Assigning Categories to Outlook Items
by Doug Sheresh, Beth Sheresh, Jim Boyce
Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007 Inside Out
- Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007 Inside Out
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
- A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
- Acknowledgments
- We’d Like to Hear from You!
- Introduction
- Who This Book Is For
- How This Book Is Organized
- Part 1—Working with Outlook
- Part 2—E-Mail and Other Messaging
- Part 3—Working with Contacts
- Part 4—Managing Your Time and Tasks
- Part 5—Customizing Outlook
- Part 6—Managing and Securing Outlook
- Part 7—Collaboration
- Part 8—Working with Office Server and SharePoint Services
- Part 9—Using Outlook with Exchange Server
- Part 10—Mobility
- Companion CD
- About the CD
- Conventions and Features Used in This Book
- 1. Working with Outlook
- 1. What’s New in Outlook 2007
- 2. Outlook Overview and Startup
- 3. Configuring Outlook Profiles and Accounts
- 4. Working in and Configuring Outlook
- Understanding the Outlook Folders
- Working with the Standard Outlook Views
- Using Other Outlook Features
- Configuring Outlook Options
- Using Outlook on the Web
- Accessing Your Mail Through a Browser
- Configuring Windows Settings for Outlook
- Using Add-Ins
- Using Outlook Effectively
- 5. Creating and Using Categories
- 2. E-Mail and Other Messaging
- 6. Managing Address Books and Distribution Lists
- Understanding Address Books
- Configuring Address Books and Addressing Options
- Finding People in the Address Book
- Using AutoComplete for Addresses
- Using Distribution Lists
- Automatically Adding Addresses to the Address Book
- Using the Mobile Address Book
- 7. Using Internet Mail Accounts
- 8. Sending and Receiving Messages
- Working with Messages
- Opening a Standard Message Form
- Addressing Messages
- Including Carbon Copies and Blind Carbon Copies
- Copying Someone on All Messages
- Using Templates and Custom Forms for Addressing
- Specifying Message Priority and Sensitivity
- Saving a Message to Send Later
- Setting Sending Options
- Controlling When Messages Are Sent
- Requesting Delivery and Read Receipts
- Using Message Tracking and Receipts Options
- Sending a Message for Review
- Replying to Messages
- Forwarding Messages
- Using Other Reply and Forwarding Options
- Deleting Messages
- Controlling Synchronization and Send/Receive Times
- Configuring Other Messaging Options
- Managing Messages and Attachments
- Working with Messages
- 9. Beyond Simple Text Messages
- 10. Finding and Organizing Messages
- 11. Processing Messages Automatically
- 12. Managing Junk E-Mail
- 13. Automatically Responding to Messages
- 14. Securing Your System, Messages, and Identity
- Configuring HTML Message Handling
- Protecting Messages with Digital Signatures
- Signing Messages
- Understanding S/MIME and Clear-Text Options
- Adding Your Digital Signature
- Setting Global Security Options
- Creating and Using Security Profiles
- Reading Signed Messages
- Changing Certificate Trust Relationships
- Configuring CA Trust
- Configuring CA Trust for Multiple Computers
- Viewing and Validating a Digital Signature
- Encrypting Messages
- Protecting Data with Information Rights Management
- 15. Receiving Messages Selectively
- 16. Using RSS Feeds
- 17. Using LDAP Directory Services
- 6. Managing Address Books and Distribution Lists
- 3. Working with Contacts
- 18. Creating and Managing Your Contacts
- Working with the Contacts Folder
- Creating a Contact Entry
- Creating Other Contacts Folders
- Working with Contacts
- Associating a Contact with Other Items and Documents
- Assigning Categories to Contacts
- Resolving Duplicate Contacts
- Phoning a Contact
- Sending an E-Mail Message to a Contact
- Connecting to a Contact’s Web Site
- Scheduling Appointments and Meetings with Contacts
