Contact Categories Have Become Useless

[Frank Johnson]

I usually have each contact linked to several categories. When I looked at
my Contacts in "By Category “view, only the first category was shown as the
header. For example, if John Smith had "Leads" and "Personal" checked in his
Category box, then John Smith would show up in both the category labeled
"Leads" and the category labeled "Personal." If Jane Doe was linked to
“Personal†and “Health,†her contact would show up with John Smith in
“Personal,†and then also in the “Health†category. This was of course quite
useful.

Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when viewing all
contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each contact. For example,
now John Smith would ONLY show up in a category labeled "Leads, Personal."
Jane Doe now shows up under a DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal,
Health." This is of course quite useless.

How do I get back to showing only ONE category in the headers of my Contacts
"By Category" view, and under the header ALL contacts linked to that category
are available?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

So you contend Outlook just did this all by itself for no reason?
Never seen it.
Sure there isn't more to this story?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when
viewing all contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each
contact. For example, now John Smith would ONLY show up in a
category labeled "Leads, Personal." Jane Doe now shows up under a
DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal, Health." This is of
course quite useless.

I see this if I view my Contacts in a list view other than By Category, like
Phone List or Location.

 

[Frank Johnson]

Boy, that was helpful.

So you contend Outlook just did this all by itself for no reason?
Never seen it.
Sure there isn't more to this story?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I usually have each contact linked to several categories. When I looked at
my Contacts in "By Category "view, only the first category was shown as
the
header. For example, if John Smith had "Leads" and "Personal" checked in
his
Category box, then John Smith would show up in both the category labeled
"Leads" and the category labeled "Personal." If Jane Doe was linked to
"Personal" and "Health," her contact would show up with John Smith in
"Personal," and then also in the "Health" category. This was of course
quite
useful.

Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when viewing
all
contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each contact. For
example,
now John Smith would ONLY show up in a category labeled "Leads, Personal."
Jane Doe now shows up under a DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal,
Health." This is of course quite useless.

How do I get back to showing only ONE category in the headers of my
Contacts
"By Category" view, and under the header ALL contacts linked to that
category
are available?

 

[Frank Johnson]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.

 

[Frank Johnson]

Russ,

Thanks. No, I did not use a PST file. I was using Outlook as I normally
do. I was looking in "Contacts" in the normal category view. I went to mail
and "Inbox" and worked normally. Did not add or delete any contacts. When I
returned to contacts (did not exit Outlook in between), the categories had
changed. Instead of one category name in each header, there were several.

Any ideas? I can't believe this has never happened to anyone else. Also,
seems there should be a simple configuration function that allows users to
view either way. All I need to do is know what that command is, and I will
try.

Any help will be appreciated.

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the
heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is
linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks. No, I did not use a PST file. I was using Outlook as I
normally do. I was looking in "Contacts" in the normal category
view. I went to mail and "Inbox" and worked normally.

If you're not using a PST, then you're connected to an Exchange server. Has
your Exchange admin checked your mailbox? Have you tried creating a new
mail profile?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Then I assume you are using an Exchange mailbox? If so, this is an issue
your Exchange administrator must sort out. It is not an Outlook issue I have
ever seen, but I've only been around here for 8 years, so anything's
possible.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ,

Thanks. No, I did not use a PST file. I was using Outlook as I normally
do. I was looking in "Contacts" in the normal category view. I went to
mail
and "Inbox" and worked normally. Did not add or delete any contacts.
When I
returned to contacts (did not exit Outlook in between), the categories had
changed. Instead of one category name in each header, there were several.

Any ideas? I can't believe this has never happened to anyone else. Also,
seems there should be a simple configuration function that allows users to
view either way. All I need to do is know what that command is, and I
will
try.

Any help will be appreciated.

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this
for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to
the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the
heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is
linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

:


Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when
viewing all contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each
contact. For example, now John Smith would ONLY show up in a
category labeled "Leads, Personal." Jane Doe now shows up under a
DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal, Health." This is of
course quite useless.

I see this if I view my Contacts in a list view other than By
Category,
like
Phone List or Location.

