About this lesson
Color-Coding calendar items is known as “prioritizing”. Use this feature to produce at-a-glance decisions about your daily grind.
Quick reference
Color Code Appointments
Applying Color to appointments is a good way to prioritize for at-a-glance recognition of topics.
When to use
By default, your calendar will look the same for every appointment and force you to read each subject line to get an idea of its importance level. Applying color will eliminate that tedious visual review and give at-a-glance recognition making your decisions about your day or week easier and faster.
Instructions
- The first level of color coding is the “Show As” settings
- Right click an appointment and choose a Show As option
- Once applied, the left edge of the appointment will change its color or pattern.
- Right click an appointment and choose a Show As option
- The 2nd level of color coding is applying category colors to individual appointments or meetings:
- Right click an appoint and choose “Categorize” then choose a color or select “All Categories” for more color options:
- This method applies to an individual appointment and will not repeat itself automatically.
- The “All Categories” section can be customized to “Name” the colors with your certain topics.
- Right click an appoint and choose “Categorize” then choose a color or select “All Categories” for more color options:
- The 3rd level of color coding is applying a Conditional Format to automatically color an appointment based on a word typed into the subject line:
- Right click a blank area of the calendar and choose “View Settings”
OR
- Right click a blank area of the calendar and choose “View Settings”
Select the 
ribbon and choose “View Settings”
- Select “Conditional Formatting”
- Click “Add” and Type the name of this rule
Select a color
Click “Condition” or this won’t work!
- Enter the condition (words) that will trigger the color
Note: if using multiple trigger words, use a “comma” between them; without a comma it will treat it like a phrase.
- If the appointment did not change color, there may be a couple of reasons:
- Is the trigger word spelled correctly? Check your settings again.
- Did you already apply a Category color on the appointment? A manual category color will ALWAYS override the automatic color.
To confirm, right click the appoint and select Categorize, “Clear All Categories”
- 00:04 A way to prioritize appointments is to color code your appointments.
- 00:08 So on your calendar there is a subtle color coding,
- 00:12 you may not be aware of, and it is the left-hand edge of your appointments.
- 00:16 They're already kind of a shaded blue.
- 00:18 Well if I do a right-click on any appointment under my Show As I can change
- 00:22 that particular one to out of office, and I get a shade of purple.
- 00:26 When I look at my next Monday, I've got one with a striped edge.
- 00:29 That's because this one is a show as tentative.
- 00:32 So I do have sort of a color-coding going on here.
- 00:35 It is a visual indicator that there's something different, but
- 00:38 I want something more bold.
- 00:40 So I'm gonna go ahead and go back to, my main screen and I've got a class here.
- 00:44 So I'm gonna go ahead and right-click, categorize and
- 00:47 turn this entire thing green.
- 00:50 So now it's not just a little left edge.
- 00:52 It's actually the whole appointment.
- 00:54 All right but that's way too much work.
- 00:56 I'm not gonna go through my calendar, right-click and color them all.
- 00:58 I want them to auto color as soon as I type the appointment into my screen.
- 01:04 So here's how you do this.
- 01:05 I'm looking for
- 01:05 something called conditional format, which is under settings.
- 01:09 When I right-click on this particular appointment, on the appointment itself,
- 01:12 I don't have anything that says conditional format or settings.
- 01:15 You actually have to right-click in the white empty background spot,
- 01:19 and now I have these settings right there.
- 01:21 Of course this was also on View, and View Settings up on the menu,
- 01:25 but my mouse happens to be on my calendar, so I'm gonna work right there,
- 01:29 right-click, view settings.
- 01:31 In here I'm looking for something called conditional formatting,
- 01:34 cuz I'm gonna change a formatting based on a condition.
- 01:38 When I'm in here, I need to add a new one,
- 01:40 I'm gonna type this class, now this is the name of the rule, not the condition.
- 01:46 I'm gonna choose the color I want it to turn, maybe a dark blue, and
- 01:49 I'm gonna set my condition to be two words divided by a comma.
- 01:54 If the comma's not there, it will expect the phrase.
- 01:56 So class, comma, and teach.
- 01:58 Any time I type those two words, I want that color to be applied.
- 02:02 I'll hit OK, hit OK again, and hit OK again, and there we have it,
- 02:05 a dark blue appointment.
- 02:07 Now if I look next week, I have another one there that automatically turn blue.
- 02:12 Now, if I come back to this, you must be wondering well,
- 02:14 why didn't this one turn blue?
- 02:16 Because a manual category will always override the auto category,
- 02:21 so, or the auto color.
- 02:23 So, if I do a right-click on this one, go to my Categorize and
- 02:27 hit Clear Categories, now the auto color applies.
- 02:30 Now I change my mind decide no no no I do want that one green.
- 02:34 Go back to category member.
- 02:35 Manual category will override automatic coloring every single time.
- 02:39 So that is how you auto color and at a glance you can prioritize and
- 02:43 see how many important meetings do I have this week?
- 02:47 How many, when am I out of the office, by the left-hand panel.
- 02:51 It's great.
- 02:52 Those little, subtle color clues will keep you organized.
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