Reply, Reply All, Forward, and To / Cc / Bcc

When a message arrives, Microsoft’s reply page (opened 10 November 2026) lists three everyday actions.

Reply sends your new message only to the original sender. Attachments are not included. Use Reply when your answer is meant for that one person — for example, telling Jordan you can help on Saturday.

Reply All sends your new message to the original sender and to everyone else on the To and Cc lines. Attachments are not included. Use Reply All only when the whole group needs your words. A line such as “I can bring two chairs” helps everyone planning the market. A question about your own shift usually does not.

Forward lets you type a whole new set of recipients. Any attachments that came with the original message are included automatically. Use Forward when you need to send the note to someone who was not on the To or Cc lines — for example, sending Sam’s heater note to a maintenance lead and adding one sentence of context.

Microsoft says you can find Reply, Reply All, and Forward in more than one place: at the top of the reading pane, beside the message, or on the main Outlook ribbon, depending on your screen and version. Choose the action first, then write your words, then choose Send.

Think before you choose Reply All. Microsoft asks you to consider whether everyone needs your reply, especially if the message went to many people or to a distribution list. It is often better to choose Reply and then add only the people you really want to include. If you already chose Reply All, you can still remove people who do not need the message before you send.

Never use Reply All on a large group only to ask to be removed. Microsoft’s writing-advice page says not to do that — ever. Ask the list owner or your administrator instead.

When you reply, Outlook sets the subject to start with RE: in front of the original subject. When you forward, the subject starts with FW:. Microsoft says you can leave that as it is, or type a new subject. If the topic has changed, change the subject so later readers are not misled.

Attachments behave differently, and this surprises many learners. When you reply or reply all, attachments are not included. Microsoft explains why: you would be sending the same file back to the person who just sent it to you. There is no setting that changes this. After you choose Reply or Reply All, you can attach a new version of the file or another file if you need to (Lesson 4). If you need someone new to receive the original attachments, use Forward. Forward includes those files automatically, and you can add more.

You can add or remove names in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes after you choose Reply, Reply All, or Forward. To add someone, click in the box and type a name or address. To remove someone, select the name and press Delete.

If you want to send two or more messages to the same people as one note, Microsoft says to select the messages in the list (select the first, then hold Ctrl as you select the others) and then choose Forward on the main ribbon. The other messages are included as attachments. That is useful when a tutor asks you to pass along a short thread. It is not an excuse to forward a whole inbox.

Write a short line of your own when you forward. “Please see Sam’s note below — the heater in Room 12 clicked off between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.” is clearer than an empty forward, which can look like you did not read the message.

Microsoft’s writing-advice page says to limit the people who receive a message to those who need to read it. Put people who need to respond or take action on the To line. Put people who need to be informed on the Cc line. Cc stands for a copy that others can see. If Morgan only needs to know that chairs are arranged, Morgan can sit on Cc while Jordan stays on To.

Bcc means blind carbon copy. When you put a name in Bcc, that person receives a copy, but other recipients do not see the name. Microsoft’s Bcc page (opened 10 November 2026) says other people who receive the message do not see whose address is on the Bcc line. If you are the recipient, you cannot see whether the sender added Bcc names. Only the sender can see those names, by opening the message in Sent Items.

The Bcc box is not always visible. In new Outlook, Microsoft’s steps are Options > Show fields > Show Bcc. In classic Outlook, if the message opens in a new window, choose Options > Bcc. If it opens in the reading pane, choose Bcc from the ribbon. After you turn Bcc on in new Outlook, it stays until you turn it off.

Use Bcc to protect privacy when many people should not see one another’s addresses, or to quiet a long group thread by moving extra names to Bcc and saying so in the message. Do not use Bcc to secretly show a manager a sensitive note. Microsoft warns that the Bcc recipient may not realize they were blind-copied and may reply to everyone, exposing the Bcc. That can look sneaky. Microsoft says to forward the message after you send it instead.

1. Open the sample-messages file.
2. Practise a Reply to Message 1 (Jordan only).
3. Practise a Reply All on Message 2 only if your line helps the whole group.
4. Practise a Forward of Message 3 and add one sentence of context.
5. Turn on Bcc using the steps for your version (new Outlook: Options > Show fields > Show Bcc; classic: Options > Bcc).
6. Do not secretly Bcc a manager on a sensitive practice note — forward a sent copy instead.
7. Use a practice account only.

If you are in a study group: take Message 2 and invent one line that should be a Reply All and one line that should be a Reply only to Jordan. Explain why.