How to Use Categories in Outlook Online?

In this post, I will explain how to use categories in Outlook Online.

Personally, the category option in Outlook Online has helped me a lot. So, I’m going to share my experience and show the right way to group and categorize your emails on Outlook Online.

Table of Contents

How to Edit Categories in Outlook Online on Windows Application

Outlook on Windows has a very sophisticated layout with all the features designed and functioning properly. So, here I am describing the methods to ensure you don’t go through similar problems as I did.

Add Email to a Categories in Outlook Online

Let’s start with adding an email to categories in Outlook online application.

Launch the Outlook Online app on Windows.
Log in to Outlook and enter the home page. Otherwise, you can quickly go ahead and sign in to your account.

Further, select any email and right-click on it. A drop-down menu will crop up.
Press on Categorize. All the categories will slide up on the right side.
Besides, click on any category and add the email to it.

Note: If you are using a category for the first time, like the green category, then a confirmation window will pop up. Here, we can either rename the category or click on OK. Lastly, the green category is added to the email.

Create Category in Outlook Online

To create categories in Outlook online for Windows, follow the steps below.

On the Outlook home page, select any email and right-click on it.
A list of options will drop-down. Hit on Categorize.
Another list drops down beside it. Tap on All Categories.

A new window pops up on the screen.
Click on New on the right side of the new window.

Another window will come up. Enter the Name and Color.
Finally, hit OK.

new name for category in Outlook Windows

As a result, the email is added to the categories that we select in Outlook.

Rename Category in Outlook Online

Have a look at how we can change the name of a categories for personal use in Outlook Online for Windows.

On the Outlook home page, select any email and right-click on it.
A list of options will drop-down. Hit on Categorize.
Another list drops down beside it. Tap on All Categories.

A new window pops up on the screen.
First, tick the checkbox of the category that we want to rename.
Then click on Rename.
The selected category will enter the editing mode on the same page. Just re-enter the name and hit enter on the PC keyboard.
Finally, hit OK.

Renaming a category in Outlook Online for Windows is now hassle-free.

Delete Category from Outlook Online

Deleting a category from Outlook online is also possible. Have a look at how we can do it.

In the same window, first, tick the checkbox of the category that we want to delete from Outlook.
Then click on Delete. And on OK to confirm.

A confirmation box will emerge on Outlook. It asks for confirmation Are you sure you want to delete the category “….”? Deleting this category removes it from your category list but does not affect your previously categorized items.
To confirm tap on Yes, otherwise, we can tap on No and it won’t get deleted.

delete category confirmation in Outlook for Windows

The category is immediately deleted from the category list in Outlook Online for Windows.

How to Edit Category in Outlook Online Using Web Browsers

Web browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox can be used to add, create, and modify the categories in the Outlook Online accounts.

Create Categories Through Email on Outlook Online

The shorter method to create a category is directly through the email in the inbox of Outlook Online as follows.

Open any web browser and search the Outlook Online web application.
Then sign up with the correct credentials into the Outlook account.
We enter the Outlook homepage.
Furthermore, to create a category we don’t need to select a specific email. Just right-click on any random email on the Outlook Online home page.
A drop-down menu will appear on the screen of Outlook Online.
Tap on Categorize. Another drop-down menu will emerge with all the category options on Outlook Online.
Next, click on Manage categories.

A new window will crop up. Here, we have to click on Create category.

Again, a new window with the title Create new category will pop up.
Fill in a new name for the category under the Name section.
Further, choose the color of your choice for the new category from the color palette on the same page.
Lastly, tap on Save on Outlook Online.

Furthermore, the category gets created and is listed on the previous page under the Create category option on Outlook Online.

Create Category via Settings on Outlook Online

Additionally, the other way or the longer method to create a category for emails is by going to the settings in Outlook Online.

Launch any web browser and open the Outlook Online web application.
Sign up with your credentials into the Outlook account.
Subsequently, we enter the Outlook homepage.
Further, on the top right corner of the home page a gear icon or settings button will be present. Click on it.

