Outlook Journal -can automatic entry be paused to allow comment entry?

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jpagesq

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I would like to pause automatic Journal entries for Contacts so that I could add a comment. Ideally it would pop-up when auto entry was created. OR any thought for way to get notice entry was created so I can add comment in real time.
 
Outlook Journal

You are more likely to get help on this from a microsoft.public.outlook forum than from here.

I'm still trying to find something useful to me that Journal does that I can't more naturally do another way. How do you use it ?
 
Create fake Contact to track file activity

As an attorney my interest is to track activty related to a case. In addition to tracking activity related to a client Contact, I also create a fake Contact where the name is the path to the file where Word documents for a particular case are filed. That gives me an automatic Journal entry each time those files are accessed. I've not seen others do that.

The problem is that I have not found a way to sort the Journal so those entries will sort together with the client entries. It might be possible to acomplish that by incorporating a case identifer field in every Outlook form, but I have not tried it because it will be a lot of work and I can't be sure that Journal would sort by the field--there are fields that can't be used to sort. As a work-around, I put a case ID (number) in each message, filename, etc. Then, I can search for the ID and retrieve all related Journal entries.

Outlook is tantalizing because it has so much power and data but has so many limitations--many unexpected--that you have to work around. i have the feeling that it was written with the prospect that it would integrate into a system that was never created. For instance, it is mostly impossible to use the data without exporting it to another program to be processed, e.g., you can create a table view which includes a duration field but can't tablulate the numbers without some export process.
 
Outlook Architecture

You raise some interesting points about why Outlook is as it is. It seems as if it is a case of standardization by default on a fundamentally poor architecture, at least from a user's point of view. The fundamentally non-relational structure of the database; the baroque layering of features; and the multiple modes of extending the product (VBScript, VBA, COM (req. C##)) make it hard to grasp what's going on. I think it makes sense from MS's point of view, but it must be a support nightmare. If I had the courage to switch to something else, I would.
 
Outlook Alternatives

Think MS avoids support problems simply because most people can't use much more than the email, calendar, and task features, which are pretty straight forward.

If I knew what your main uses are, I might be able to make suggestions. I belong to a list of more than 1,000 small law firms. Email and calendar alternatives are frequently disscussed.
 
Thanks for the offer

I'm a daily reader of the posts at several of the groups at microsoft.public.outlook. So occasionally I find things about Outlook from seeing how others use it and how the more knowledgeable folks answer questions. Same with GTD forums and add-in sites.

I've become a heavy user of e-mail rules to sort it into GTD-relevant categories. I'm learning custom forms. I look forward to learning VBScript. Perhaps even VB !

I've been trying to start a list of Outlook annoyances. But I keep finding that there are adequate solutions, workarounds, or add-ins for most problems. I implement those that solve my current real problems and avoid solving the hypothetical. Same with my Palm. I have found that many Outlook add-ins and Palm Apps, freeware or commercial, are buggy.
 
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