2.2 Using Categories to Organize Items

Categories provide you with a way to organize your items. You can assign a category to any item, including contacts. You create and add categories and can give each category an identifying color. The colors display in the Item List and in the Calendar.

2.2.1 Understanding Categories

When you assign a category to an item, the item is displayed in the color of the category. Categories help you to quickly organize items in groups.

Categories help you to quickly organize items in groups. Four default categories (Follow-up, Low priority, Personal, and Urgent) are available for you to assign to items. You can modify and delete these categories if you choose, as well as create new categories. When you assign a category to an item, by default, the item is displayed in the color of the category.

If you assign one of the default categories to an item you are sending, the item arrives in the recipient’s Mailbox with that category assigned. If you assign a category that you created to an item you are sending, the item arrives in the recipient’s Mailbox with no category assigned.

If you assign one of the default categories to an item in a shared folder, the category appears for all users on the item in the shared folder. If you assign a category that you created to an item in a shared folder, the category is only visible to you.

Items can show multiple category colors assigned to them by adding the Categories column to the folder view or by displaying the folder in summary view. When you hover over the color representing the category, the name of the category is displayed. The Category column itself can be sorted, and it will sort the items by category according to the order you set up when you configured your categories. When items are sorted by category, they will display in multiple places in the sorted list if the item has multiple categories.

2.2.2 Assigning Categories to Items

Assigning a Category Quickly

In any Item List:

  1. Click on the hover over circle to the item icon.

  2. Click a category in the drop-down list.

    or

    If the category you want isn’t listed, click More to display the Edit Categories dialog box, select the category, then click OK.

    The 10 most recently used categories are listed. (If you have not yet used categories, they are displayed alphabetically.)

Assigning Any Category to Any Item Type

To assign a category to a message, appointment, task, note, or contact:

  1. Right-click the item.

  2. Click Categories.

  3. Click a category in the drop-down list.

    or

    If the category you want isn’t listed, click More to display the Edit Categories dialog box, select the category, then click OK.

    The 10 most recently used categories are listed. (If you have not yet used categories, they are displayed alphabetically.)

To assign a category to an address book entry:

  1. Open a personal address book.

  2. Locate the user you want.

  3. Right-click the user.

  4. Click Details, then click Categories.

  5. Click a category in the menu, then click OK.

Assigning a Category by Using Item Properties

  1. Open an existing item, open the options slide-out, then click the edit icon next to Categories under the Personalize drop-down menu.

    or

    Open a new item to compose, click the Send Options tab, then click Edit Categories.

    If you assign one of the default categories (Follow-up, Low priority, Personal, and Urgent) to an item you are sending, the item arrives in the recipient’s Mailbox with that category assigned. If you assign a category that you created to an item you are sending, the item arrives in the recipient’s Mailbox with no category assigned.

  2. In the Edit Categories dialog box, select a category, then click OK.

Assigning Multiple Categories

  1. Right-click the item.

  2. Click Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box.

  3. Select the desired categories.

  4. Click OK.

Removing a Category from an Item

  1. Right-click the item.

  2. Click Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box

  3. Deselect the category to remove, then click OK.

    The category is removed from the item.

2.2.3 Working with Categories

Adding a New Category

  1. Click Actions > Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box.

  2. Type the category name in the New Category field at the bottom of the Edit Categories dialog box.

  3. Click Add.

    The Add button becomes active when you begin typing a category name.

  4. To assign a color to a category, select the category name in the list, then select the text and background colors.

  5. Click OK to save the new category.

    HINT:You can also select an item before creating the new category, and then immediately assign the new category to the selected item.

Renaming a Category

  1. Click Actions > Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box.

  2. Select the category name, then click Rename.

  3. Type the new name, then click OK.

The category is renamed in the list, and for all the items to which it was assigned.

Finding Items by Category in a Folder

  1. In the upper-right corner of any folder, click the Find drop downCategories, then click the category name.

    All items that have been assigned this category are displayed.

  2. To clear this selection, click the X in the Find field.

Sorting Items by Category

  1. Add a Category column to the folder Item List, as described in Adding a Column.

  2. Click the Category column to sort the Item List by category.

Deleting a Category

  1. Click Actions > Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box.

  2. Select the category name, then click Delete.

  3. Click Yes, then click OK.

The category is removed from the list, and from all the items to which it was assigned.

Using Category Colors in the Item List

  1. Click Actions > Categories > More to display the Edit Categories dialog box.

  2. Select or de-select Use colors in the Item List.

  3. Click OK.

If you de-select Use colors in the Item List, the category color still display next to the item icon and in the category column.