- Hidden Short Cuts for Managing your BlackBerry Inbox

I quickly learned the basics of my BlackBerry and as my message inbox filled up, my thumb got worn out from scrolling through messages to find the one I was looking for. These time saving shortcuts saved me hours. They are quick and easy and once you know them – they will save you time (and thumbs).

WHILE IN A MESSAGE LIST – (Some of these work in tasks, memos, and appointments also)

Sorting:

1. ALT Key + I – show only incoming mail.
2. ALT Key + O – show only outgoing mail (messages you have sent – i.e. checkmark icon).
3. ALT Key + P – show phone log messages.
4. ALT Key + S – show SMS messages.
5. ALT Key + V – show Voice Mail messages.

Navigating:

1. T – go to top of message listing.
2. B – go to end/bottom of message listing.
3. DELETE Key – close message listing and return to home screen (ribbon).
4. SPACE Key -page down.
5. CAP Key + SPACE Key – page up.

Deleting Multiple Messages At Once:

1. Highlight a date (i.e. Fri, Oct 05,2001) in the message list, click the trackball and select ‘Delete Prior’. All messages prior to that date will be deleted.
2. Hold down the CAP Key and use the trackball to scroll up or down to select messages. Click the trackball and select ‘Delete Messages’. Combine this with a sorting tip to make it even more useful (i.e. To delete the last 5 messages that you have sent (checkmarks), press ALT Key then the letter O (for outgoing) this will show all of your sent messages, then per this tip scroll down and select the last five.

WHILE IN A MESSAGE

Navigating:

1. BACK Key or SPACE Key – scroll down a page/screen at a time.
2. ALT Key + BACK Key or ALT Key + SPACE Key – scroll back a page/screen at a time.
3. B – scroll to end of page.
4. T – scroll to top of page.
5. U – jump to closest unread message.
6. N – jump to next message.
7. P – jump to previous message.
8. DELETE Key – close message and return to message listing.

Reply-To/Forward:

1. R – reply to or answer this message.
2. F – forward this message.

Select Text (OS v2.1+):

1. Press the CAP Key and then scroll the trackball to select. If you release the CAP Key and scroll the trackball you will select entire lines. Press the CAP Key again at any time to start selecting by character again.
2. Hold down ALT Key + CLICK the trackball (click it don’t hold it down), release the trackball and then use it to scroll whole lines. You can press and hold the ALT Key at anytime to start selecting by character again.
3. Click scroll wheel and select SELECT from the menu. scroll wheel to select entire line. click scroll wheel again and select copy.

With either method, click the trackball and select ‘Cut Selection’ or ‘Copy Selection’… to paste, open a new message or whatever, click the trackball, and then select ‘Paste Selection’.

Composing a Message:

1. Press and hold a letter to capitalize it (with Key Rate enabled).
2. Press the SPACE Key twice to insert a period and capitalize the next letter.
3. Press the SPACE Key to insert the “@” and “.” characters in an Email field. Backspace and type again to over-ride this like you would with AutoText.
4. Press and hold a letter key and roll the trackball to scroll through international/accent characters, equation symbols and other marks.