MS Outlook 2002 "category" vs. "categories"

[BrianP]

What I would like to do is assign a "category" or "categories" to
emails which were sent to me so that I can sort by the field. My goal
is to organize my inbox so that I can see at a glance, which emails
need follow-up based on the category the email is assigned to.

I am currently using folders to organize completed emails but don't
want to use them for open emails that need follow-up. I tried setting
up my inbox view to "group by" "categories", but didn't like the extra
step of clicking the '+' to open the groups.

What I have found so far:
1) There isn't a way to assign a "category" to an email; it seems that
a "category" can only be assigned to tasks and contacts.
2) I can assign a "categories" to an email but I can't sort by the
field.
3) I can do a "group by" with "categories" in an email but I really
want to sort by the field instead.

Any ideas?

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

There is really no such thing as a "Category" singular...it's just
"Categories" as in the Categories field. You cannot sort by that field, so
you'd have to use grouping. However, you can set the view to always show
the Categories groups in an expanded view. Go to View | Current View |
Customize Current View, click the Group By button, and at the bottom right,
choose "All expanded" in the "Expand/collapse defaults" dropdown box.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please
reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


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[BrianP]

Thanks for your suggestion. With regards to your comment about "no
such thing as a category singular", there is a singular category
field. I found the field when I was choosing fields to show in my
view. To see this mysterious "category" field, follow these steps:

1) Edit your email inbox view
2) Click the "Fields..." button in the "View Summary" box
3) From the "Select available fields from" drop-down box, choose "All
document fields"
4) Choose "Category" from the list

Once I add "Category" to my email view, I don't know how to populate
it with values. But I did notice sorting is allowed on that field so
if I could figure out how to add values to the field, then I would be
in good shape.

 

[Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]]

I see what you mean, but the Document fields apply only to documents that
are posted to a folder -- for example, a Word document. If the Word
document has data in its Category field, that data will appear in the
Category field if you select it from the list of Document fields and add it
to the folder view. Only the "Categories" field would apply to an e-mail
message itself, since "Categories" is a valid Outlook field for a message
form.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please
reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


In