In Microsoft Outlook, how can I categorize my Contacts and send email using the categories?

If you want to send email to or arrange meetings with people on your Contacts list without using your Personal Address Book or personal distribution lists, you can use the category function in Outlook. To do this, you must first categorize the Contacts you want in a specific group. Once they are categorized, you can send email to that category.

Note: Contacts entries have no default category. Consequently, individual Contacts that you have not categorized will display with "none" when viewed by category.

To categorize your Contacts:

1. In Outlook, go to your Contacts section.
   
   
2. Select the individual Contacts you would like to put in a particular category by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking the entries you want.
   
   
3. From the Edit menu, select Categories... .
   
   
4. Click the box next to any of the predefined categories; you can also create your own category and add it to the list.
   
   Note: Individual Contacts can belong to more than one category.
   
   
5. Click OK.

To send email, set up a meeting or task, or write a letter to all the Contacts in a category:

1. In Outlook, go to your Contacts section.
   
   
2. From the View menu, select Current View, and then By Category.
   
   
3. Highlight the category you want to send email to by clicking it.
   
   
4. In Outlook 2007, from the Actions menu, select Create, and then New Message to Contact. In Outlook 2000, 2002, or 2003, from the Actions menu, select New Message to Contact.

The Indiana University Exchange servers have a limit of 500 email addresses per single message. If you have an unusually large group of people to whom you want to send mail, or if you want to protect their confidentiality, you might want to create an email distribution list using LISTSERV; see What is a LISTSERV mailing list?

Comments/Questions/Corrections