Outlook views based on Topic are unreliable

[mikelee999]

I turned off the Outlook 2007 Sp2 preview pane, then used the Field Chooser to add cc-Topicname to the default ClearContext by Date view. cc-Topicname appears as Topic in the columns.

Then I sorted the columns by Topic. The topic displayed in the Topic column often is different from the actual topic.

For example, I have a message that is actually assigned to Product\Area. In the topic column, it shows DLs\DlName. If I highlight the message, the CC toolbar Topic field shows Product\Area. If I open the message, it shows Product\Area. If I file the message, it goes to Product\Area. Only the Topic column is wrong. So a message I need to see under Product\Area is invisible when I'm sorting/grouping by Topic.

I have a screenshot I can send to support to show the issue.

I'd be very interested to know if others out there can see this same problem. I hope I described the repro steps well enough that people can try.

[Scott - CC Support]

Do you run Outlook on two different machines? It sounds like your thread records are getting crossed. Make sure that you shut down on one machine before opening on another to mitigate this issue.

[mikelee999]

Yes, I do run Outlook on laptop and desktop and try to make sure I shut down one before starting the other. Of course, sometimes I forget. I have scoring delay set to max on both machines.

I tried an experiment: I deleted and recreated the CC folders for two of topics where the Inbox display and the actual topic were out of sync. So far so good.

My original question remains: why does Topic as an Outlook column differ from the Topic shown when the message is opened? Where do you get the column Topic? Is it indeed related to the CC folder?

[ClearContext Support]

The true arbiter of Topics is a ClearContext-maintained hidden thread record table. Loosely, CC stores "Messages with Subject X = Topic Y" in the table. This table is used to populate the drop down, assign Topics to incoming messages, etc. ClearContext also writes the Topic name to messages when possible. In some cases where conflicts occur, it is possible for these two fields to get out of sync. We are addressing some of these cases in our next release. Please let me know if I can answer additional questions.