If you have Outlook 2010 or later and you let it configure your account, you probably have an IMAP account. In addition it offers in-the-cloud access across multiple platforms and products. Microsoft also has its own brand-specific protocols: MAPI, Exchange Server, and Exchange ActiveSync. In today's mobile world, POP is no longer adequate for many of us. POP downloads email to a local client and then deletes the message(s) from the server. The main difference between IMAP and the earlier Post Office Protocol (POP) protocol is syncing. IMAP allows access from multiple devices, which many of us are now using. Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) retrieves email information. I'm working with Office 2016 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but the instructions will be similar for Outlook 20. If you're using Mail 365, the feature is available for existing messages in your Inbox. But most people report that they're working fine for them. Perhaps that's why Microsoft removed the interface options. Note: Categories, at least for now, can cause issues when syncing-so I can't promise that your devices will sync and display them properly.

In this article, I'll show you how to assign categories when using IMAP accounts. The good news is categories are still there the bad news is you'll have to jump through a few hoops to make them accessible.

The problem is, this feature is missing in IMAP accounts. You can use them to flag an email, contact, or task in a task-oriented way and then use that information to facilitate the way you work. Categories let you identify-and thereby manipulate, group, and search for-items by that identification.

Outlook 2016 imap folders