Selecting multiple items in Outlook has always been a pretty simple task. To select a group of items you click on the first item and then hold down the Shift key while to select the last. This will select all the items between the first and last. You can also use the Control key to toggle on and off the selections of items one at a time.
In Outlook 2013 this can be a bit tricky. If you use the same old selection technique in Outlook 2013 you will not successfully be able to select multiple items. What gives?
The Solution
The solution in to click on the items not right over the middle of the email message but all the way to the left. The correct spot can be a little tricky to find. If you look to the left of your messages there is a line between the left hand panel and the list of emails. If you hover over the line you will get a resize option. Just to the right of this line is where you need to click in order to select multiple items in Outlook 2013. The image to the right has this area highlighted in red to show where you need to select. Be sure to hold down the Shift or Control key when you are selecting multiple items.
The Fix
This behavior appears to have surfaced in Outlook 2013 and continued in Outlook 2016. If you are running Outlook 2016 it is likely that you no longer see this behavior since it has been fixed/changed as of build 16.0.6741.2048. If you should happen to have an older version of Office 2016 and have this behavior you can upgrade from within Outlook 2016 by selecting:
- File (menu at top left)
- Office Account (from the panel on the left)
- Update Options Button (See Picture)
- Update Now
References:
1. Selecting/Deleting multiple email attachments in Outlook 2016