Thumbs Up Keyboard Shortcut in Outlook (Emoji Panel, Alt+X and Reactions)

The fastest thumbs up keyboard shortcut in Outlook on Windows is Windows key + . (period). It opens the Windows emoji panel at the cursor. Type “thumbs” in the search box and press Enter. In classic Outlook there is a second keyboard route: type 1F44D and press Alt + X.

If you only want to “like” an email someone sent you, that is a different feature. Outlook calls it Reactions, and it does not need any emoji in the message body.

In this guide, I’ll show both: how to put the thumbs up emoji inside an email you are writing, and how to thumbs up a received email without replying.

Quick answer: In any Outlook on Windows, press Windows key + . (period), search “thumbs” and press Enter. In classic Outlook, typing 1F44D then Alt + X also works. On a Mac, press Control + Command + Space. To like a received email, open it and click the reactions (smiley face) button at the top right, then pick the thumbs up.

Which Method Works in Which Outlook

Outlook comes in several versions now, and not every trick works in every one. Here is the quick map before the steps.

The first three rows are Outlook emoji keyboard shortcuts that work for any emoji, the thumbs up included.

1) Windows Key + Period: The Emoji Panel

If you remember only one shortcut, make it this one. It is part of Windows 10 and 11, not Outlook, so it works the same in classic Outlook, new Outlook and Outlook in the browser.

1. Open a new email (Ctrl + N in classic Outlook) or click Reply.
2. Click inside the message body where the thumbs up should go.
3. Press Windows key + . (period). Windows key + ; (semicolon) does the same thing.
4. Type thumbs in the search box at the top of the panel.
5. Use the arrow keys to select the thumbs up and press Enter, or just click it.

Once you have used it, the thumbs up stays in the recently used row, so next time it is one key press and Enter. Press Esc to close the panel.

If nothing opens, check two things. The period key on the number pad does not trigger the panel, use the one next to the comma. Also, some guides note the panel needs the English language pack on Windows 10/11, so a PC set to another display language may not open it.

2) Type 1F44D and Press Alt + X (Classic Outlook)

The thumbs up emoji has the Unicode code U+1F44D. Classic Outlook uses the Word editor for email, so the old Word trick works here as well.

1. In the message body, type 1F44D (without the U+).
2. Do not type a space after it.
3. Press Alt + X. The code turns into the thumbs up emoji.

The original version of this post said the F and D must be uppercase. That is not right. Office Watch confirms Alt + X does not care about case, so 1f44d works too.

I could not find Microsoft documentation saying Alt + X works in new Outlook or Outlook on the web, so treat this as a classic Outlook trick and use the emoji panel in the other versions.

Make Your Own Shortcut with AutoCorrect

If you send a thumbs up many times a day, classic Outlook can replace a few characters you type with the emoji.

1. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
2. Set Font to Segoe UI Emoji and Subset to Extended Characters – Plane 1, then find and select the thumbs up.
3. Click AutoCorrect at the bottom left of the dialog.
4. In Replace, type your own shortcut (something you never type by accident, for example (y)) and click Add, then OK.

From then on, typing your shortcut in the message body inserts the thumbs up. This works in the body, not in the subject line.

3) Type a Colon in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web have their own emoji suggestions. Type a colon followed by the start of the name, for example :thumbs, and a short list of matching emoji appears. Pick the thumbs up with the mouse or press Enter.

In Outlook on the web, typing only the colon also shows a few frequent emoji, with a View all option for the full list.

4) Thumbs Up Shortcut on Mac

Outlook for Mac uses the macOS Character Viewer.

• Press Control + Command + Space, or Fn/Globe + E on newer Mac keyboards.
• You can also open it from the menu bar: Edit > Emoji & Symbols.
• Type “thumbs” in the search field and double-click the thumbs up.

Apple’s Mac Help page on emoji and symbols also shows how to make the Fn/Globe key open the viewer with a single press.

5) Insert > Icons (a Graphic, Not an Emoji)

Classic Outlook with a Microsoft 365 subscription has an icon library. This inserts a thumbs up as a small graphic, not a text character. Use it when you want a clean black or outline icon instead of the yellow emoji.

