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You can then use search features and even search folders to find messages in a certain category. Windows Central has a step-by-step article on how to setup Outlook categories. One of our team members organizes her categories like this, using the symbol to keep important categories at the top, and using prefixes to keep similar categories together. Categories in Outlook Desktop Application Categories in OWAīy default, categories are simply “blue category”, “green category”, etc. You can find these categories at the top of your Outlook application. These categories are more versatile than folders because multiple categories can be applied to an email message. Microsoft 365 has a feature called categories that really should be called tags or labels. If you look closely, you can also find more “rule options” (like being able to categorize or forward the email) but we’ll cover automations down the road. You can create rules to auto-file messages into folders. If you make your folders highly specific, your folder lists can get quite long.Ī way to simplify email organization is to use automation. If you make your folders too general, you still have a lot of emails to sort through. Where do you file an email about a client project that also includes a vendor? Does it go under the client project folder? Or does it get filed under the vendor email folder? However, just like with physical papers, if you don’t regularly file your emails, the folders become worthless, and you end up doing a search anyway.Īnother limitation of this type of email organization is that an email may fit into multiple categories.
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The advantage of this method of organizing is that it is familiar, and it aligns with how other paper files are managed. Like physical folders, email folders are labeled and can be nested. Those of us old enough to remember the “You’ve Got Mail!” days often still use email folders. To keep things simple, we’ll cover one topic at a time – starting with deciding between folders and categories for organizing email in outlook. So, over the next several articles, we’re going to discuss options related to Microsoft 365 inbox email management. During a recent team meeting, we discovered that many of us are managing our email inboxes in vastly different ways.
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This post is part of our Mastering Microsoft 365 seriesĭo you have an out-of-control email inbox? Do you spend far too much time searching for messages that you KNOW you have “somewhere”? Do you wonder what’s the best way to save emails for future reference?
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