 

[Frank Johnson]

I do not think I am on an exchange server, either. I recall recently asking
if my Outlook folders were backed up on the network, and I was told they are
not. All my Outlook folders reside only on may hard drive. Does this mean I
am using .PST?

I will try the Inbox repair utility.

Then I assume you are using an Exchange mailbox? If so, this is an issue
your Exchange administrator must sort out. It is not an Outlook issue I have
ever seen, but I've only been around here for 8 years, so anything's
possible.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Russ,

Thanks. No, I did not use a PST file. I was using Outlook as I normally
do. I was looking in "Contacts" in the normal category view. I went to
mail
and "Inbox" and worked normally. Did not add or delete any contacts.
When I
returned to contacts (did not exit Outlook in between), the categories had
changed. Instead of one category name in each header, there were several.

Any ideas? I can't believe this has never happened to anyone else. Also,
seems there should be a simple configuration function that allows users to
view either way. All I need to do is know what that command is, and I
will
try.

Any help will be appreciated.

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this
for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to
the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the
heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is
linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

:


Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when
viewing all contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each
contact. For example, now John Smith would ONLY show up in a
category labeled "Leads, Personal." Jane Doe now shows up under a
DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal, Health." This is of
course quite useless.

I see this if I view my Contacts in a list view other than By
Category,
like
Phone List or Location.

 

[Frank Johnson]

OK. I have scanned my contacts .PST file using the Inbox repair tool
(scanpst.exe). No errors found. What should be my next step.

As far as steps leading up to this, I wrote these in a previous post -
nothing spectacular; just normal use and the category headings just changed.
Isn't this a choosable feature of Outlook? How do I fix?

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the
heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is
linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I've never seen anyone report this.
Sorry.
Without the steps to repro, it is hard to troubleshoot.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

OK. I have scanned my contacts .PST file using the Inbox repair tool
(scanpst.exe). No errors found. What should be my next step.

As far as steps leading up to this, I wrote these in a previous post -
nothing spectacular; just normal use and the category headings just
changed.
Isn't this a choosable feature of Outlook? How do I fix?

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the Inbox
Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this problem
the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does this
for
no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks identical to
the
"By Category" view from a week ago. The only difference is that the
heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact is
linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

:


Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when
viewing all contacts) were going to show ALL categories for each
contact. For example, now John Smith would ONLY show up in a
category labeled "Leads, Personal." Jane Doe now shows up under a
DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal, Health." This is of
course quite useless.

I see this if I view my Contacts in a list view other than By
Category,
like
Phone List or Location.

 

[Herallyon]

I've never this behaviour either, and I can't see how any of grouping
or filtering options would do this.

Having said that, have you tried resetting the By Category view? In
the view drop down box, select "Define View", and select "By Category"
in the dialog box, and then click on the "Reset" button - this should
reset any view customisations that have been applied.

If the problem still exists after that, then I have no idea.

OK. I have scanned my contacts .PST file using the Inbox repair tool
(scanpst.exe). No errors found. What should be my next step.

As far as steps leading up to this, I wrote these in a previous post
- nothing spectacular; just normal use and the category headings just
changed. Isn't this a choosable feature of Outlook? How do I fix?

If you're using a PST file, have you checked it for errors with the
Inbox Repair Tool?
The more information you provide about what steps lead up to this
problem the more troubleshooting we can provide.
If you're asking if there are known cases where Outlook just does
this for no reason, we haven't seen any so far.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Brian,

Thanks. I am currently viewing "By Category." It looks
identical to the "By Category" view from a week ago. The only
difference is that the heading
for each category now show ALL the categories to which a contact
is linked,
and the contact in ONLY in that new, multi-headed category. Very
frustrating.

Any help would be appreciated.

:


Monday, my Outlook 2003 decided that the Category headers (when
viewing all contacts) were going to show ALL categories for

each >> > contact. For example, now John Smith would ONLY show up
in a >> > category labeled "Leads, Personal." Jane Doe now shows up
under a >> > DIFFERENT category header marked "Personal, Health."
This is of >> > course quite useless.

I see this if I view my Contacts in a list view other than By Category, >> like
Phone List or Location.

--