[Update: 19 May 2014] These instructions also work for Outlook 2013 / Windows 7 64bit
Summary: I investigated the possibility of changing the default task
type in Microsoft Outlook 2010 Journaling. Our department is now utilizing this
feature of OL2010 for various reasons, but truly helpful when asked: “So what
did you accomplish this week?” For the solution below, I changed the Registry
Names for Outlook 2010 Journaling to enable the default to Task instead of
Phone Call. According to my findings, Phone Call is hard-coded. The workaround
switches the names to have the default task type as Task.
I backed up the Journaling registry as recommended. After making the name
changes: boom-shaka-laka works like a charm!
Procedure:
Back
Up the Registry
1. Click the Start
button, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Outlook\Journaling
3. On the Registry
menu, click Export Registry File.
4. In the Save In
list, click to select the folder where you want to save the backup.
5. In the File Name
box, type a name for your backup file.
6. In the Export Range
box, be sure that Selected Branch is selected.
7. Click Save. The
file is saved with a .reg extension.
Edit
the Registry
Use the following steps to
edit the registry:
1. Click the Start
button, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Outlook\Journaling
3. Right click on Phone Call and select Rename. Change name to Task2.
4. Right click on Task and select Rename. Change name to Phone Call.
5. Right click on Task2 and select Rename. Change name to Task.
