Comments on: How to create and use Outlook email templates

Rather few people know that email templates exist in Outlook and even fewer know how to create and use them in the right way. In this article you will learn how to create, save and use standard Outlook email templates. You will also find how to reply with template in Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 and lower or automatically add a template of your choosing to all new e-mail messages, replies or forwards. Continue reading →

Comments page 2. Total comments: 118

  1. Hi -

    When I save a Outlook template (.oft) with a Japanese subject, it is not retaining the subject and is converting it to "????". How can I get it to keep the Japanese characters in the subject?

  2. I just updated our shared templates for 2017 and when I import them on my colleagues computers all of the hyperlinks that are in the templates I created are gone. Please advise.

  3. Hi, I created an oft.-template and want to integrate a macro, so the first line will include the name of the recipient. I want to use ~%TO as suggested on your homepage. How is this possible? Greets from Germany.

  4. Can I create a template from a shared calendar in Outlook 2010?

  5. Hi there,

    This is great, however what I am wanting is very similar to this but in calendar instead, with appointments. We schedule all our work through outlook calendars which our employees can access on their phones (at the office we have control over all their individual calendars). Our employees note all the details of their jobs in the notes section of the calendar appointment and what we need is a template when creating the appointment so it is logical and they don't forget to record any of the job details. Is this possible? Also I tried all your instructions as a practice run and when I went to re-open the email template and I got to C:\Users\UserName and there was no "app data" file. Do you know why this would be?

    Cheers =)

  6. Your instructions are very simple to follow, thank you. However, what I am wanting to do is not listed. I work with veterans so I want a patriotic background to my emails. I have a nice stationary I would like to scan to use as a background/theme. I can't figure out how to do it. Can you help? Also, Some of the MS stationary preloaded is like a background where you can write over the top (ie.. the bears), but what I load want let me. How can I save a stationary that is just a background. Lastly, How can I use/make borders for my stationary.
    Thank you for your assistance.

  7. Hi
    I've created a template using the outlook platform but it cant be viewed on iPhones or Macs. Is there a way we can make the template compatible with these systems?
    Thank you
    Gretel

  8. hi;
    I had a problem to bring choose forms ( it is not exist in my menu)

  9. Hello,

    Anyway to get this them setup to include a specific address in the CC line? When I add a CC address and save the HTML, once I select it as a theme, it converts the CCN line to text in the body of the email.

    Thanks in advance,
    SPL

    1. them = theme

  10. Hi! Thanks for the article. I have a doubt. I would like to type on a template/BG. For example,

    Line #1: Logo (which should also be static on the top corner)
    Line #2: Type able text on a grey background. And whenever there's a huge text, the grey background should increase in size accordingly).
    Line #3: Company slogan (which should also be static on bottom corner)

    Is this possible in Outlook?

  11. Thank you for a great article. I have created a template and saved it as an html file in the stationery folder. The template incorporates an image in the top right had corner and when i open a new email the whole template is moved several rows down leaving a gap at the top of the email. Any suggestions on how to resolve this?

  12. Thank you for this excellent article. In the section entitled 'Using macros in Outlook email templates', you point to the insert macro feature which lists a series of macros, such as ~%ATTACHFILE=. Are there any predefined macros in Outlook 2010? I can't seem to find any drop down macro list. I would like to be able to mass merge emails from Outlook and not using the Mail Merge feature via Word.Is this even possible? Thanks for your guidance and keep up the good work. Tim

  13. I have created a oft. template for new messages which works well. But I would like to use this same template when replying to incoming messages. How do I do this?

  14. I don't want a set of stock formatted content in new email messages.

    I just want to override the default styles that Outlook uses in new email messages. For example, I want to define the hanging indent, tab stop, and Spacing Before the paragraphs when the Bullets ribbon tool button is used to add bullets.

    Even if I leave one bullet in the stationery template, using this button to add a bullet to a paragraph applies the Outlook default 0.25" hanging indent with a 0.25" tab stop, and no spacing before.

    How can these deeply-embedded defaults be changed?

