Outlook Categories Makes Inbox Management Easier
Sometimes, it’s hard to organize email in Outlook when you have hundreds of messages flooding your inbox and no time to sort them into folders. But did you know that there’s another way to sort messages without a ton of effort? Well, there is, thanks to Outlook color categories.
These categories let you quickly assign color-coded labels to as few or as many messages as you want. Then, you can sort your inbox based on the assigned categories, and use the feature to help you move messages elsewhere or delete them from your inbox. However, you first need to learn how to use categories in Outlook so you can take advantage of them.
Outlook Categories vs Folders
Many users know that there are lots of ways to customize Outlook. In fact, this mail provider offers three tools that help you sort messages: folders, categories, and flags.
Unfortunately, many people get confused about the differences between folders and categories. Since each of these organizational tools works differently, it’s important to know about each one so you can decide which option makes the most sense for each message in your inbox.
Outlook folders are a way to organize and store messages. When you create folders in Outlook, you can then move messages into these folders, hence removing them from your inbox. Then, when you need to locate a specific message, you can simply go into the folder where you saved it, and either scroll through the messages or perform a search within the folder to find that message.
Meanwhile, Outlook categories are a way to visually organize, or color code, messages within your inbox. When you assign a category to a message in Outlook, it doesn’t leave your inbox. Instead, they are just assigned a color label that makes them easy to see. Using categories in Outlook makes it easier to use the search function within your inbox to view only messages of a specific type. This makes it easier to locate messages.
How To Add Categories In Outlook
One of the best Outlook tips and tricks you can master is how to add categories in Outlook. Once you create them, you can use these categories to group messages and locate them directly in your inbox, just like you can with categories in Gmail.
But first, you need to know how to add your own categories in Outlook on the web, desktop, or mobile.
For Web
- Login to your inbox at https://outlook.live.com/.
- Go to Settings, then choose View All Outlook Settings.
- When the Settings open, select General → Categories.
- Press +Create Category at the top of the category list.
- Name the category, select a color for it, then press Save.
For Desktop Client
- Open the Outlook desktop app.
- In the top ribbon, locate Tags.
- Select Categorize → All Categories.
- In the Color Categories dialog box, select New.
- Name the category, select a color for it, then press OK.
For Mobile
- Open the Outlook mobile app on your device.
- Tap the circle in the upper left corner, then tap Settings.
- In the Settings menu, scroll down to Preferences.
- Tap Categories.
- Tap Add A Category.
- Enter the name and choose a color, then press Done.
How To Edit Categories In Outlook
As you use Outlook, you may find that you need to edit existing categories in Outlook to make them better for your organizational needs. Luckily, you can edit Outlook categories just as easily as you add them on the web, desktop client, or mobile app.
For Web
- Login to your inbox at https://outlook.live.com/.
- Go to Settings, then choose View All Outlook Settings.
- When the Settings open, select General → Categories.
- Locate the category you want to edit, then press the Edit pencil.
- Make the changes you’d like to the name and color, then press Save.
For Desktop Client
- Open the desktop client application.
- In the top ribbon, select Categorize → All Categories.
- In the Color Categories name list, select the category you want to edit and select Rename.
- Make the changes, then press OK.
For Mobile
- Open the mobile app on your device.
- Tap the circle in the upper left corner, then tap Settings.
- In the Settings menu, scroll down to Preferences.
- Tap Categories.
- Tap the category you wish to edit.
- Edit the name and/or color, then press Done.
How To Delete Categories In Outlook
If you find that you no longer need a category you’ve created, you can go into the Categories section and delete the ones you don’t want on the web or desktop app.
For Web
- Login to your mail account.
- Go to Settings, then choose View All Outlook Settings.
- When the Settings open, select General → Categories.
- Locate the category you want to edit, then press the Delete button (trash can).
- The category will then disappear.
For Desktop Client
- Open the desktop application.
- In the top ribbon, select Categorize → All Categories.
- Select the category you want to delete, and then select Delete.
Take Your Outlook Categories Even Further With Clean Email
As you can see, Outlook categories can be an incredibly helpful tool for Outlook mailbox management. However, using them alone won’t help you reach Outlook Inbox Zero. That’s where Clean Email comes in — it’s an inbox management app that offers a wide array of features to help you organize your inbox and remove the clutter.
The Smart Folders feature works in a similar way as Microsoft Outlook categories. Essentially, Smart Folders are predefined filters Clean Email applies to your mailbox. Then, you can select various Smart Folders to display emails based on these commonalities.
In other words, choosing the “Finance” Smart Folder will give you access to all emails from your bank, credit card companies, and even certain bills. This makes it easier to sift through your inbox quickly so you can delete, move, or label messages — whatever helps you keep your inbox more organized.
Also, you can use the Auto Clean feature to automate regular email tasks, like assigning labels or moving messages into a specific folder. You just have to perform the task one time in Clean Email, then tell the app to automatically apply this task to future messages. Then app will take care of the rest.
Clean Email offers many other great features, which you can check out here.
💡 Note: Outlook offers both an email service provider (meaning you use an @outlook.com mail address) and an Outlook desktop client (which links with other mail providers like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and more). Because of the way these each work, any actions you perform in Clean Email only translate to the email service provider, which means that they may not show up if you use the Outlook desktop client.
Outlook Categories - FAQs
What is the purpose of Outlook categories?
Outlook color categories let you assign colors to messages so they stand out in your inbox. It also makes it easier to search and locate items when they have a category label.
How do you effectively use categories in Outlook?
You should use categories in Outlook to label messages with similar components so they are sorted in a way that makes sense to you.
How to rename categories in Outlook?
You can easily rename them by navigating to the Categories section of your inbox settings. The exact location of this varies based on which version of Outlook you use.
Should I use categories or folders in Outlook?
Categories and folders serve different functions within Outlook. You can use both, since categories keep messages in a folder, whereas folders provide a new location to move messages.
