Customize flag colors in Outlook 2007 by due date

[MaryKC]

I currently use the color categories and flags features available in Outlook
2007. What I find frustrating is unlike Outlook 2003, I cannot change the
color of the flags to correspond to the due date. Thus when I look at my
To-Do Bar, I see a bunch of red and pink flags that have varying due dates,
which is sort-of handled by the fact you can group the tasks by due date. But
when it comes to my Inbox, seeing just red and pink flags does not help me
immediately identify the due date.

The problem is the "Today," "No Date," and "Custom" flags are all the same
red, the "This Week" and "Next Week" are all the same pink, and the red of
the "Tomorrow" flag is so subtle a shade difference that it's not readily
identifible in a list if not next to one of the other flags.

If I had my way as I did in Outlook 2003, I would assign red only to the
"Today" flag, then I would sequence the rest of the flag colors where:
"Tomorrow"=pink
"This week"=purple
"Next week"=blue
"No Date"=orange
"Custom"=green

When I did this in Outlook 2003, it was a helpful visual cue for an
organization-minded person such as me, and I am not finding that the whole
color category deal in Outlook 2007 as helpful.

Does anyone know a way I can possibly customize the flag colors in Outlook
2007, or am I stuck with the red and pink and nothing else?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

you can't color the flags but you can color the flagged messages using
automatic formatting.
See http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2009/up090129.htm#2

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

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[MaryKC]

This is probably the best I can hope for to work with my messages in Outlook
2007, but what about items in my task list? Can I also use automatic
formatting on those in similiar fashion?

you can't color the flags but you can color the flagged messages using
automatic formatting.
See http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2009/up090129.htm#2

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

I currently use the color categories and flags features available in
Outlook
2007. What I find frustrating is unlike Outlook 2003, I cannot change the
color of the flags to correspond to the due date. Thus when I look at my
To-Do Bar, I see a bunch of red and pink flags that have varying due
dates,
which is sort-of handled by the fact you can group the tasks by due date.
But
when it comes to my Inbox, seeing just red and pink flags does not help me
immediately identify the due date.

The problem is the "Today," "No Date," and "Custom" flags are all the same
red, the "This Week" and "Next Week" are all the same pink, and the red of
the "Tomorrow" flag is so subtle a shade difference that it's not readily
identifible in a list if not next to one of the other flags.

If I had my way as I did in Outlook 2003, I would assign red only to the
"Today" flag, then I would sequence the rest of the flag colors where:
"Tomorrow"=pink
"This week"=purple
"Next week"=blue
"No Date"=orange
"Custom"=green

When I did this in Outlook 2003, it was a helpful visual cue for an
organization-minded person such as me, and I am not finding that the whole
color category deal in Outlook 2007 as helpful.

Does anyone know a way I can possibly customize the flag colors in Outlook
2007, or am I stuck with the red and pink and nothing else?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Yes, automatic formatting is an option available for custom views.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

This is probably the best I can hope for to work with my messages in
Outlook
2007, but what about items in my task list? Can I also use automatic
formatting on those in similiar fashion?

you can't color the flags but you can color the flagged messages using
automatic formatting.
See http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2009/up090129.htm#2

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point
your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

I currently use the color categories and flags features available in
Outlook
2007. What I find frustrating is unlike Outlook 2003, I cannot change
the
color of the flags to correspond to the due date. Thus when I look at
my
To-Do Bar, I see a bunch of red and pink flags that have varying due
dates,
which is sort-of handled by the fact you can group the tasks by due
date.
But
when it comes to my Inbox, seeing just red and pink flags does not help
me
immediately identify the due date.

The problem is the "Today," "No Date," and "Custom" flags are all the
same
red, the "This Week" and "Next Week" are all the same pink, and the red
of
the "Tomorrow" flag is so subtle a shade difference that it's not
readily
identifible in a list if not next to one of the other flags.

If I had my way as I did in Outlook 2003, I would assign red only to
the
"Today" flag, then I would sequence the rest of the flag colors where:
"Tomorrow"=pink
"This week"=purple
"Next week"=blue
"No Date"=orange
"Custom"=green

When I did this in Outlook 2003, it was a helpful visual cue for an
organization-minded person such as me, and I am not finding that the
whole
color category deal in Outlook 2007 as helpful.

Does anyone know a way I can possibly customize the flag colors in
Outlook
2007, or am I stuck with the red and pink and nothing else?