There are many ways to do your journaling on a computer, especially using the feature, which almost all modern versions of Microsoft Outlook support. But you never know when the company will rip this out, or how much it will leave when done. It is almost time to find a better solution that will last longer.
Chances are the journal module in Outlook will stay the same way for another decade, though the company says it is deprecated. That is likely an indication it will actually be here for some time, considering the source of the statement. Microsoft also needs to be seen providing backwards compatibility with a variety of products, and that leaves room for some of the useful features to stay back.
OneNote seems to be what would take over if the journal got scrapped. If you are looking to copy entries from the journal to OneNote, there is a VBA script below which you can use.
Journal Folder Access
The button for accessing journal from the Navigation pane or Peeks row has been taken out. Instead, you now have the Ctrl+8 combo that lets you select the journal from the folder list. You can also add a button to the ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar.
- Start up the Options dialog and choose either Customize Ribbon or Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
- Select the All Commands option from the Choose Commands From:
- Click in the commands list on the other side and choose Journal, by pressing J.
- Now, add a new group, and then add journal to that group.
If you cannot find the journal command in the version of Outlook you are using, then VBA scripts are a good substitute for as far as adding this to the Quick Access Toolbar or ribbon is concerned. Use the following script:
Sub GotoJournalFolder()
Set Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder = _
Session.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderJournal)
End Sub
Save this in inside VB and set a shortkey for it. The next time you want to call it up, you simply need to use a keyboard combo. Alternately, set up the macro in on the QAT or the quick access toolbar. Most versions of Microsoft Outlook support this, so you should not have any problem setting it up.
Similarly, you can add a replacement for the removed New Items command for journal items. This used to be Ctrl + Shift + J in the previous versions, so you could try setting up the same combo, hit the New Item button and go to the More Forms command. Select journal and assign the key to this, or use a new VBA script.