How to keep original categories when replying or forwarding email in Outlook?

Author Siluvia Last modified 2025-01-24

When replying to or forwarding emails in Outlook, the original categories applied to the email are not retained by default. This can be inconvenient if you rely on categories to organize your communications. Fortunately, you can modify the Windows Registry to ensure that categories are preserved when replying or forwarding emails. Follow the steps below to achieve this.

Keep original categories when replying or forwarding email in Outlook

Keep original categories when replying or forwarding email in Outlook

You can configure the Windows Registry to retain the original categories when replying or forwarding emails in Outlook. Here's how:

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type Regedit into the Open field and then click the OK button.

the screenshot of step about keeping original categories when replying or forwarding email in Outlook 1

2. When the User Account Control dialog box appears, click Yes to grant permission.

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3. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path:

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Version\Outlook\Preferences

Replace Version with the version number of your Outlook. For example:

16.0 for Outlook 2016, 2019, or Microsoft 365.
15.0 for Outlook 2013 (if still applicable in older setups).

4. In the References folder, right-click the blank space on the right panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value from the context menu.

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5. Name the new value as SendPersonalCategories. Right-click it and select Modify from the context menu. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, set the Value data to 1 and click OK.

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6. Close and reopen Outlook to apply the changes. From now on, the original categories will be retained when you reply to or forward emails.

Important Notes:

Caution with the Registry: Editing the Windows Registry can impact your system. Always back up the registry before making any changes.
Version-Specific Path: This method applies to specific versions of Outlook. Ensure you are navigating to the correct version folder (e.g., 16.0 for Outlook 2016 and later).
Reversible Settings: To disable this feature, delete the SendPersonalCategories key or reset its Value data to 0.

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