- Assigning a Task to a Contact
- Flagging a Contact for Follow-Up
- Finding Contacts
- Making a Common Change to Multiple Contacts
- Viewing Contacts
- Printing Contacts
- Working with Distribution Lists
- Sharing Contacts
- Setting Contact Options
- Using Contacts Effectively
- 19. Using Microsoft Business Contact Manager
- Understanding What Business Contact Manager Can Do
- Using the Business Contact Manager Interface
- Working with Business Contacts
- Creating and Using Accounts
- Creating and Using Business Projects
- Working with Project Tasks
- Creating and Using Opportunities
- Creating Marketing Campaigns
- Tracking Item History
- Attaching Items
- Creating Reports
- Importing and Exporting Information
- Managing Your Business Contact Manager Data
- 18. Creating and Managing Your Contacts
- 4. Managing Your Time and Tasks
- 20. Scheduling Appointments
- Calendar Basics
- Working with One-Time Appointments
- Working with One-Time Events
- Creating a Recurring Appointment or Event
- Modifying an Appointment or Event
- Using Categories and Colors
- Printing Calendar Items
- Customizing the Current Calendar View
- Creating a Custom View
- Backing Up Your Schedule
- Managing Time Zones
- Managing Your Calendar Effectively
- 21. Scheduling Meetings and Resources
- 22. Managing Your Tasks
- 23. Tracking Documents and Activities with the Journal
- Understanding the Outlook Journal
- Using Automatic Journaling
- Adding Journal Items Manually
- Creating and Using Custom Entry Types
- Changing Journal Entries
- Connecting Journal Activities to Individual Contacts
- Viewing the Journal
- Printing Journal Items
- Sharing Journal Information
- Using the Journal Effectively
- 24. Making Notes
- Understanding Outlook Notes
- Configuring Note Options
- Working with Notes
- Viewing Notes
- Creating New Notes Folders
- 20. Scheduling Appointments
- 5. Customizing Outlook
- 25. Using Templates
- 26. Customizing the Outlook Interface
- Customizing the Navigation Pane
- A Quick Tour of the Navigation Pane
- Showing and Hiding the Navigation Pane
- Changing the Number of Buttons on the Navigation Pane
- Adding a Shortcut to an Outlook Folder or a Public Folder
- Adding a File Folder or Document to the Navigation Pane
- Adding a Web Site to the Navigation Pane
- Removing a Shortcut from the Navigation Pane
- Renaming a Shortcut in the Navigation Pane
- Working with Groups in the Navigation Pane
- Customizing the To-Do Bar
- Customizing Toolbars
- Working with Toolbars
- Creating Custom Toolbars
- Adding Items
- Removing Items
- Reorganizing Items
- Modifying Toolbar Items
- Changing the Width of the Drop-Down List
- Changing the Button Size
- Resetting Individual Toolbars
- Renaming a Custom Toolbar
- Deleting a Custom Toolbar
- Sharing a Custom Toolbar
- Recovering the Default Toolbars
- Controlling Toolbar Appearance and Behavior
- Customizing Outlook Today View
- Customizing the Navigation Pane
- 27. Creating Custom Views and Print Styles
- 28. Designing and Using Forms
- Overview of Standard Forms, Item Types, and Message Classes
- Creating Custom Forms from Standard Forms
- Creating Custom Forms from Scratch
- Creating Multipage Forms
- Adding and Arranging Controls
- Adding Graphics to Forms
- Adding User-Defined Fields
- Using Office Documents to Create Outlook Forms
- Publishing and Sharing Forms
- Using Forms Effectively
- 29. Automating Common Tasks
- 6. Managing and Securing Outlook
- 30. Managing Outlook Folders and Data
- Understanding Outlook Folders
- Working with the Folder List
- Using and Managing Folders
- Using a Folder
- Creating a Folder
- Adding a Folder Shortcut to the Navigation Pane
- Working with Favorite Folders
- Renaming a Folder
- Copying and Moving a Folder
- Deleting a Folder
- Setting Folder Properties
- Configuring General Folder Properties
