I use the status field in the Tasks Folder of Outlook to keep track of
different stages of completion in the production of my work. I would like to
customize the pull down choices in that field, so I don't have to retype the
same thing all the time. I can't figure out how to customize the choices or
add to the choices. Any help is appreciated. My son said I needed to find
someone that knows Visual Basic for Outlook, but that seems like overkill for
my problem. Does anyone know how to customize the existing pull down in the
existing "Status" Field. Thank you, Steve

There's nothing to figure out, because what you want to do is not possible. The values available for the Status field are tied to an enumeration in the Outlook object model, so they can't be changed.

While you could customize a task form to add a custom page with a combo box for a custom field, custom dropdowns in the folder view are also not supported.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"optimist" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:AA2FFAA1-9DC6-4399-8832-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I use the status field in the Tasks Folder of Outlook to keep track of
> different stages of completion in the production of my work. I would like to
> customize the pull down choices in that field, so I don't have to retype the
> same thing all the time. I can't figure out how to customize the choices or
> add to the choices. Any help is appreciated. My son said I needed to find
> someone that knows Visual Basic for Outlook, but that seems like overkill for
> my problem. Does anyone know how to customize the existing pull down in the
> existing "Status" Field. Thank you, Steve

Thank you for your advice Sue. Could we create a doskey macro that would
operate at the curser position or doesn't doskey work within Outlook? Thank
you for your response. Steve

"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

> There's nothing to figure out, because what you want to do is not possible. The values available for the Status field are tied to an enumeration in the Outlook object model, so they can't be changed.
>
> While you could customize a task form to add a custom page with a combo box for a custom field, custom dropdowns in the folder view are also not supported.
>
> --
> Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
> Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
> http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
> and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
> Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
> http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx
>
> "optimist" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:AA2FFAA1-9DC6-4399-8832-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I use the status field in the Tasks Folder of Outlook to keep track of
> > different stages of completion in the production of my work. I would like to
> > customize the pull down choices in that field, so I don't have to retype the
> > same thing all the time. I can't figure out how to customize the choices or
> > add to the choices. Any help is appreciated. My son said I needed to find
> > someone that knows Visual Basic for Outlook, but that seems like overkill for
> > my problem. Does anyone know how to customize the existing pull down in the
> > existing "Status" Field. Thank you, Steve
>

Sorry, but I don't know anything about doskey.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"optimist" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:7CE91574-A84D-4003-AC7B-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thank you for your advice Sue. Could we create a doskey macro that would
> operate at the curser position or doesn't doskey work within Outlook? Thank
> you for your response. Steve
>
> "Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:
>
>> There's nothing to figure out, because what you want to do is not possible. The values available for the Status field are tied to an enumeration in the Outlook object model, so they can't be changed.
>>
>> While you could customize a task form to add a custom page with a combo box for a custom field, custom dropdowns in the folder view are also not supported.
>>
>> "optimist" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:AA2FFAA1-9DC6-4399-8832-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >I use the status field in the Tasks Folder of Outlook to keep track of
>> > different stages of completion in the production of my work. I would like to
>> > customize the pull down choices in that field, so I don't have to retype the
>> > same thing all the time. I can't figure out how to customize the choices or
>> > add to the choices. Any help is appreciated. My son said I needed to find
>> > someone that knows Visual Basic for Outlook, but that seems like overkill for
>> > my problem. Does anyone know how to customize the existing pull down in the
>> > existing "Status" Field. Thank you, Steve
>>

You could use SendKeys, but that's not a real solution that is reliable.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"optimist" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:7CE91574-A84D-4003-AC7B-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thank you for your advice Sue. Could we create a doskey macro that would
> operate at the curser position or doesn't doskey work within Outlook?
> Thank
> you for your response. Steve