I took the time to delete most of the categories in the default Master
Category list and add my own. I then assigned my e-mail items to my new
categories. A few days later, I noticed that the default categories were
back, my custom categories were gone and in the Available Categories list my
custom categories were listed as (not in Master List). I am using Outlook
2003 on an exchange server. This does not seem to happen to my co-workers,
neither can they reproduce this behavior on their machines. I have had this
happen several times. What am I doing wrong?

something is causing outlook to recreate the master list. could be roaming
profiles, a character used in one of the categories or something else.

Even though the categories are not 'in the master list' they still work
fine, except for selecting using the picker. Until you figure out why the
list keeps getting corrupt and replaced, you can do this to make life
easier: create a comma delimited list of the categories in an outlook note
(or notepad) then paste it into the large field at the top of the master
list to easily add them back to the master list. instead of the comma
delimited list, once they are added back, add all the categories to a
contact and use it to store the custom category list.

If you don't keep adding to the master list, you could export the registry
key and restore it as needed. If you keep changing the categories, you need
to export the key after each change.

http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/olcat.htm
http://www.outlook-tips.net/howto/categories.htm
--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Subscribe to Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter:



"KimC" wrote in message
...
I took the time to delete most of the categories in the default Master
Category list and add my own. I then assigned my e-mail items to my new
categories. A few days later, I noticed that the default categories were
back, my custom categories were gone and in the Available Categories list
my
custom categories were listed as (not in Master List). I am using Outlook
2003 on an exchange server. This does not seem to happen to my
co-workers,
neither can they reproduce this behavior on their machines. I have had
this
happen several times. What am I doing wrong?