In Outlook, folders are a way to organize how you store your emails, while categories are a way to organize emails visually in your inbox using color codes.
Fyxer AI uses both systems to help organize your inbox - but it’s important to understand what each does:
Folders:
Found in the sidebar of Outlook.
Contain emails.
Emails can only exist in one folder at a time (e.g., Inbox OR Fyxer AI's "1: To Respond").
Used to file away emails and keep your inbox clear.
Categories:
Are colored labels applied to emails.
Appear as a colored tag in your inbox (e.g., orange for FYI, red for To Respond).
Do not move the email, they just tag it.
Emails can have multiple categories, and still remain in the inbox or folder.
How they work together with Fyxer AI:
Fyxer AI assigns a category to every email. Based on your settings:
Emails with ON categories stay in the inbox, with color-coded tags.
Emails with OFF categories are moved into folders, and still show their category color if visible.
Example: An email tagged "1: To Respond" will show a red label in your inbox if that category is ON. If it’s OFF, it will be moved to the “1: To Respond” folder instead.
In Outlook, an email can't live in both the inbox and a folder at the same time - this is different from Gmail labels.