Category calendar colors not helpful for visually impaired

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Category calendar colors not helpful for visually impaired

Anna Gorton 20

Visually Impaired here and having no way to see the different colors in my calendar. Unfortunately reverting back to the old Outlook will not work for me since the automatic update to the new Outlook. My stored saved emails are all unreadable after reverting back to the old Outlook. I tried several times switching back and forth to the old Outlook and each time they are unreadable. I had to adapt to the new Outlook several ways. The background color and the fonts are hard for my eyes. Changing to dark background doesn't help either. The old Outlook worked for me. Are there any other settings I can try or is there is a fix with the old Outlook? I use a 3rd party email address and even created and synced with an Outlook email doesn't work when I try to go back to the old Outlook. Hope someone can help.

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Chloe-V 12,610 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Anna Gorton

Being able to distinguish calendar categories is an important accessibility need, not simply a color preference.

In new Outlook, you can give each category a clear, descriptive name through Settings > Accounts > Categories. You can also use the Filter option in Calendar to display events by category instead of relying only on colors.

Regarding the unreadable emails in classic Outlook, could you confirm whether the messages display normally in your email provider’s webmail and whether the third-party account is configured using IMAP or POP? This can help determine whether the behavior is related to account synchronization or how classic Outlook displays the messages.

As there is currently no documented option to create custom high-contrast category colors, I recommend sharing this accessibility concern directly with Microsoft through Send feedback · Community.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

Thank you for your understanding.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Anna Gorton 20 Reputation points

2026-08-24T00:49:12.2633333+00:00

Hi,

I have already renamed the categories but you don't see the category name when using the all day. I use that area of the calendar to add when a bill is due and what payment method I use. For example I marked bills I pay with my PayPal account as blue but the color is light. I have to open the event in order to see it. Under the old Outlook I was using the To Do to track my bills but now need to use the calendar feature. I am using imap yahoo account and I read somewhere this could be the reason for the issue. I can read all the emails in the new Outlook but when I switch back it is all a mess. They are also readable in the Outlook web version and Yahoo account.
Chloe-V 12,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-24T23:23:14.1066667+00:00

Hi @Anna Gorton

Thank you for clarifying. Since the category name is not displayed directly in the All Day section, renaming the categories does not address the accessibility concern.

Because the messages are readable in New Outlook, Outlook on the web, and Yahoo Mail, the unreadable display in classic Outlook appears to be isolated to the classic Outlook app. Please try resetting the affected folder view through View > Reset View. You may also check File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Email Security and make sure Read all standard mail in plain text is not selected.
Chloe-V 12,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-26T02:35:10.4033333+00:00

Hi @Anna Gorton

Is there any update from you?

If yes, please feel free to let us know.
Anna Gorton 20 Reputation points

2026-08-26T09:42:19.1933333+00:00

No I'm still trying to find a way where I can go back to Outlook classic without seeing my saved emails messed up. For the calendar colors it still has me having to open each one to see how I set the bill up (checking vs PayPal for example).
Chloe-V 12,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-28T02:30:56.9533333+00:00

Hi @Anna Gorton

Thank you for the update. For the saved emails displaying incorrectly in classic Outlook, please try creating a new Outlook profile and adding your account again to check whether the messages display normally there. Microsoft’s instructions for creating a new Outlook profile.

Regarding the calendar categories, I understand that needing to open every event is not an accessible solution. Since the category name is not displayed in the All Day section, please continue submitting this through Help > Feedback in new Outlook so the product team can review the accessibility concern.
Anna Gorton 20 Reputation points

2026-08-29T16:10:15.55+00:00

Hi Chloe,

Thanks for helping me out. I created the new Classic Outlook profile successfully and the old emails can now be read under this profile. Unfortunately the tasks I created in the previous profile didn't port over to the newly created profile. Is there a way to copy my tasks to the new classic outlook profile?
Chloe-V 12,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-31T23:06:21.64+00:00

Hi @Anna Gorton

Thank you for the update. If the tasks were stored in the old Outlook profile's local data file (.pst), they will not automatically appear in the new profile. You can try opening the old data file in Classic Outlook and then copy or move the tasks to your current mailbox.
Anna Gorton 20 Reputation points

2026-09-05T16:31:14.15+00:00

Hi Chloe,

I decided to just use the newly created profile when I need to review any old emails and keep using my original. I tried copying it but it didn't work and creating each one from scratch will take too much time. I might try and create them a little at a time when I have the time. Thanks again for your help.
Chloe-V 12,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-05T23:17:27.4666667+00:00

Hi @Anna Gorton

Thank you for the update. I'm glad you've found a workaround that meets your needs. If you have any other questions in the future, please feel free to start a new thread.