The message action bar
In short
From Windows 1.14.0, an open message has a single row of buttons at the top: Reply, Reply all and Forward on the left, then the other actions by importance and, set apart at the far right, Delete in red, always in the same place. Whatever doesn’t fit goes into the More actions menu; the row never wraps.
The bar is available from Windows 1.14.0.
Where are the message buttons?#
In a single row at the top of the message, above the subject and attachments, always with the same layout:
- On the left, Reply, Reply all and Forward.
- Then the other actions, by importance: Archive, Add star, Mark as unread, Snooze, Mark as spam, Move to space… (with smart spaces on), Print and, in newsletters, Unsubscribe.
- The … button (More actions).
- Set apart at the far right, Delete in red.
Some buttons change with the message: Remove star if it’s already starred, Bring back if it’s snoozed, Not spam in the spam folder.
Why is Delete always in the same place?#
So that a quick click never lands on another action. Reply and Forward always stay at the start and Delete always at the far right, whatever message you open (PEC, tracked emails, attachments, newsletters): buttons that show up a moment later, such as Unsubscribe, are added at the end without moving the others.
What happens when the window is narrow?#
The bar compacts instead of wrapping:
- First, every action has its label.
- Then only Reply, Reply all, Forward and Delete keep their labels; the others become icons (hover to read the name).
- Finally everything becomes an icon, and the actions that don’t fit move, one at a time, into the … menu.
Where is “Block sender”?#
Only in the … menu, in red, separated from the other items. Block sender doesn’t just affect the open message: it blocks the address and also moves the messages you’ve already received from it to the trash. That’s why it’s no longer next to Delete. See How to block a sender.
Can I use the bar from the keyboard?#
Yes. Each button’s tooltip shows its shortcut: R reply, A reply all, F forward, E archive, S star, U mark unread, Del delete. With focus on the bar, the ← → arrows and Home/End move between buttons; in the … menu you move with the arrows and close it with Esc. Every shortcut is listed in Keyboard shortcuts.