Microsoft Outlook Categories

Any Microsoft Outlook item can be assigned to one or more categories. Consistent use of categories makes it easier to locate specific items. This page sums up a few things I've learned about Outlook categories.

Outlook 2007 does not use the registry for a master category list; they are stored in the default message store (mailbox or pst). If you are setting up a new system and using your old pst the color categories will be available on the new system. You may need to right click on the root folder (Outlook Today), choose Properties and click the button to Upgrade to color categories. This will assign random colors to the categories.

Unlike with older versions, you cannot paste a comma separated list of categories into the master category dialog and add them all to the Outlook 2007 master list.

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Outlook 2007 | Master Category List | Keeping Categories Consistent | How To | Category-based Mail Merge | More Fun with Categories | Things You Can't Do with Categories | Tools | More Information

Outlook 2007

Color categories are removed from Outlook 2007 items sent by email. If you need to include the category, drag the item to the hard drive, zip it and email the zip file. The recipient will drag the item to a folder in their Outlook and if using Outlook 2007, can add the categories to their master list by using the Upgrade to color categories option in the root folder properties.

Only categories are visible on items when you share folders on Exchange server - colors are per user. Other users will see your categories in a white color (unless its already in their color category list).

To add a category that is not in your master list, to your master list, select it (so its highlighted) and click the New button. Outlook will assign the next unused color - change the color and set a shortcut key, if desired, then click Save. 

Master Category List

To back up the Master Category List in Outlook 97/98:

1. Run Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook and select the Categories key.
2. Choose Registry | Export Registry File to make a copy of the Categories branch of the registry.

To back up the Master Category List in Outlook 2000:

1. Run Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook and select the Categories key.
2. Choose Registry | Export Registry File to make a copy of the Categories branch of the registry.

To back up the Master Category List in Outlook 2002:

1. Run Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook and select the Categories key.
2. Choose Registry | Export Registry File to make a copy of the Categories branch of the registry. Note that this list is in Unicode encoding and is not compatible with earlier versions of Outlook.

To back up the Master Category List in Outlook 2003:

1. Run Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook and select the Categories key.
2. Choose Registry | Export Registry File to make a copy of the Categories branch of the registry. Note that this list is in Unicode encoding and is not compatible with versions other than Outlook 2002.

To use any of these methods to move categories to another computer using a compatible version of Outlook, you'll need to change the version number in the key before importing.

You can use this exported branch to distribute a category list to other Outlook users. See the MSKB article How to Migrate Custom Categories to Other Users. CAUTION: Using a .reg file to propagate a category list does not update a user's own list; instead it completely replaces it. I personally do not recommend this method, because it eliminates much the utility of the Category feature for users. See the next section for what I think is a better method.

If you remove a category from the master list, any items marked with that category are not affected. In the Categories dialog box, that category is listed as "(not in master list)."

Also see:

Keeping Categories Consistent

For example, you can set a category of Blue on an item, then delete Blue from your personal Master Category List. The item is still categorized as Blue. In the Categories dialog, you should now see its category as "Blue (not on master list)." Anyone who has never had Blue on the master list will see the same thing.

Yes, it would be nice if Microsoft had made this easier, but the real issue usually is making category assignment consistent. In a public folder, consider handling that with a custom form that forces users to pick from an "official" list of categories. I've put together a sample form at Required Categories Contact Form.

Another approach would be to use code behind the form to make category assignment automatic based on the value of other fields in the form. 

One situation where the Master Categories list makes a difference is when you are working with a large folder and dragging a large number of items between categories. When a category is not in the Master List, you risk losing the original categories from items added to new categories. You can avoid problems by dragging fewer items at a time or select the items, right click and choose Categories.

How To ...

On the More Choices tab in the Filter dialog, type the names of the categories separated by "AND" Do not use the Categories button. 

For example, to display contacts who are in both the Personal category and  the Business category, type in "Personal AND Business."

In Outlook 2007, use the Advanced tab to create the filter. Use Categories for the Field, select contains as the Condition and enter the category names, separated by AND in the Value field.

The QueryBuilder can be used to create the AND filter if you use Outlook 2002, 2003 or 2007. See Using QueryBuilder for more information.

Also see:

Remove Categories From Messages

Rules wizard doesn't have an option to remove categories from messages you send or receive, it can only add more categories. You'll need to use VBA to remove categories.

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
        Item.Categories = ""
End Sub

Visit OutlookCode for assistance with Outlook programming.

Category-based Mail Merge

Method #1:

Select Contacts by category using a filter, copy all matching items to a new Contacts folder, add that folder to the Outlook Address Book, and use it as the mail merge source. See the MSKB article Q160521: Categories Unavailable to Mail Merge in Word. Also see Helen Feddema's Code Sample 48 for a VBScript routine to do the copying to another folder for you.

Method #2:

You can use Excel to drive a bulk mailing based on a category. See the Microsoft article Using Microsoft Excel To Do a Bulk Mailing in Microsoft Outlook.

Some of the third-party mail merge tools also support merging by category.

More Fun with Categories

You can use categories in Rules Wizard rules, both as part of conditions and as actions, assigning one or more categories to an item. For example, I have an autoresponder to handle subscription requests for my Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter. I mark the incoming requests with a category of "Response sent."

If you create a new Outlook item from another item, the categories carry over. Back to the autoresponder example: I manage the mailing list in a Contacts folder that uses a custom form. New items are created by dragging the incoming message to the folder. When the new recipient is created, it has the category of "Response sent." This also works with replies and forwards; as long as you send in RTF format, the recipient will see any category you apply. However, if you send a message with a category via the Microsoft Network service, it may remain in the Outbox unsent. See the MSKB article Q163176: MSN Mail Not Sent with Category or Contact Attachment.

Helen Feddema's Code Sample 55 demonstrates how to use an Outlook form to display all contacts by category. It's up to you to take the next step of writing code to do something with all those contacts. 

Also see: 

Things You Can't Do with Categories

You can't search and replace a category directly without writing code. (I have a code example of how to search and replace a category in my book, Teach Yourself Microsoft Outlook 2000 Programming in 24 Hours.) However, you can select a bunch of categories, then right-click, choose Categories from the pop-up menu and work with the Categories for the entire group of items.

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