Managing and Organizing Contacts

Just as folders are used to organize e-mail, they can also be a valuable tool in the management and organization of contacts. You can use the Ways To Organize Contacts pane to move contacts to different folders, or you can simply drag the contact to the folder on the Navigation pane. It can be helpful to use categories to organize your contacts. A category is any keyword or phrase associated with an Outlook item, including contacts. Categories describe the manner in which contacts are grouped according to classifications such as Business, Personal, and so on. You can use Outlook's built-in categories or you can create your own.

Manage Contacts with Folders

Click the Tools menu and then click Organize.

Click the Using Folders tab.

Click a contact name in the Contacts folder.

Click the New Folder button.

TIMESAVER Click the New button list arrow on the Standard toolbar, and then click Folder.

Type a new folder name.

Make sure Contacts is selected in the Select Where To Place The Folder list, and then click OK.

Click the Move Contact list arrow, and then click the folder name to which you want to move the selected contact.

Click the Move button.

TIMESAVER Drag the contact to the folder name on the Navigation pane.

Click the Close button in the Ways To Organize task pane.

Manage Contacts with Categories

Click the Tools menu, click Organize, and then click the Using Categories tab.

Click the contact to which you want to assign a category.

Click in the Create A New Category box, and then type a new category name.

Click the Create button.

Click the Add Contacts list arrow, and then click a category name.

Click the Add button.

Click the Close button in the Ways To Organize task pane.

TIMESAVER Right-click the contact, and then click Categories on the shortcut menu.

Did You Know?

You can assign categories in the Contact window . To assign a category in the Contact window, click the Categories button on the General tab, and then select or clear the category check boxes. To add new categories, click Master Category List in the Categories dialog box, type a new category name, and then click Add.

See Also

See " Customizing the Contacts Folder " on page 130 for more information on changing the way the Contacts folder looks.