Tip 502: Change Flags

I’ve seen several complaints about the following problem recently, so I think it’s time to address it with a tip.

In Outlook 2007, the Today flag is the same color as the No Date flag. This makes it hard if you use the flag colors to help triage your mail. So, rather than using No Date flags, use the Next week flag. While it’s easy enough to change the default flag for new items (right click on the flag field, choose Set Quick click, pick a new default), how do you find and change the existing No Date flags?

1. Turn off the reading pane so you have a single line view.
2. Right click on the row of field names and choose Field Chooser
3. Locate the Due Date field and drag it to the row of field names
4. Sort by the Due Date
5. Right click on the flagged items with None for the due date and select Next week.

When finished, remove the Due Date field and turn the reading pane back on.

Published May 6, 2008. Last updated on June 17, 2011.