paste it into Outlook.

Accessibility Considerations for Strikethrough

Strikethrough text can be helpful for indicating deleted or canceled text, but it is important to consider accessibility when using this formatting. People who use screen readers may have difficulty understanding strikethrough text, as it can be read as normal text or as a hyphenated word. To ensure that strikethrough text is accessible, consider using other methods, such as:

  • Using the HTML element to indicate deleted text.
  • Using the HTML element to indicate canceled text.
  • Using a different font color or style to indicate strikethrough text.

    • Additionally, you can provide a tooltip or alt text that describes the strikethrough text for screen reader users.

    In addition to the above considerations, here are some additional tips for making strikethrough text accessible:

    1. Use strikethrough text sparingly. Too much strikethrough text can be confusing and difficult to read.
    2. Avoid using strikethrough text on important or essential information. Strikethrough text can make it difficult to distinguish between important and unimportant information.
    3. Use a clear and concise font when using strikethrough text. A small or difficult-to-read font can make it difficult to understand the strikethrough text.

    By following these guidelines, you can ensure that strikethrough text is accessible to all users, including those who use screen readers.

    How to Strikethrough in Outlook

    To strikethrough text in Microsoft Outlook, follow these steps:

    1. Select the text you want to strikethrough.
    2. Click the "Font" group on the "Home" tab.
    3. Click the "Strikethrough" button. The selected text will be struckthrough.

    Keyboard Shortcut

    Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut **Ctrl + Shift + F** to apply strikethrough to the selected text.

    People also ask about How to Strikethrough in Outlook

    What is the strikethrough used for?

    Strikethrough is used to indicate that text has been deleted or is no longer relevant. It is commonly used in emails, documents, and other written materials.

    Can I strikethrough a part of a word in Outlook?

    No, Outlook does not allow you to strikethrough part of a word. You can only strikethrough entire words or phrases.

    How do I remove strikethrough from text in Outlook?

    To remove strikethrough from text in Outlook, follow the same steps as described above, but click the "Strikethrough" button again to toggle it off.

    Method Description Accessibility
    HTML element Indicates deleted text Good
    HTML element

    		Indicates canceled text Good
    Different font color or style Indicates strikethrough text Fair
    Tooltip or alt text Describes strikethrough text Excellent