Shared Email Templates for Microsoft Outlook

How to share email templates with other users

The add-on lets you quickly create and share Outlook email templates with no extra moves. Just set up a team, craft your templates, and they'll be instantly accessible to all team members. The below instructions detail the process.

How to create a shared email template for Outlook

Follow these steps to set up your team and start collaborating on templates:

  1. Create a team. To start sharing templates, you first need to create a team. This can be done in the Shared Email Templates web app by an admin of your company account. Here are step-by-step instructions: How to create a team.
    Create a new team.
  2. Add users. Once the team is created, the next step is to add users and define their permissions as either User or Editor.
    Add team members.
  3. Create a shared email template. After the team is set up, it becomes immediately accessible to all members. Teammates with Editor permissions can create shared templates in this way:
    • In the add-on pane in Outlook, right-click the team name and choose either New template or New template in browser, based on your preference.
      Create a shared email template for Outlook.

      • Enter a name for your template and compose its content. You can enhance it with rich text formatting, images, tables, buttons, and other design elements.
      • When finished, click Save.
        Save a shared email template for Outlook.

Any templates created in either the browser or Outlook are automatically shared across all team members, with no additional steps needed to sync them.

Note. If your templates include images from OneDrive or SharePoint, ensure your teammates have access to the respective files or folders. The following article may be helpful: how to share files securely on OneDrive.

Tip. To create company-wide email templates that are available to all users within our organization, simply add all employees to a team.

How to share an existing email template

To share a personal email template with your team, carry out these steps:

  1. On the add-on's pane in Outlook, right click the template.
  2. From the context menu, choose one of these options:
    • Copy to – copy the template to the team folder while keeping it in your personal folder.
    • Move to – move the template to the team folder, removing it from your personal folder.

    Copy an email template.

  3. Select the team with which you wish to share the template and click Open. Alternatively, you can double-click the team name.
    Select the team.
  4. With the team selected, click either the Copy here or Move here button, depending on your chosen action.
    Share an email template with the selected team.

That's it! Your personal email template is now shared with your teammates. If you manage multiple teams, you can copy or move templates between them as needed for efficient collaboration.

How to share template assets with a team

In addition to sharing email templates, you can also share assets such as your company logo, frequently used text snippets, URLs, buttons and other HTML elements. These shared assets become easily accessible to every team editor, helping maintain consistent branding across the team's communications.

Note. To share assets, you must either be an admin of your company or team account, or have Editor permissions within the team.

Add a custom team property

For sharing assets, you need to create a custom team property. Here's how to do it:

  1. In the web app or in Outlook, right-click the team name and select Team Properties.
    Access the team properties.
  2. At the bottom of the pane, click the Add property button.
    Add a custom team property.
  3. Name the property and choose its type, either Text / HTML value or Picture.
    Name the property and choose its type.
  4. For a picture, click the three vertical dots (ellipsis) in the upper-right corner of the preview box and select the source - OneDrive or SharePoint. Then, browser for the image and click Save.
    Add a picture to the team properties.

    Note. Before adding a picture, make sure the corresponding OneDrive or SharePoint file or folder is shared with your team, so everyone has access.

  5. For a text or HTML property, enter the plain text or HTML code and click Save.
    Add HTML code to the team properties.
  6. Once you've added all the necessary properties, click the left-pointing arrow next to Team Properties to return to the templates tree.
    Get back to the templates tree.

Your shared assets are ready for use. Any team member with editing rights can now insert these assets into a new or an existing email template.

Insert pictures from team properties into a shared template

When creating or editing a shared email template, perform these steps to insert an image from team properties:

  1. In the template editor, place the cursor where you want an image and click the Insert picture button on the toolbar.
    Insert a picture into an email template.
  2. Choose the Insert picture from property macro.
    Use the Insert picture from property macro.
  3. In the Insert picture dialog, select Team property, and then select the picture name. Optionally, you can set the image size and link it to a certain web page.
    Select the Team property type and the property name.

Once inserted, the picture's file name in the template preview will be prefixed with "Team", indicating it was sourced from the team properties.
A picture from the team properties is added to a shared email template.

Insert text or HTML code from team properties

To insert a piece of text or an HTML element from the team properties into a shared email template, the steps are:

  1. In the template editor, place the cursor where you want the text or HTML element to appear. Then, click the Insert macro button on the toolbar.
    Start inserting a macro into an email template.
  2. In the list of macros, choose Insert team property.
    Choose the Insert team property macro.
  3. In the Team property dialog, select the desired item.
    Select the desired item.

Once inserted, the property will appear in the template preview, with the file name prefixed by "Team" to indicate that it comes from team properties.
An HTML team property is inserted into an email template.

When you or anyone else on the team uses this template, the shared assets, such as the logo and button, will be pulled from the team properties and inserted into your Outlook message where appropriate.
A shared email template with team assets is inserted into an Outlook message.

If the team assets need updating, e.g. replacing a link with a newer version of your software, you'll only need to update the corresponding property. The change will automatically apply across all shared templates, ensuring everything stays up to date.

Post a comment

Seen by everyone, do not publish license keys and sensitive personal info!

If you have any questions or issues with this add-in, please feel free to post your concerns in the comments area. As soon as we answer, a notification message will be sent to your e-mail. If you do not want to share your thoughts in public, please contact us at support@ablebits.com.