Assign a category to an item - Outlook - Microsoft Office Online

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Assign a category to an item

Applies to: Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

A category is a keyword or phrase that helps you keep track of items (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.) so you can easily find, sort, filter, or group them.

Show To assign a category when creating an item

In the item, click Categories. In an e-mail message, you must first click Options, and then click Categories.
In the Available categories list, select the check boxes next to the categories you want, and then click OK.

Show To assign a category to an existing item

Select the items (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.) you want to assign to a category.
On the Edit menu, click Categories.
In the Available categories list, select the check boxes next to the categories you want, and then click OK.

If a check box is shaded, some of the items selected in step 1 are already assigned to that category. To add all the selected items to the category, click the shaded check box until a check mark without shading appears. To remove all selected items from the category, click the shaded check box until it is clear.

Note If the category you want isn't in the list, you can quickly add a new category to the Master Category List (Master Category List: The list of categories that you can use to group items or to find items. This list contains general categories such as Business, Personal, and Phone Calls. You can add categories to and delete categories from this list.). Type the category name in the Item(s) belong to these categories box, and then click Add to List.