OL2000: How to Change Colors of Outlook Bar, Folders, and Items

From within Microsoft Outlook, you cannot change the colors of the major components such as the Outlook Bar, folders banner, and so on.

Two exceptions are the Calendar and Notes backgrounds. You can change the background color of the Day, and Work Week views of your calendar and the color of notes.

The Windows Display Properties control most of the Outlook component color scheme.

Changing the Global Windows Color Scheme

To change Outlook component colors, change the global Windows color scheme by following these steps:

1. Right-click the Windows desktop, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab.
3. In the Scheme list, select a different Windows color scheme, or in the Item list, change specific Windows element colors.
4. Click OK.

Changing the Background Color of the Day and Work Week Calendar Views

To change background color of the Day and Work Week Calendar views, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click Calendar Options.
3. In the Background Color list, click the color you want to apply, and then click OK twice.

Changing the Default Background Color for New Notes Items

To change the default background color for new Notes items, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click Note Options.
3. In the Color list, click the color you want to apply, and then click OK twice.

This will apply your new default color to any new notes you create, but will not change the color of existing notes. If you want to change the color of existing notes, right-click the note, point to Color and then click the color you want to apply. You can use this option to manually color-code your notes.