All Collections
Outlook for NetSuite
Troubleshooting
Error: Unable to associate a category to email
Error: Unable to associate a category to email

CEOL | Learn why CloudExtend may not be able to create an Outlook category

Updated over a week ago

With version 2.4.68 and higher (launched August 30, 2020) CloudExtend moved to a new Office API that improves the category creation.

A new category, Synced by CloudExtend, will supplement the previous Attached to NetSuite category.

Any emails attached to NetSuite using the new asynchronous attach method will use the Synced by CloudExtend category. In the event your attach method was not asynchronous the Attached to NetSuite category will be applied.


How to fix your issue right now

  • If CloudExtend is unable to create a category such as Synced by CloudExtend for you programmatically you can create it manually yourself by following the instructions in this article.
    πŸ’‘ Note that you may have to follow the same instructions for each mailbox that you use. For example, your inbox and any shared mailbox such as sales@yourorg.com or support@yourorg.com

  • Once you have followed the instructions above subsequent attempts by CloudExtend to associate the category with your email should be successful.


Troubleshooting and FAQ

πŸ”΅ Troubleshooting

Review this article which includes troubleshooting steps.

  • We highly recommend upgrading to an Office 365 subscription or use Outlook on the Web

  • Ask your IT team to further troubleshoot your Exchange Server and the way it is configured to handle REST API responses (they can reach us at cloudextend-support@celigo.com)

πŸ”΅ Does this error mean my email did not attach to NetSuite?

Receiving this message does not imply that your email was not attached to NetSuite. It only indicates that CloudExtend was not able to automatically create a category and apply it to your email.

πŸ”΅ Why does this occur?

Your version of Outlook may not support the Microsoft Category API or may be unlicensed.

Customers using Outlook 2013 and earlier versions of Outlook 2016 will see this issue and can resolve it by upgrading to a Microsoft 365 subscription.

We've also seen this occur when a user's Outlook version has moved to an unlicensed state. Check that your product has a valid license by following the instructions in this Microsoft article (check the license field). Note this article has separate instructions for Mac and PC.

πŸ”΅ The folder you are attaching from does not yet support auto categorizing

So much of what we do depends on the support of Microsoft. Certain email folders such as shared folders and search folders will not allow an add-in to automatically create a category and you will receive a message indicating that we could not create the category for you. You can, however, create it manually.

πŸ”΅ You are composing an email

Categories are not fully supported by the Microsoft API when attaching emails via compose mode. As of December, 2023, the Microsoft API is supporting adding a category for Outlook on the Web, Outlook desktop client for Mac (must be the latest monthly build), and it is not yet supported on Outlook desktop for PC in compose mode (ie while you are creating a new email).

Additionally, because the compose mode uses the non-asynchronous approach your email will be categorized (if the API is available) with Attached to NetSuite to differentiate it from those created with the newer asynchronous approach.

If you choose to attach the mail from your sent items folder instead then the full asynchronous approach will be used and your mail will also be auto categorized as long as your version of Outlook supports it (see why does this occur above for supported versions)

πŸ”΅ Communication Issues

You may see this error when the app is not able to communicate with your Exchange Web Server. You can verify this by clicking the menu icon at the top right of CloudExtend, selecting Developer Settings > System Diagnostics, and then clicking on REST URL.

πŸ”΅ Disable category feature to remove error message

If you've tried the above workarounds and are still receiving the category error for every email you attach you can temporarily disable the category feature from settings.
To disable categories click the Menu icon (3 dots at top right of the application), navigate to Settings, and then uncheck Enable Categories.

Did this answer your question?