A menu will slide in on the right side of the Outlook Online web application.
Then, tap on View all Outlook settings option.

Further, the settings window will emerge.
Now, go to General -> Categories -> Create category.

Settings in Outlook online web in Category

A new window with the title Create new category will pop up.
Consequently, fill in a new name for the category under the Name section.
Again, choose the color of your choice for the new category from the color palette on the same page of Outlook.
Lastly, tap on Save.

new category in Outlook Online web browser

As a result, the category is created and gets added to the category list on the Outlook Online web application.

How to Modify and Delete Categories in Outlook Online

We can also modify and delete the existing categories on the Outlook Online web application. Let’s see how we can do that.

First, open the Outlook Online web application in any web browser such as Google Chrome, Safari, etc.
Sign in to the Outlook account with your credentials.
After signing in, we can see the home page of Outlook.

Via Email in Outlook Online:

Right-click on any email which is available in the inbox of the home page of Outlook.
A drop-down list will appear. Click on Categorize.
Another drop-down menu will pop up. In that, tap on Manage categories.

Additionally, a new window crops up. Now, press the pencil icon or editing icon beside the category that the user wants to edit.

An editing window with the Edit category title emerges on the Outlook web application.
Enter the new name under the Name title. Also, choose the corresponding color for the category.
Finally, press on Save. This is how an existing category can be edited.

Delete – Similarly, to delete a category we just need to tap the delete button beside the category, and it would immediately get removed from the list.

Via Settings in Outlook Online:

Additionally, on the top right corner of the home page, a gear icon or settings button will be present. Press that button.
Again, on the right side of the Outlook Online web application menu will slide in.
Now, tap on View all Outlook settings option below on the menu.

settings for editing category in Outlook Online

The settings window will emerge on Outlook Online.
Next, go to General > Categories.
Further, hit the editing icon beside the category that we want to modify.

The editing window with the title Edit category will pop up.
Fill in a new name for the category under the Name section.
Also, select the color of your choice for the new category from the color palette on the same page.
Lastly, tap on Save. This is the other way around to edit or modify an Outlook Online category.

Delete – If we want to delete any category, we simply have to press the delete button beside the respective category and it will get deleted immediately.

Consequently, we can always edit and rectify by modifying the existing or newly created categories.

How to Add Emails in the Categories in Outlook Online

To do this we have to know how to add the emails to separate categories as per the subject or urgency.

Start by signing in to the Outlook account in any web browser.
Outlook opens up and we enter the home page.
Scroll down the email list and right-click on the email that needs to be added to a specific category.
Hit the Categorize button in the pop-up list.
Another menu will crop up. Click on the respective category and the email will get added to that category.

Once this is done, you’ll be able to see the category name mentioned in the email.

Note: A single email can be included in many categories.

What is the Way to See the Important Categories in Outlook Online

Outlook Online users can benefit from another feature which is the favorite category. There are two ways. Dive in to know more.

1st Method:

At the outset, sign in to your Outlook account via a web browser.
Go to Settings on the top right corner of the Outlook home page.
Click on View all Outlook settings in the drop-down menu.

The settings window will open.
Next, tap on General > Categories.
All the categories will appear on the right side.
Now, click on the star icon to add the category to the favorite folder.

Favorite Icon in Category in Outlook online

To check if the category got included or not in the favorite folder go back to the Outlook home page.
Tap on the hamburger button on the top left side of the home page on Outlook Online. In most cases, the menu is already open.
Now the favorite category will appear on the drop-down menu for easy access.

2nd Method:

On the Outlook home page, tap on the hamburger button to see the menu. But mostly, it’s already visible.
There is an Add favorite option available.

Tap on it. A list of existing categories will appear.
Now, select the category that you want to add to your favorite on Outlook Online.

The category immediately gets added and is visible in the menu.

Thus, for faster access to important emails, we can add the categories to the favorite list in Outlook Online.

How to Remove Favorite Category from Outlook Online

Subsequently, read the method down below on how to remove the favorite category in Outlook Online via a web browser.

