Outlook Categories & Labels

From Provider Notes

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Outlook includes a defined set of categories and labels. However, you're not locked into using only the categories provided — you can add your own categories and remove existing categories that you don't want.

Contents 1 Outlook 2003 1.1 To customize categories: 1.2 To add a new Category 1.3 To customize labels: 2 Outlook 2007 2.1 To edit your list of color categories: 2.2 To add a new color category:

Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003 provides a standard list of categories & labels with which you can customize your calendar and email items. You can personalize the label text that's associated with each color. However, in Outlook 2003, you can't change or add colors for the 10 default labels.

To customize categories:

1. In Calendar, click any item to select it.
2. On the Edit menu, click Categories.
3. Click Master Category List.
4. Type a new category, and then click Add.

To add a new Category

1. Repeat step 4 to add other new categories.
2. To delete a category, click the category in the Master Category List and then click Delete. (Note that you can't change an existing category, but you can delete it and add a new one in its place. Deleting a category deletes it only from the Master Category List. Any existing items that are assigned to that deleted category will still keep their assignments to the category.)

To customize labels:

1. In Calendar, on the Edit menu, point to Label, and then click Edit Labels to open the Edit Calendar Labels dialog box.
2. Select the text next to a color, and then type a new name for the label.
3. Repeat step 2 for other labels, and then click OK.

Complete details are available at Microsoft's Outlook 2003 Organization tips document

Outlook 2007

Outlook 2007 handles categories and labels differently than previous versions of Outlook. If you are upgrading to Outlook 2007 and made use of calendar lables in the past, you should consult How categories and calendar labels from earlier versions are updated for Office Outlook 2007 to learn how Outlook 2007 will convert your existing calendar labels.

To edit your list of color categories:

1. Go to your Outlook Inbox.(Color categories do not work in IMAP accounts.)Make sure you go to your main (personal folders) Outlook Inbox.
2. Click the Categorize toolbar button.
3. Select All Categories... from the menu.
4. Highlight the desired category.

• To change the category title, click Rename and type the new name in the Name list.
• To choose a color, click the down arrow next under Color: and click the desired color (or None).
• To assign the category a keyboard shortcut, click the Shortcut Key list and choose the desired keyboard combination.
• To remove a category from the categories list (not from items it has been applied to previously), click Delete.

To add a new color category:

1. Click New.
2. Type the desired title under Name.
3. Click the down arrow under Color: and select the desired color. Optionally, click the down arrow under Shortcut Key and choose the desired keyboard shortcut.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK again.