1. Click in the message body.
2. Go to Insert > Icons. The Stock Images window opens on the Icons tab.
3. Search for thumbs up.
4. Select the outline or the solid icon and click Insert.

You can resize and recolor the icon after inserting it. If you prefer the keyboard, press Alt in the ribbon and follow the letters (KeyTips) Outlook shows for Insert and Icons.

6) Insert > Pictures > Online Pictures

The same Insert tab has Pictures > Online Pictures, which searches Bing images. Search thumbs up, keep Creative Commons only ticked, select an image and click Insert.

This is a full picture, so it is bigger than an emoji and you are responsible for the image rights (the dialog says so too). For a normal reply, the emoji panel is the better choice. And if you already have the emoji somewhere, plain copy and paste (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V) still works in every Outlook.

How to Thumbs Up an Email in Outlook (Reactions)

To thumbs up an email in Outlook, open the message, click the reactions button (the smiley face at the top right of the message, next to Reply and Forward) and pick the thumbs up. No reply email is created. The sender sees your reaction in the message and in their Notifications (the bell icon).

A few things to know, from Microsoft’s Reactions in Outlook support page:

• The choices are thumbs up, heart, celebrate, laugh, surprise and sad. One reaction per message. Picking another one replaces the first.
• Hover over a reaction to see who reacted.
• People in To and Cc see each other’s reactions. A reaction from a Bcc recipient is visible only to that person and the sender.
• If you got reactions in about the last day, Outlook sends you a digest email. Each user can unsubscribe from it.
• It works in classic Outlook, new Outlook, Outlook on the web, Mac, iOS and Android.

There is no documented keyboard shortcut for reactions that I could find. It is a click or a tap.

For a quick “noted” or “approved” inside the company, a reaction is cleaner than a one-line reply. It does not add another email to everyone’s inbox in a long Cc thread. You can also @mention someone in Outlook when you need their attention rather than an acknowledgement.

Why Are Outlook Reactions Missing or Grayed Out?

Outlook reactions go missing (or do nothing) when the account, the mailbox or the message does not support them. Check these:

• Personal account. Reactions need a work or school account with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. A personal Outlook.com or IMAP account does not get them.
• Sender not on Exchange Online. Full reactions need both people on Exchange Online. If the sender is on Gmail or an on-premises server, Outlook sends a normal email with your reaction instead.
• Shared mailbox. Reactions are not supported on Exchange shared mailboxes.
• Reactions disallowed. The sender (in new Outlook, Outlook on the web, Mac or mobile) or an admin can block reactions on a message. The button is then grayed out. Current classic Outlook builds gray it out too (message center MC1261593). Older builds still show the button, but the reaction fails.
• Government clouds. GCC High, DoD and Gallatin tenants do not have reactions yet.

If a reaction someone sent does not appear, refresh Outlook before you look further.

For admins: there is no single tenant switch. Microsoft’s documented method is the x-ms-reactions: disallow message header, which Exchange Online enforces on the server side. You can add it with a mail flow rule, for example on mail from external senders or to large distribution lists. The steps are on Microsoft Learn: Disallow reactions in Outlook.

FAQ

What is the keyboard shortcut for the thumbs up emoji?

On Windows it is Windows key + . (period), then search “thumbs” and press Enter. It works in Outlook, browsers and most other Windows apps. On a Mac it is Control + Command + Space.

What is the code for the thumbs up emoji?

The Unicode code is U+1F44D. In classic Outlook or Word, type 1F44D and press Alt + X to convert it.

How do I give a thumbs up in Outlook mail without replying?

Use Reactions: open the email, click the smiley face button at the top right and choose the thumbs up. It needs a Microsoft 365 work or school account.

Once the emoji is in the recently used row of the Windows panel, Windows key + period and Enter is about as fast as it gets. If you handle a lot of mail, a few other time savers help too: how to select multiple emails in Outlook, pin an important email to the top, or write a reply with ChatGPT in Office 365.