- Configuring Home Page Properties for a Folder
- Configuring AutoArchive Properties for a Folder
- Configuring Administration Properties for a Folder
- Configuring Form Properties for a Folder
- Configuring Permissions for a Folder
- Configuring Synchronization Properties for a Folder
- Configuring Properties for a Contacts Folder
- Using Web Views with Folders
- Using Multiple Personal Folders
- Managing Data
- 31. Archiving, Backing Up, and Restoring Outlook Data
- 32. Moving Data in and out of Outlook with Import/Export
- 33. Finding and Organizing Outlook Data
- 34. Security and Virus Protection
- Providing Virus Protection
- Protecting Against Viruses in Attachments
- Configuring Blocked Attachments
- Opening Blocked Attachments
- Protecting Against Office Macro Viruses
- Enabling Applications to Send E-Mail with Outlook
- Tips for Securing Your System
- 30. Managing Outlook Folders and Data
- 7. Collaboration
- 35. Delegating Responsibilities to an Assistant
- 36. Sharing Calendars
- Sharing Your Calendar
- Managing Your Shared Calendar Information
- Working with Group Schedules
- Creating Your Own Free/Busy Server
- Publishing Your Calendar as a Web Page
- 37. Integrating Outlook with Other Office Applications
- 38. Integrating Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Project
- 39. Collaborating Online with Office
- New Collaboration Features: Beyond Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
- Using the Correct Collaboration Tools
- Using Microsoft Office Live Communications Server
- Using Microsoft Office Communicator
- Using Microsoft Office Live Meeting
- The Microsoft Office Live Services
- 8. Working with Office Server and SharePoint Services
- 40. Collaboration with Outlook and Windows SharePoint Services
- Understanding Windows SharePoint Services Collaboration
- Setting Up Alerts
- Working with Shared Documents
- Working with Shared Contacts
- Linking a Team Calendar to Outlook
- Configuring Alerts in Outlook
- Using Outlook to Work with SharePoint Libraries and Files
- Connecting a SharePoint Library to Outlook
- Downloading Files from a SharePoint Library to Outlook
- Opening Files from a SharePoint Site in Outlook
- Editing Files from a SharePoint Site in Outlook
- Removing SharePoint Files in Outlook
- Removing SharePoint Folders in Outlook
- Using E-Mail to Add a File to a SharePoint Library
- 40. Collaboration with Outlook and Windows SharePoint Services
- 9. Using Outlook with Exchange Server
- 41. Configuring the Exchange Server Client
- 42. Using Outlook with Exchange Server
- 43. Working Offline and Remotely
- 10. Mobility
- 44. Accessing Your Outlook Items Through a Web Browser
- Overview of Outlook Web Access
- Using Outlook Web Access
- Connecting to the Server
- Sending and Receiving Messages
- Sorting Messages
- Copying and Moving Messages
- Deleting Messages
- Working with Other Folders
- Working with Calendar, Contacts, and Other Items
- Configuring the Out Of Office Assistant in Outlook Web Access
- Configuring Other Options for Outlook Web Access
- 45. Making Outlook Mobile
- Why Mobility Is Important
- Overview of Mobility Features in Exchange Server
- Using Outlook Anywhere for Remote Access to Exchange Server
- Using Outlook Mobile Service Accounts
- 44. Accessing Your Outlook Items Through a Web Browser
- A. Index to Troubleshooting Topics
- B. About the Authors
- C. Choose the Right Book for You
- Index
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
Assigning categories to items is easy. You can assign multiple categories to each item if needed. For example, a particular contact might be involved in more than one project, so you might assign a category for each project to that contact. If you have a task that must be performed for multiple projects, you might assign those project categories to the task.
