OL2000: Can't Set Initial Value of Categories Field (241188)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 2000

This article was previously published under Q241188

SYMPTOMS

An initial value for the Categories field does not work on a custom Outlook form.

RESOLUTION

Use an Item_Open event in Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) to set the initial value of the Categories field. The following VBScript code will set the Categories field to Personal only when a new item is created:

Sub Item_Open()
   If Item.CreationTime = #1/1/4501# Then
      ' A new item is being launched, so set the Categories field
      Item.Categories = "Personal"
   End If
End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem did not exist in Outlook 97 or 98. In Outlook 2000, the problem also does not occur if you use a user-defined field of type keywords, or if you use a different standard keywords field, such as the Company field on a task form.

REFERENCES

For additional information about keywords fields and using them from VBScript, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

201099 OL2000: Working with Keywords Fields from VBScript

For additional information about available resources and answers to commonly asked questions about Microsoft Outlook 2000 solutions, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

146636 OL2000: Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	9/29/2003
Keywords:	kbbug KB241188