# IT:AD:Outlook:HowTo:Categorize Email #



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Categorization of Email is fundamental to getting things done.


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## Process ##

#### The Folder way
The original way that Outlook organized email was by putting it in a Folder (eg: 'Projects/Foo/Design'). If you wanted to find that same email in another folder (eg: 'Projects/Foo/Meetings') you *copied* the email to the second folder. 

Advantages:
* Has a home
Disadvantages:
* An email had only one location (which is correct in terms of location, but not in terms of use).
* If you responded to FolderA's email, it would not get attached to FolderB's email, and vice versa, leading to a disjointed conversation with the potential of losing important information.


### The Criteria way
Then Google came along and focused on Tagging emails. 

Outlook responded, but they didn't do it by adding Tags, instead they beefed up their Category mechanism, and Search Folder architecture (why copy a successful competitors design when you can slap together a different contorted one, ey?)

It works by putting in the leg work to get organised.

* First, right click on an email and start creating Categories ('Projects/Foo/Design', 'Projects/Foo/Define', etc.)
* Next, in the search panel, select Create Search Folder, defining the filter to be on the Categories you want.
    * Hint: as you will end up creating lots of categories over time, I'll suggest that you not be too fine grain here, and select several categories at once (eg: 'Projects/Foo', and all subtitle ones 'Projects/Foo/Design', etc.)
* The View will now show all those emails. But you can do better. Use the Main Menu to 'View/Customize this View...' and set the View to Categorized layout.
* Now you're rockin'...