Using Category Flag in Contacts

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T-Bone - 28 Mar 2009 23:06 GMT

Hi. I am a recent convert from Outlook to Entourage uising my new MBP
laptop. The switch from Windows to mac was pretty easy in general.
But, there are a few things Outlook does better than Entourage
(IMHO). One I am struggling with now is how Entourage Contacts
displays contact records using the category flag.

Specifically, when I imported in to Entourage, I seem to have lost all
category flags on the records. The category flags are in Entourage
and I use them to organize tasks, etc. But, the Contact records have
no category assigned. When I add a category flag manually, it works
perfectly, so I know the functionality works.

I decided this was an Entourage sync issue because I use Plaxo and
have sync'd to that service via Mac Address book. In both Plaxo UI
and Mac Address book, the category flags are present for imported
records, so I know the data has not been lost at an individual record
level. And, the flags are also present for the records I have manually
set.

I'd appreciate any help. I have 1000+ records and don't feel like
doing the category by hand.

Thank you.

John

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William Smith [MVP] - 29 Mar 2009 15:33 GMT

> Specifically, when I imported in to Entourage, I seem to have lost all
> category flags on the records. The category flags are in Entourage
> and I use them to organize tasks, etc. But, the Contact records have
> no category assigned. When I add a category flag manually, it works
> perfectly, so I know the functionality works.

Simply put, Entourage does not support importing category information
from other applications.

Apple's Address Book, from what I've seen, doesn't support categories
either. It may create a "Category" field during import but it doesn't
have anything that resembles categories.

The reason is a matter of compatibility. For example, a Category in
Entourage serves a similar purpose to a Calendar in iCal. Both allow you
to filter events but the methods are implemented differently. Categories
in Entourage are like tagging with keywords whereas Calendars in iCal
are really separate calendars. They really don't contain anything in
common that will translate to the other.

Also, Categories are metadata *about* your data and not part of the data
itself. The contact data itself contains "Fist Name", "Last Name", etc.,
but "Category" is not field within a contact record. It's a designation
assigned to the entire contact record by the application itself.

Please be sure to let Microsoft know you'd like to see this feature in
future versions by using the Help --> Send Feedback mechanism in any
Office application. I'm not sure this functionality will ever change but
doesn't hurt to request it.

Hope this helps!

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bill

Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>
YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
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Kerry - 29 Mar 2009 22:56 GMT

> > Specifically, when I imported in to Entourage, I seem to have lost all
> > category flags on the records. The category flags are in Entourage
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> YouTalk <http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/youtalk>
> Twitter: follow <http://twitter.com/meck>

Hey your explanation was excellent. However, I lost you when you said
let Microsoft know your requirements.

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Diane Ross - 30 Mar 2009 04:07 GMT

On 3/29/09 7:33 AM, "William Smith [MVP]"
<mecklists@REM0VETH1S.comcast.net.INVALID> wrote:

> Also, Categories are metadata *about* your data and not part of the data
> itself. The contact data itself contains "Fist Name", "Last Name", etc.,
> but "Category" is not field within a contact record. It's a designation
> assigned to the entire contact record by the application itself.

Paul Berkowitz's scripts might get this data. If someone wants to provide a
test Outlook Identity/profile I can see if it works.

Export-Import Entourage (shareware)

<http://scriptbuilders.net/files/exportimportentourage1.3.10.html>

Signature

Diane

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sainted@officeformac.com - 30 Mar 2009 17:08 GMT

Diane, I have a test profile if you want one to test this very issue. You can email me at s_stclair@barnwell-whaley.com

Thanks.

Reply to this Message

Diane Ross - 31 Mar 2009 00:52 GMT

On 3/30/09 9:08 AM, "sainted@officeformac.com" <sainted@officeformac.com>
wrote:

> Diane, I have a test profile if you want one to test this very issue. You can
> email me at s_stclair@barnwell-whaley.com
>
> Thanks.

I sent you a private message. Look for subject "Test profile for Entourage"
without the quotes. Thanks for providing the test case.

Signature

Diane

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Mac Forum / Applications / Entourage / March 2009

Using Category Flag in Contacts