Color Category only showing as text (not color).

Thanks! I found an even easier way ;-)

Simply move the column to the RIGHT of the color category to the LEFT of the category column.

See screenshots below - it goes from spelling out the word "Blue" to filling in the square with a blue color, simply by rearranging the order of columns.

Your answer didn't make sense to me - we might not be talking about the same thing. This has been an ongoing problem for Catagories in Outlook.

In the "Catagories" column, when you right click and choose a color it puts the word "red", "green", "blue" - but not a colored square

You mean you don't see the colors at all? Not in the message header itself either?

Which mail account type are you using?

Note that IMAP only has limited support for Categories; Categories and IMAP accounts - MSOutlook.info

When you select Categories-> All Categories, are all your categories listed there and can you assign it a color?

That Format Columns shows the Format as "Text" is confusing but is the correct setting as it will show the label of the Color Category as well when you are in a List View (in the Message List all message info is shown on a single line instead of 2 or more).

If your Categories have colors assigned to them in All Categories, you can try resetting your View;

• Classix Ribbon
  View-> Reset View
• Simplified Ribbon
  View-> Current View-> Reset View

There never was a "Color" option there. The Categories column is a special column which "automatically" has its color feature.

When you reset the View (or select a different View and reset that one), do the colors show then?

What is your exact Version and Build number of Outlook?
File-> Office Account-> info is shown next to the About Outlook button

This is where you could change it before. The "color" option is gone