Log in to the Outlook account via a web browser.
It will open the Outlook home page.
On the left side of the home page we can see the favorite category.

Remove favorite categories in Outlook Online

Right-click on the favorite category. A drop-down list will appear.
Now, tap on Remove from Favorites.

Doing this will remove the favorite category from the menu of Outlook Online at that moment.

Can We Clear All the Categories from Outlook Online

Yes. absolutely! Once the need for emails to be categorized is over. We can clear out the categories from the respective emails in Outlook online very easily.

At first, we need to sign in to our Outlook account via a web browser.
We are welcome on the home page of Outlook.
Now, click on any email from the inbox from which the category has to be cleared.
Next, on the top ribbon, click on the down arrow beside the tag icon.
A drop-down list slides down in Outlook.
In that list, tap on Clear categories.

We can see the category names getting removed from the email preview under the Focused group on the home page of Outlook.

Finally, the categories get cleared out of the emails with one click of a button in Outlook Online.

How to Search a Category in Outlook Online

Apart from adding, removing, and many other features in Outlook, we can also search for a category name. Let’s see how.

Launch the Outlook web application in a web browser.
Sign in to your Outlook account.
Select any random email on the left side. The ribbon above becomes accessible.
Moving on, hit on the tag icon on the ribbon on the top side of Outlook.
A drop-down list will appear.
Now, we can see the option Search for a category in the same list.

Type in the category that you want to search in Outlook.
Simultaneously, while typing, the category appears in the drop-down menu.
And we can tap on the category to select it and see the emails in that category.

Note: In some cases, when the category is missing or deleted in Outlook an option of Create category (of the same name) will appear in the search bar itself.

How Can We Create Categories in Outlook Online on iPhone

This time we’ll be checking how can we create categories in the Outlook Online app on iPhone.

Firstly, open the Outlook app on iPhone.
On the top left side of the Outlook homepage, click on the email icon.
A list will slide out from the left.
Click the Settings button on the lower left corner.
Moving on, a new page will emerge with all the settings of Outlook.
Scroll down and choose the Categories tab.
Now, a new page comes up where the various colored categories appear.
Choose any one and a window will pop up on Outlook app.
Further, fill the name of the category un the Category Name option.
Again, select the color from the color palette on the same page.
Next, tap on Done. And the category gets created in Outlook.
Additionally, we can also add a new category. Hit the Add Category button on the previous page.
We’ll again be taken to the category naming page. Here, add the new category name under Category Name and select the corresponding color.
Then click on Done.
Now we can see the new category on the current page of Outlook.

Hence, the category is added or edited as per our liking in the Outlook app on iPhone.

Note: Outlook Online categories aren’t available for IMAP accounts.

How to Create Category in Outlook Online for Android

Outlook can be installed on our androids and used on the go. See how to create a category in Outlook for Microsoft 365 on Android.

Launch the Outlook app on android.
On the homepage of the Outlook app, click on the mail icon on the top left side.

A list will appear on the left of the screen.
Press the gear icon or Settings button below.

A new page will crop up. Now, scroll down and hit the Categories option on Outlook.

The different category options will pop up with different colors for every group.
Select any one color to signify the particular group.

Further, a pop up page will appear where we can set the category name by typing a name under the Category Name box.
Also, there is a palette of colors for the categories to choose from. We just need to tap on the specific color.
Finally. click on Done below.

Furthermore, we can also add another category if required. We only need to click on the Add Category tab.

Thus, follow the same steps by adding the Category Name and then clicking Done.

Therefore, users can create various categories in this way in the Outlook Online app for Android.

Bottom Line

I have elaborated on adding, creating, renaming, deleting, and searching for categories in Outlook Online. And I’ve mentioned the methods for Windows, web browsers, iPhone and Android. Any issue that you might be facing can be resolved with the steps mentioned in this article.

Go through the steps and implement them as described. I hope you enjoy reading the 4 ways to use categories in Outlook Online and that it helps you every step of the way.