Increase the number of color options in the Outlook Calendar palette from 9 to 16-25, increase contrast, and allow user editing of colors.
I find that I cannot change the color of agenda items or calendar items for my email accounts in Microsoft Outlook. I use various Android apps on my tablet and phone, that allow me to show Agenda items and Calendar items. If I use gmail, I can easily select a color, whereas with Outlook accounts I cannot change the color to suit my preferences. Also provide an option or feature to set different events with different colors in Calendar as well as in Categories in Microsoft Outlook 2016.

250 comments
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Anonymous commented
Agreed - just got the new update and everyone here at work really dislikes the new color Palette in ourlook. :-( SO hard to tell between colors
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Rob Gamble commented
The new colours are terrible - they are way to pale and almost indistinguishably. Why can't Outlook (and OneNote for that matter) have the same colour palette selection that Excel and Word has? Is that so difficult?
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David Chazen commented
As other users have stated, I used red (and other colors) for a reason, in my case it means the entry in unconfirmed, that it is now on the to do list for both me and my assistant. Now there is no easy visual way to tend to my unconfirmed entries.
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Anonymous commented
I HATE the color change that took place around April 2020. The colors are now a very muted version of their old selves. The BOLDER colors that we used to have worked so much better for differentiating between types of events on my calendar. It has DECREASED my productivity at work. Please AT LEAST make the older, bolder color palette an option.
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London Hunter commented
Please bring back the bold version. The color-coding of events was one of the best features of this calendar. I have found the option to "bold event color" on the web version, but I can not find that setting on the desktop.
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Anonymous commented
The refinement of the category colours in Microsoft Outlook has totally ruined my day, the new insipid colours are awful! I can barely differentiate between all the critical meetings and reminders in my calendar. A terrible decision from Microsoft that needs addressing. Please bring back the old palette or introduce the ability for us to define our own palette with bold, solid colours.
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Dave commented
Hate, hate, hate the pastels. Categories are critical for me for organizing and planning so I need bolder, distinctive colors not these muted, weak colors. Increasing the number of options might allow a blend but ultimately want a way to revert back to the default color scheme present for years.
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Anonymous commented
Totally agree with this one:
"- REINSTATE AND INCREASE THE SELECTION OF BOLD COLOUR CATEGORIES! WE SAY NO TO PASTELS!
- REMOVE THE BLACK GRIDLINES from Calendar when using Dark Gray theme! "
While white and black modes does not seem to be affected by recent change, the dark blue, which is perfectly balanced mode looks horrible and chaotic with those black lines all over the place..
And the colors are horrible, as most of them look the same and dull. Is it so hard to give the ability to use custom colors? If so, why mess with the colors and change something that was good only to show that there is a new "update" that is a total downgrade.? -
Robert Bevilacqua commented
These pastel colors are awful!!! Hard to read and I feel like I am in a Bath and Body works store or on an Easter egg hunt. Terrible idea. Bring back the primary colors. We need contrast!!!!!!!
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Kat commented
Already been said perfectly "Weak pastel colours are difficult to differentiate when one is trying to work quickly, and even more so when in a brightly lit area. We need the ability to apply strong highly contrasting colours to CALENDARS and also CATEGORIES please."
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Kat commented
The new colour scheme creates a terrible user experience, and adds no value. Is this really important enough to you to send customers to Apple Mail and Calendar? It should be a simple fix, on your end. Get on it.
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Anonymous commented
bring back the old colors!
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Anonymous commented
Category color button no longer works in Outlook 365 with an IMAP configured email/calendar system. Worked just fine in OUTLOOK 10. Please put the category button back for usage with IMAP systems.
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P. Fretter commented
Weak pastel colours are difficult to differentiate when one is trying to work quickly, and even more so when in a brightly lit area. We need the ability to apply strong highly contrasting colours to CALENDARS and also CATEGORIES please.
The change to undifferentiated pastel shades has infuriated one of my customers so much that they would prefer to move away from Outlook entirely as it has drastically affected their work.
Please provide access to a broader palette including strong, contrasting colours, ASAP.
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Will commented
I agree, I need more color options. Too many calendars, not enough colors to go around, and these soft colors are junk.
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T M commented
9 pastel colours for marking the different calendars is far from enough. Especially when they're so difficult to distinguish. Please give us a Christmas gift with a set of 20-25 new fresh colours.
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Karen Hensley commented
New washed out pastel colors are terrible. I need the bold contrasts so that I can see what is going on with my meetings right away. The RED especially is now the same as the dark pink. Please fix!
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[Deleted User] commented
You've managed (thanks only to a pandemic) to eventually sort out multi-users on a Teams Meeting, perhaps you can now focus your efforts on the Outlook Calendar (which used to be fine before your updates!)!
- REINSTATE AND INCREASE THE SELECTION OF BOLD COLOUR CATEGORIES! WE SAY NO TO PASTELS!
- REMOVE THE BLACK GRIDLINES from Calendar when using Dark Gray theme! Whoever came up with this idea needs their head testing! -
Gru commented
Pastel colors are ridiculous. Im tired at squinting at my calendar because of an awful update. Im not decorating Easter cards Im attempting to organize my work calendar and I can barely distinguish between the colors.
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m schauer commented
I need more colors with higher contrast, which i also con customize. i don't like these pastel colors