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Making the Journal work in Outlook 2013 and up

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› Outlook › Journal › Making the Journal work in Outlook 2013 and up

Last reviewed on June 11, 2018     95 Comments

Applies to: Outlook (classic), Outlook 2010

I'm going to begin this by saying that I really think it's time to find another solution for journaling. I have no idea how many more versions we'll see before Microsoft rips Journal's heart out. It's time to move on to something that is going to be around longer.

On the other hand, it's possible that Microsoft has removed all they can without breaking backwards compatibility, in which case, the Journal module might be mostly left alone for another 10 years. I don't have a crystal ball and Microsoft isn't saying anything more than the "journal is deprecated" and deprecated features have a way of hanging on, thanks to their need to provide backwards compatibility.

OneNote is one possible option as a replacement for the journal. I have a VBA sample to Copy Outlook Journal Entries to OneNote.

For those users who aren't ready to move on.... I'll share some facts about the state of the Journal in Outlook 2013 and workarounds to make it more useful and less broken.

Opening the Journal folder

The Journal button was removed from the Navigation pane / Peeks row. The keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+8 works or you can select the Journal from the Folder list.

Currently, a Journal button can be added to the ribbon or QAT.

  1. Open the Options dialog to Customize Ribbon or Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
  2. Select All Commands in Choose Commands From:
  3. Find Journal (click in the commands list and press J)
  4. Add a New Group then Add journal to the group.

Add the Journal command to the ribbon

If the Journal command is missing in your version of Outlook, you can use VBA to switch to the Journal and assign it to a QAT or ribbon button.

Sub GotoJournalFolder()
    Set Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder = _
    Session.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderJournal)
End Sub

Creating New Journal Items

The New Journal button was removed from the New Items command and the shortcut to create a new journal item from any folder (Ctrl+Shift+J) was removed. You can either browse the New Item button and open the More Forms command and select Journal, switch to the Journal folder first, or use VBA to open a new journal item and assign it to a QAT or ribbon button.

If you have Outlook 2013 v.15.4535, New Journal Entry is listed in ribbon customization. Use the steps above to custom the ribbon or QAT. Look for New Journal Entry under All Commands. If you have an earlier version of Outlook, you need to install updates.

Sub NewJournal()

Set objFolder = Session.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderJournal)
Set objItem = objFolder.Items.Add("IPM.Activity")
  objItem.Display
' start the timer automatically
  objItem.StartTimer
End Sub

New Journal entry for Contact

This code sample creates a new journal entry for the selected contact. To work with open or selected contacts, get the GetCrurrentItem function from Work with open item or selected item and use Set oContact = GetCurrentItem() instead of Set oContact = ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1).


Sub CreateJournalForcontact()

If TypeName(ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1)) = "ContactItem" Then
 Set oContact = ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1)

Dim oJournal As JournalItem
Set oJournal = Application.CreateItem(olJournalItem)
 
 With oJournal
 .Companies = oContact.CompanyName
 .ContactNames = oContact.FullName
 .Body = oContact.MailingAddress
 .Categories = oContact.Categories
  .Display
  .StartTimer

End With
  Set oJournal = Nothing
 
Else
MsgBox "Sorry, you need to select a contact"
End If

End Sub

New Journal entry for email message

This variation of the macro creates a new journal entry for the selected email message. As with contacts, you can use it with open or selected items if you use the GetCurrentItem function and change the Set oMail line.

Sub CreateJournalForMail()
Dim oMail As MailItem

If TypeName(ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1)) = "MailItem" Then
 Set oMail = ActiveExplorer.Selection.Item(1)

Set oJournal = Application.CreateItem(olJournalItem)
 
 With oJournal
 .ContactNames = oMail.SenderName
 .Body = oMail.Body
 .Categories = oMail.Categories
 .Type = "Email"
  .Display
  .StartTimer

End With
  Set oJournal = Nothing
 
Else
MsgBox "Sorry, you need to select a message"
End If

End Sub

Setting Journal Options

Journal options were removed from Outlook 2013's File, Options dialog, meaning that there is no UI around to edit the settings. This included the dialog where you could choose to journal email from specific contacts, and automatically create journal entries for Office documents.

In applications that support VBA, you can create journal entries automatically using VBA. See Create a journal entry for Word documents in Outlook 2013 for a sample that creates a journal entry when you open a Word document.

Ah... well what about creating the journal keys in the registry yourself? I tried and so far, no luck. You need to create at keys in Outlook\Options\Journal, SharedTools\, and Outlook\, possibly other keys as well. (I'll keep trying.)

Activities

Contact activities were broken in Outlook 2010 and completely gone from Outlook 2013. You'll need to use Instant Search or custom views to find journaled items.

You can use VBA to create an Instant search in the journal folder. Use the VBA code samples at Use Instant search to find messages from a contact, then select a contact and run the macro. With the journal tweaks, the macro will open the journal folder and search for the contact's name in the Contacts field.

Link contacts to Outlook items

Contacts field in Propertties

 

Tools

UBitJournal Outlook

UBitJournal Outlook 2013 will run from your startup folder and emulate the file journaling capabilities that Microsoft has removed from Office 2013. UBitJournal will add open Microsoft Office files from local drives and server (including those synchronized locally) to your Outlook journal. Currently seeking testers.

