Selecting text no longer working properly in Outlook Web App on MacOS

Hello Justin

We warmly welcome you to Microsoft community.

Have you tried using outlook on the web in incognito mood? Kindly check and implement the sign-in methods in OWA for MacOS. How to sign in to Outlook.com on a device that's not yours - Microsoft Support

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance with the issue.

Sincerely,

Bertrand

Thanks for your reply. Incognito mode doesn't work. I think MSFT broke something on their back end when it comes to using a Mac keyboard and a basic shortcut. It works fine on Windows, but on all macs and all browsers it is broken. Any other thoughts?

I am also really struggling with this change! It seems to only impact the web based Microsoft Outlook. I have been using the application for Microsoft Outlook on my MacBook and the shortcut DOES work there. However, I much prefer the workflow and look of the web based Microsoft Outlook and would like this fixed so I can return to the web based version.

Agree 100%. Hopefully someone can help us or Microsoft fixes this!

It seems they rolled out a new shortcut. I noticed the change about a week ago. Rather than using Option + Shift + Arrow Key to select text a word at a time, it now will increase or decrease indentation of bullet points or other bulleted text left and right with the arrow keys. It however does not work the same as the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent keys as those keys will only indent the bulleted line and turn it into a sub-bullet point where the Option + Shift + Arrow Key moves the whole bulleted stack to the right or left.

This is an interesting new feature, but it's pretty much useless and it needs to be mapped to new hot keys rather than the already used Option + Shift + Arrow Key hotkeys for selecting text. I haven't found a place to control these types of hotkeys. For example, under View Settings, General, Accessibility, there are Keyboard Shortcuts and I can change them between Outlook and Gmail shortcuts, but these only work for editing messages, not editing text.

Way to get to the bottom of this! Now what? Does anyone from microsoft actually read this or is there a forum to get their attention? Seems really stupid to replace a common hot key with a useless one.

Hello Justin G 312

Thanks for the feedback. As a forum supporter, we do not have sufficient permissions and resources to conduct research directly.

We recommend that you contact your Microsoft 365 administrator and follow the steps in this article https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/get-help-support?view=o365-worldwide&tabs=online#online-support to create a support ticket to Microsoft support to investigate further.

Best Regards

Bertrand

I have the same problem since yesterday, this is super annoying because it's such a basic shortcut. You can't just appoint that to another function! Hope this can be fixed quickly.

I can't create a support ticket myself since I am not an admin in my company but I left feedback in the app at least.

Best,

Sebastian

I posted the issue on Reddit and someone who is an admin said they submitted it and got this promising response:

Good news.. I’m an admin and logged a ticket with MS. This is their response:

Following our discussion, I have consulted with my team regarding the issue you reported. We have received similar reports from multiple Mac users experiencing difficulties with the keyboard shortcut for text selection in the Outlook Web App on Mac OS. This issue was first identified on April 2nd, 2024, and I am pleased to inform you that our team at Microsoft is actively working on a resolution. Once the fix has been developed, it will undergo testing before being deployed to all affected tenants. While we do not currently have an estimated time of release for this fix, please be assured that we are committed to resolving this issue as swiftly as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

I posted the issue on Reddit and someone who is an admin said they submitted it and got this promising response:

Good news.. I’m an admin and logged a ticket with MS. This is their response:

[…]

Nice, that sounds promising indeed. Thanks for keeping us posted!