How to Turn an Email into a Calendar Event or Task in Outlook
"Can you pop round Thursday at 2?" Instead of opening the calendar, typing it in and then going back to find the email with the address, drag the email onto the calendar. Outlook makes the appointment and keeps the email inside it. The same trick works for tasks.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Email → appointment | Drag the email onto the Calendar icon |
| Email → meeting with the sender | Reply with meeting |
| Email → task | Drag the email into My Day or onto To Do |
| Classic Outlook | Drag onto Calendar or Tasks at the bottom left |
1. Drag an email onto the calendar
New Outlook and Outlook on the web:
1. Click and hold the email in your message list.
2. Drag it onto the Calendar icon in the left-hand bar and let go.
3. A new event opens with the email's subject as the title and the email text in the notes.
4. Set the date and time, and click Save.
2. Drag it onto the Calendar icon in the left-hand bar and let go.
3. A new event opens with the email's subject as the title and the email text in the notes.
4. Set the date and time, and click Save.
Classic Outlook:
1. Drag the email onto Calendar at the bottom left of the window (the icon or the word).
2. A new appointment opens with the email in the body. Set the time and click Save & Close.
2. A new appointment opens with the email in the body. Set the time and click Save & Close.
The original email stays in your inbox. Anything in the appointment — the address, the booking reference — is now in your calendar and on your phone.
Tip: in new Outlook, open My Day (top right) with the Calendar tab showing and drag the email straight onto a time slot. The appointment is created at that time.
2. Reply with a meeting
When an email thread needs a conversation instead:
• New Outlook: open the email, click the arrow next to Reply (or ⋯) and choose Reply with meeting.
• Classic Outlook: on the Home tab, click Meeting (or press Ctrl + Alt + R).
• Classic Outlook: on the Home tab, click Meeting (or press Ctrl + Alt + R).
A meeting invitation opens with everyone from the email already invited, the subject filled in and the email text included. Pick a time and send.
3. Turn an email into a task
New Outlook:
1. Click My Day (top right) and choose the To Do tab.
2. Drag the email into the task list.
3. A task is created with the email attached; click it to add a due date.
2. Drag the email into the task list.
3. A task is created with the email attached; click it to add a due date.
Or simply flag the email — flagged emails appear in To Do's Flagged email list automatically.
Classic Outlook: drag the email onto Tasks at the bottom left. Or flag it — it appears in the To-Do Bar (View → To-Do Bar → Tasks).
4. Attach the whole email rather than its text
In classic Outlook, right-drag the email (hold the right mouse button while dragging) onto Calendar and choose Copy Here as Appointment with Attachment. The appointment then contains the email as an attachment, including its own attachments. Useful when the email has a PDF ticket in it.
5. From your phone
In the Outlook app, open the email, tap ⋯ and look for Create event or Create task (wording varies by version). The email text is copied into the event notes.
Troubleshooting
Dragging does nothing. Make sure you drop on the Calendar icon in the left bar, not on the folder list. In classic Outlook, the Navigation bar must show Calendar — click ⋯ if it's hidden.
The event has the wrong time. Drag-and-drop uses the current time or the next free slot. Change it before saving.
The task doesn't show on my phone. Install Microsoft To Do and sign in with the same account. Flagged emails and dragged tasks both appear there.
Wrapping up
Drag to Calendar for anything with a date, Reply with meeting when it needs a discussion, and drag to My Day for everything else. The email stays attached, so you'll never go hunting for the details again.
