We all suffer from Inbox Overload, and important things get lost as our emails pile up. But sometimes it’s easier to reply to an Outlook email with a quick Skype Instant Message (IM). Outlook makes that possible with a menu option I have overlooked for a long time…
In my inbox, I have selected an email to my coworker T, and I just want to send him a quick IM about it. In the Respond section of the Ribbon Bar, I can click IM > Reply with IM to launch Skype and start a chat session:
What makes this nice is that Skype provides a link (or you can use the keyboard shortcut of CTRL + SHIFT + B) to bring up the original email that you selected to start the chat:
So… next time you have a quick response to an email that someone sent you, have mercy on their overflowing inbox and try this technique to keep the work flowing.
One Minute Office Magic 
I have Skype installed, but this IM button is not showing in my Reply tab. I’ve checked Options –> Customize Ribbon, and IM is loaded under the Reply tab, but does not show in the Ribbon. Is there something else I need to enable to use this?
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