You can assign categories to all Outlook 2007 items to provide a means of sorting and organizing those items. The journal is no exception: each journal item can have multiple categories assigned to it. Journal items, however, can also be classified by entry type, which defines the purpose of the journal item. In many respects, entry types are like categories, because you can use them to sort and search for journal items.

When you create a journal item manually, Outlook 2007 assumes that you’re creating a phone call journal entry and automatically selects Phone Call as the entry type. However, you can select a different entry type in the Entry Type drop-down list. Figure 23-8 shows some of the available entry types.

Figure 23-8. You can select entry types from a predefined list.

Unlike categories, which you can create on the fly, journal entry types are limited to those types found in the predefined list in Outlook 2007. Although the default entry types cover a lot of bases, they don’t offer much flexibility. For example, you might want to use the journal to track your activity in an application that isn’t included in the list, or you might need to keep track of trips to the doctor, school programs, or other events. Although you don’t have the ability to add entry types directly when you create a journal entry, you can modify the registry to add journal entry types. You can use these user-defined entry types for journal items that you enter manually.

Here’s how:

After you have edited the registry to add the new entry type, it appears on the journal entry form in the Entry Type drop-down list, as shown in Figure 23-9.

Figure 23-9. Your custom entry type appears in the drop-down list.