With the addition of color in Outlook 2007 categories, assigning multiple categories adds a new dimension. Outlook 2007 will display multiple colors for an item, depending on its type and location. For example, if you assign the Red, Blue, and Green categories to an e-mail message, Outlook 2007 displays each of those three color indicators in the message header, as shown in Figure 5-4. You can resize the Categories column if you want Outlook 2007 to show indicators for all of the assigned categories.
Figure 5-4. Outlook 2007 can show multiple color categories in the message header to indicate multiple categories.
In Calendar view, Outlook 2007 displays the item using the last color you assigned and places as many color indicators as it can in the item label. So if you add the Blue, Green, and Red categories, Outlook 2007 colors the item as Red and puts Blue and Green indicators in the item for the Day and Week views. In Month view, you see only the last color assigned.
Note
To learn how to assign categories to existing items, see the next section, "Assigning Categories to Existing Outlook Items."
Follow these steps to assign categories to a new item:
Open the folder in which you want to create the item, and then click New.
Use one of the following methods to display the Categories list, depending on the type of item you’re creating:
Message. On the Ribbon, click Categorize in the Options group on the Message tab.
Calendar. On the Ribbon, click Categorize in the Options group on the Appointment or Event tab.
Contact. On the Ribbon, click Categorize in the Options group on the Contact tab.
Task. On the Ribbon, click Categorize in the Options group on the Task tab.
Select a single category on the shortcut menu, or click All Categories, and in the Color Categories dialog box, select all the categories that pertain to the item. If you need to add a category, simply click Add.
Click OK to close the Color Categories dialog box and continue creating the item.
As you can see in step 3, you can create a category on the fly when you’re assigning categories to an item. However, a drawback to creating categories on the fly is that you might not enter the category names consistently. As a result, you could end up with more than one version of a given category. As you might expect, Outlook 2007 treats category names literally, so any difference between two names, however minor, makes those categories different. Searching for one won’t turn up items assigned to the other.
Often you will want to add categories to existing Outlook 2007 items. For example, you will likely want to categorize e-mail messages after they arrive. The easiest way to assign a category to an existing item is to right-click the item, choose Categorize, and then choose a category from the shortcut menu, as shown in Figure 5-5. You can use this method for any of the Outlook 2007 items.
Outlook 2007 offers the capability to quickly assign a category with a single click. In message folders, with the Reading Pane displayed on the right, you can click the Category column to assign a Quick Click category. You can also click the Category column in the To-Do Bar to assign a category to tasks in the same way.
Follow these steps to specify the Quick Click category:
Choose Edit, Categorize, Set Quick Click to open the Set Quick Click dialog box, shown in Figure 5-6.
Select a category, and then click OK.
You can easily assign categories when you create an item, but you might prefer to simplify the process for items that will be assigned to the same category (or set of categories). For example, if you frequently create e-mail messages that have specific category assignments, you could bypass the steps involved in adding the categories to each new message. You can accomplish this by using an e-mail template.
Note
For a detailed discussion of templates, see Chapter 25.
You can use templates for other Outlook 2007 items as well. Simply create the template, assign categories to it as needed, and then save it with a name that will help you easily identify the category assignments or the function of the template. When you need to create a message with that specific set of category assignments, you can create it from the template rather than from scratch. Because the category assignments are stored in the template, new items created from the template are assigned those categories. Using templates to assign categories not only saves you the time involved in adding categories individually but also ensures that the category assignments are consistent. (For example, you won’t misspell a name or forget to add a category.)
A more likely possibility is that you want to add categories to e-mail messages when they arrive. You can create a rule to assign one or more categories to messages when they arrive or even when you send them. For example, let’s say you subscribe to six newsletters and you want Outlook 2007 to highlight them in the Inbox with the Green category. A great way to do that is to assign the color category to the messages based on the recipient address or other unique characteristics of the messages.
Note
To learn how to create and manage rules in Outlook 2007, see Chapter 11.
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