Organizing Your Inbox - Colour Code With Automatic Formatting

Whether you have lots of email or just a few messages, you can use colour to help you quickly determine what you have. You can use the Automatic Formatting feature to quickly organize your email with colour. For example, you can see messages from your boss in one colour, and messages from your spouse in another!

Use Automatic Formatting to make specific messages stand out in the colour of your choice so that even if you have thousands of emails, messages from your boss stand out and catch your eye.

Select an email message. Click on the Organize command on the Tools menu. You'll find the Organize option when you click on Tools > Organize. Next click "Using Colours." Set the rule for colour coding, then apply it.

Outlook creates an Automatic Formatting rule and shows you the details in the Automatic Formatting dialogue box. If you want to see the rule, click the Automatic Formatting button in the Organize pane.

You can use this feature to colour code:

• Mail from any specific person of your choosing
• Mail to any email distribution list that you belong to
• Mail regarding any specific subject that you choose

Don't forget to test this out. Try turning colour coding off and on, or even change the colour. Delete and recreate the rule.

In review, you may use colour coding to help you organize your inbox by making certain emails stand out visually.