Unlocking the Mystery: Revealing Outlook Calendar Categories for Delegates

Key takeaways :

• Outlook Calendar categories are stored within the main Calendar folder of the mailbox owner, and delegate access is required to view these categories.
• To view color coding of the Calendar as a delegate, the required permissions on the main Calendar need to be granted.
• Color categories assigned to shared calendar items can be synced between the owner side and other users’ sides, and can be checked via List view.
• Categories can be created, edited, and applied to calendar events by clicking on the Categorize option in the Appointment/Meeting section of the ribbon in Outlook.
• To create a new category for the calendar, single-click an appointment, click Categorize, select All Categories, and then select New to create a new category with a name and color of choice.
• There are multiple ways to share an entire calendar or individual appointments in Outlook, and sharing can be ‘live’ and connected for any changes or updates.

How to View Outlook Calendar Categories as a Delegate

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I’ve been granted delegate access to the Calendar folder of my manager. He uses various color coded categories for his appointments. While I can see all his appointments when I access his Calendar folder, I can’t see any of the color coding anymore. How can I see the color coding of his Calendar as a delegate?

Required Permissions on Main Calendar

Since Outlook 2007, the Color Categories are stored within the main Calendar folder of the mailbox owner. When you click a calendar event in Outlook, the Categorize option will be visible in the Appointment/Meeting section of the ribbon. Click Categorize to select one of the categories you’ve created. If you want to add or edit an existing category, click All Categories. To apply a category, select a calendar event, click Categorize, and select a category or use its keyboard shortcut to apply it.

What kind of shared calendars are you using here? Calendars shared via Outlook delegate access OR Calendars in Exchange shared mailbox? Do you mean that you assigned two colors categories to one calendar item but only one different color shows from other side?

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I tried many different tests about your issue in my Outlook but could not successfully reproduce your issue. All my tests results show that color categories assigned to shared calendar items can all be synced between the owner side and other users’ sides. And you could check all the categories via List view.

You cannot rename categories, but you can create a new one with a new name. If you want to replace the category on a message, apply the new category before removing the old.

For the application version, the easiest way is as follows:

1. Single-click an appointment on your Outlook calendar.
2. On the ribbon, the Appointment tab should open.
3. Click Categorize.
4. From the drop-down menu, select All Categories to open the Color Categories window.
5. Select New to create a new category.
6. Name your category and select a color of your choosing.
7. Repeat for as many categories as you like, and click OK on both windows to apply it.

There are at least eight ways to share an entire calendar or individual appointment in Outlook software. Sharing can be ‘live’ and connected, where any changes or updates to the event or calendar are automatically sent to everyone sharing, or it can be a ‘one-off’ item, such as a special attachment or a .ics file. Receivers can add it to their calendar by clicking on the incoming .ics file. Some methods work best with an Exchange Server account or Outlook.com, while others are compatible with any connection using the iCalendar standard and .ics files.

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1. On the Home tab, select Share calendar, and if necessary, select which calendar you want to share.
2. Type whom to share with in the Enter an email address or contact name box. If the person’s name appears in a list, select it; otherwise, press Enter.
3. Choose a permission level (Can view all details, etc.) for the person from the dropdown and select Share. To add more names, repeat steps 2 and 3.

There might be other calendars listed as well, especially if you have shared team calendars using SharePoint. Don’t worry about those. Right-click Calendar and choose Properties. Then click the Permissions tab. Now just change the Read permission from Free/Busy time to the entry that includes subject and location, or choose Full Details. Then click OK.