Making the Journal work in Outlook 2013 and up was last modified: June 11th, 2018 by Diane Poremsky

Related Posts:

  • Use Instant search to find messages from a contact
  • Copy Outlook Journal Entries to OneNote
  • Assign an Email Account to an Outlook Contact
  • Automatically Create Contacts From Messages

About Diane Poremsky

A Microsoft Outlook Most Valuable Professional (MVP) since 1999, Diane is the author of several books, including Outlook 2013 Absolute Beginners Book. She also created video training CDs and online training classes for Microsoft Outlook. You can find her helping people online in Outlook Forums as well as in the Microsoft Answers and TechNet forums.

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NLD (@guest_220053)
February 6, 2023 2:13 pm
#220053

Any thoughts on how to save attachments from a task into a journal entry? I used the second macro from here, but I can't figure out how to save the attachments to the entry. I tried "NewJournalEntry.AttachmentAdd" but I get an error message that the property is read only. thanks.

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Dan (@guest_219738)
September 26, 2022 4:39 am
#219738

Out of curiosity, why was the Journal deprecated? It's fantastic for those of use who have to complete timesheets, because it made it ludicrously easy to summarise what we were working on throughout the course of the day (and importantly, which documents?!). </rant>

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Justin Peterson (@guest_215208)
May 12, 2020 2:15 pm
#215208

Thanks for this great piece of code. The code helps me track my time and organize my efforts more effectively.
Cheers!

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Reply
Tomas (@guest_208479)
September 1, 2017 3:57 am
#208479

There is easier way to add "Journal" to the Navigation Pane at the bottom, next to Calendar, People, Tasks etc.

Just modify this Registry key:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice15.0OutlookPreferences] "ModuleVisible15"="1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0"

That 1 at position 8 is the one that enables "Journal".

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Mike Burrows (@guest_206590)
May 17, 2017 8:04 pm
#206590

Thanks - not as slick as dialing fromt he contact record and having the Journal record open - but still makes journal usable.

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0
Reply
Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to  Mike Burrows
May 17, 2017 8:22 pm
#206591

yeah, its definitely not as good as it used to, but unfortunately, they wont be bringing those features back. :(

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0
Reply
Ginger (@guest_201944)
September 29, 2016 2:48 pm
#201944

I use the journal in order to be able to keep track of documents I worked on for timekeeping purposes without having to physically write down all the time entries and then type them into a timekeeping program. I just go to my journal to see what I have saved or where I have been. I love the journal!

5
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Reply
HAL (@guest_200805)
August 17, 2016 7:23 pm
#200805

For all things, the author has stated the hard and dull reality of the MS Office Outlook Journal - it's EOL'ed. All that is left to keep it somewhat useful, are patches and workarounds. I wish I had half of the author's ability for the workarounds. I've been bouncing into this webpage for years in order to learn about in-hand solutions around Office Outlook. The demise of the Outlook Journal is, for me as for many more, not just a "deprecation". It's a major inconvenience. In my ongoing quest for a good & stable journal, I've come to the conviction that all our journaling needs can feasibly be moved to calendars. For one, the Journal itself IS A CALENDAR. It only happens that we don't use it in a calendar view. If you review the fields that any Journal entry has, they're mostly of a calendar entry. A journal entry is a variation of a vCal entry, just as the Outlook Tasks entries are, as well. For all I know, that's how the Outlook calendar was initially formatted, in vCal, however I recall it was eventually re-formatted in ICS or something. OK, rephrasing, perhaps the Journal is not a calendar… Read more »

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Reply
Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to  HAL
August 17, 2016 11:05 pm
#200809

You can use any view on the calendar - timeline, list, calendar format.

You can either use the Date stamp feature or a custom form with code behind to insert a date stamp - or use a macro to create the entry and add a date stamp ( .Body = Date + Time) A macro could handle timer features, although it might not be a convenient as the journal's built in timer.

The journal folder is going to be around for awhile yet - while I'm discouraging people from using it, those who want to use it can. if you need the timer and other journal specific features, use it. The only thing that is broken is the Activities and autojournaling features.

1
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Reply
HAL (@guest_201863)
Reply to  Diane Poremsky
September 27, 2016 1:19 am
#201863

Count me in as discouraged :'( I've been reviewing and trying different options in order to replicate a journal experience using calendars. The online calendar alternative appeals me because it allows me what MS never fully achieved: to make the thing more ubiquitous. Journals are not available but to the user, not even within the costly Microsoft Exchange Server assembly. I have frequently been in the situation where I have to use more than one computer throughout the day, and my own is not necessarily at reach. Or, where I have a job-issued computer but I cannot install what I need/like into it. Using online calendars, I'm going into lengths in order to have my journal clouded (YEY!) and less Outlook-and-addins-and-plugins dependant. Currently you can plug almost anything into Outlook except for the coffee machine, provided you ain't got restrictions on behalf of the IT Dept., but of course it doesn't mean all that poured info will be available outside Outlook, or across Outlook installations. Several of mi needs don't actually depend on a desktop-based environment. Mobile phone calls, SMS, and location have been for years related to the mobile device, not actually to the desktop device. Used to sync… Read more »

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Phil (@guest_199726)
July 2, 2016 9:22 pm
#199726

Wanting to put the contact'sbusiness phone number in the journal's body but have yet to figure out what "variable" to use in lieu of "MailingAddress". help

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Reply
Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to  Phil
July 5, 2016 9:33 am
#199790

phone would be .BusinessTelephoneNumber - to see all of the phone fields, open the object browser (F2 or View menu) then select Outlook from the libraries list and type phone in the search field.

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Reply

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