Outlook Folders

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gnfb

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#132180 11-Oct-2013 13:43

I guess like most of us I use Outlook. I have about maybe 100 folders and sub folders setup. With outlook 2013 with its new "lets see how hard to read we can make it" view I find it now extra hard to find the folder I want. I always have, now its worse.

Does anyone know of any addons that colour code the folders ?

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nathan

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#913647 11-Oct-2013 13:50

could you add the folders you regularly need as Favourites?

right click, show in favourites

re the readability, have you tried changing the theme between white/light grey/dark grey?

gnfb

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#913664 11-Oct-2013 13:58

nathan: could you add the folders you regularly need as Favourites?

right click, show in favorites

re the readability, have you tried changing the theme between white/light grey/dark grey?

Yeah I am on dark grey Favorites are a thought guarantee the one you want wont be there though LOL

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TwoSeven

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#913754 11-Oct-2013 16:42

I use folders heavily in Outlook as well. But as far as I am aware, one can't colour code folders. Instead I use an old project management technique of prefixing with numbers.

What I do in my inbox is create a subfolder called z-mail (the z ensures it is last in the inbox). Its purpose is to be the root folder and the one that I backup. Within this I create more sub-folders but these are named 100-People, 200-General etc. (whatever the categories you have are). The number ensures they are listed in the same order.

Within each folder (say 100-People) I just have folders for each person in this case. I have mail rules setup so that it redirects mail into the appropriate folder when it arrives. Mail that I am not expecting or don't require a mail rule for stays in the inbox.

In my favourites I just have the 'unread mail' view and nothing else. I have Outlook configured to start up in the 'Unread mail' view. So all I see is new mail until I have read it. I also have Outlook configured to mark mail read after 0 seconds and show in the reading pane. When I view the email, it is then no longer shown in unread mail.

On the 'unread mail' view you can apply conditional formatting on types of email, also you can apply colour categories (using the Mail rules). For example, when I receive bills from the utilities companies I colour code them with my bill category and then drop them into the appropriate folder. I use the same category in my calendar (all day event) to tell me when my next bill is due.

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gnfb

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#914054 12-Oct-2013 12:22

TwoSeven: I use folders heavily in Outlook as well. But as far as I am aware, one can't colour code folders. Instead I use an old project management technique of prefixing with numbers.

What I do in my inbox is create a subfolder called z-mail (the z ensures it is last in the inbox). Its purpose is to be the root folder and the one that I backup. Within this I create more sub-folders but these are named 100-People, 200-General etc. (whatever the categories you have are). The number ensures they are listed in the same order.

Within each folder (say 100-People) I just have folders for each person in this case. I have mail rules setup so that it redirects mail into the appropriate folder when it arrives. Mail that I am not expecting or don't require a mail rule for stays in the inbox.

In my favourites I just have the 'unread mail' view and nothing else. I have Outlook configured to start up in the 'Unread mail' view. So all I see is new mail until I have read it. I also have Outlook configured to mark mail read after 0 seconds and show in the reading pane. When I view the email, it is then no longer shown in unread mail.

On the 'unread mail' view you can apply conditional formatting on types of email, also you can apply colour categories (using the Mail rules). For example, when I receive bills from the utilities companies I colour code them with my bill category and then drop them into the appropriate folder. I use the same category in my calendar (all day event) to tell me when my next bill is due.

I will certainly give that system a go
I do use mail rules although sometimes it seems that the automated feature putting mail on arrival into folders doesnt work and i have to manually run the rules
thanks for taking the time for such a full reply

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
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TwoSeven

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#914130 12-Oct-2013 14:45

No worries, if there is other stuff you want to know, just let me know. Outlook can (and I say that with a relatively straight face) be quite powerful in the customisation department.

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raytaylor

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#916346 16-Oct-2013 22:29

I did two things to greatley improve my outlook expierence.

1) File > Account > Theme - change it to Grey
It will make it less "white"

2) Reinstalled outlook 2010

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