# How do I get Outlook to close windows using Ctrl-W instead of ALT-F4?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 30, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485 "2007-08-30T12:46:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/1 "2007-08-30T12:46:13Z")
I swear I used to be able to close windows in Outlook (open messages, etc) using Ctrl-W, but now it’s only accepting ALT-F4. How do I change it to Ctrl-W?
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### Author:  [@Micro\_Dot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Micro_Dot)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/2 "2007-08-30T22:18:23Z")
Perhaps you’re thinking of Internet Explorer?
Anyway, a good place to look for tips like that is [http://www.annoyances.org/](http://www.annoyances.org/)
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/3 "2007-08-30T23:10:20Z")
It looks like Ctrl+W is already assigned to “Newsgroups” or something.
Makes me long for customization along the lines of Softimage XSI. You have complete control over each and every keyboard shortcut with a GUI.
According to [this](http://blogs.technet.com/kclemson/archive/2003/09/25/53794.aspx), you have some control over shortcuts, but only using Alt, not Ctrl.
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### Author:  [@tdk408](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdk408)
#### Post date: [January 20, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/4 "2015-01-20T21:04:43Z")
> [@Micro\_Dot](#):
>
> Perhaps you’re thinking of Internet Explorer?
Most programs, as well as Windows itself, close windows with Control-W. I didn’t know it wasn’t universal until I noticed I couldn’t close Outlook windows. Frustrating that the Outlook team didn’t notice that.
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### Author:  [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/5 "2015-01-21T01:38:23Z")
Did you ever use Outlook on a Mac? It’s Command + W to close windows there.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/6 "2015-01-21T11:18:03Z")
It should be Ctrl+F4 to close the window and Alt+F4 to close the application.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/7 "2015-01-21T14:52:49Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> It should be Ctrl+F4 to close the window and Alt+F4 to close the application.
It is.
What folks don’t realize is the email compose window is actually a separate program instance of (typically) MS Word launched by the main Outlook app. So using Alt-F4 to close out that separate app is completely compliant with the Windows keyboard shortcut standards.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/8 "2015-01-21T15:53:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> What folks don’t realize is the email compose window is actually a separate program instance of (typically) MS Word launched by the main Outlook app.
Not necessarily. Older versions of Outlook will default to using Word if it is present, but you can disable that and Outlook will use its own internal message editor.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [January 21, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-outlook-to-close-windows-using-ctrl-w-instead-of-alt-f4/417485/9 "2015-01-21T16:04:29Z")
> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Not necessarily. Older versions of Outlook will default to using Word if it is present, but you can disable that and Outlook will use its own internal message editor.
True. And hence my parenthetical “(typically)”. But it’s still launched as a separate process and Alt-F4 is still the keyboard UI for “terminate process.”
A decent argument can be made that using Alt-F4 is correct from the geek POV but not from the end-user POV. But those sorts of issues / dilemmas pop up all the time in UI design. And it’s real easy for developers to paint themselves into a corner with usablility or upgrade path when they let the end user mental model get too far afield from the internal logic model.