Categories - Removing cat. from incoming messages before rules fir

[Jan]

Hi

My company uses and Exchange 2007 system with OL2003 clients. I personnaly
use categories extensively to handle my mails. Unfortunately the Exchange
server forwards my categories when ever I forward/reply to a message. This
also means that I get my colleagues categories.

Hence, I would like to remove the category on all incoming messages _before_
any rules are run (I have a number of client-only rules that assign new
categories).

I have tries three methods

1. Event ItemAdd
Advantage: Simple to use
Problem: It does not always fire

2. Event NewMailEx
Advantage: It always fires
Problem: It doen not always fire before the client rules. The result is that
the categories assigned by my rules are also removed (at least my macro works)

3. VB Script executed by a rule
Advantage: None really (read on)
Problem:
A: The load proposed on the system when OL is started increases
significantly (all the rules are heawy tu run).... BUT i can actually live
with that if it was not for...
B: Even if the rule is placed as the first rule OL does not always run it
before the other rules. Again the result is that my own categories are also
removed.

Any thoughts? I am thinking of a solution where I define categories in an
XLS file and handle all removal and assignment of categories in the NewMailEx
event... but I hope there is an easier way.

BR
-Jan

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

There is no guarantee that any of the events (ItemAdd, NewMail or NewMailEx)
will fire before the rules. Actually those events usually fire and the rule
fires and they conflict. The rule is handed an item that has come in but the
event handler does something that conflicts with the rule and you get an
error. That happens a lot.

The only way to completely avoid that is to code all your rules in the event
handlers and get rid of the rules completely.

Even NewMailEx will miss items, tests have shown when a large number of
items come in at once that sometimes the list of items is missing some.
Using NewMailEx plus a timed event handler to sweep the Inbox for anything
that might have been missed previously is the only guaranteed way to ensure
that all items are always handled.

Outlook 2007 has a new rule that lets you automatically remove incoming
categories, BTW.

 

[Jan]

Hi

I suspected something like this as I could not find any clrear references to
the problem.

Anyway thanks a lot for the clear answer.

So I guess I will have to do the own category / timed event solution. Any
idea where I could find code for inspiration? I do not want to spend hours on
this.

BR
-Jan

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

You can hunt around at www.outlookcode.com and see if anything there can
help you get started.