    1. Hello, Craig,

      Please try to change the Normal style. In a new email go to Format Text tab -> Styles -> right-click Normal -> Modify. Select all the necessary styles and select New document based on this template. Click OK to finish up.

  15. Dear madam,

    Seem all features are fantastic, but I still have to commit which Im very willing to enjoy them.

  16. Excellent site, great information!
    Can you help with this please? I have created a form that allows users to 'tick' questions. So far it's quite a simple form: I've attached the tick boxes to personalised fields but now I want to collate the responses just like voting buttons. Can I do this without needing MS Access (which we cannot have in our organisation)?
    Many thanks for any help you can provide.

    1. Hello, Pamela,

      Looks like you need VBA to accomplish your task. Sorry, we cannot help you with this.

  17. Can you tell me why the "save as..." option is greyed out and unavailable in Microsoft Office 2011 and Microsoft 365? I have the most recent update in the latter (2016), and it's still unavailable.

  18. I would like to have an e-newsletter template that maintains the same side to side dimensions as the Word document I use to craft the newsletter content with photos. When I paste my content into an Outlook 2013 email message box without a template format, the text can spread as widely as the computer user's viewing screen. Is there an Outlook newsletter template that will limit the width to preserve the layout AND still allow functional links to webpages? A jpeg or PDF version will preserve the Word document but does not allow for functional web links. I believe I could create something in Constant Contact newsletter formats, but doing that disallows my easily using my flexible Outlook address book for allusers, list that changes on a regular basis.

  19. I Have made a HTML Stationary template and signature through Outlook, which are both working find, as long as the email is opened on a desktop computer.

    If the emails are opened through an email app (i.e. on an iphone), all the formatting is wrong, and images that have been used in the header and signature all move, making the email template look very sloppy.

    How can I set my template and signature to adjust to which ever device the receiver of the email opens the email in? (i.e. So that if they open the email on an iphone, the header is still centered, etc).

      1. I am having the same problem, all the font on a smart phone becomes very compressed. Is there a way to fix this?

  20. Hi- Is there a way to protect/lock 'Subject' of an outlook email to avoid editing when others reply.

    1. Hello, Govind,

      You need a custom solution, like an add-in for your task.

  21. Hello - Is it possible to create within an email template a drop-down menu for the Subject line? Also, is it possible to have an email address automatically fill the blind copy (BC) line?

    1. Hello, Dan,

      Sorry, we don't know how to do this. Most likely VBA code is needed in this case.

  22. I've found and using regularly MailStyler since february. I make my template then import it somewhere else. Great features, although is still young (I believe it went live on November, 2014).
    jas

  23. I've created a form with an attachment. But I want to be able to turn an existing email into that form, not just open a new email of that form. Reason being I have an extensive contact list where I click to send a new email to each contact. Then I want to turn that new email into the form with the attachment. Is this possible at all? I cannot download the Templates add-in at my company. Is there a macro that would attach the same file and input the same text into an existing email? I don't know how to write VBA either. Thank you.

    1. Hello, Theresa,

      Please see the macro that will copy all attachments from the template template.oft to the current email opened in the inspector:

      Sub CopyAttachmentsFromTemplate()
      Dim currentItem As Outlook.MailItem
      Set currentItem = Application.ActiveInspector().currentItem

      Dim myTemplate As Outlook.MailItem
      Set myTemplate = Application.CreateItemFromTemplate(Environ("Appdata") & _
      "\Microsoft\Templates\template.oft")

      For i = 1 To myTemplate.Attachments.Count
      Dim filePath As String
      filePath = Environ("temp") + "\" + myTemplate.Attachments.Item(i).FileName
      myTemplate.Attachments.Item(i).SaveAsFile (filePath)
      currentItem.Attachments.Add (filePath)
      Kill (filePath)
      Next

      Set myTemplate = Nothing
      Set currentItem = Nothing
      End Sub

  24. I would like to make a template that generates a unique email sequence number in the subject field, so everytime I use the template the subject is prepopulated with a standard subject tha includes an email number which is 1 number higher than the previous email sent (n+1). Is this possible? at the moment we have to keep track of the email number in a spreadsheet and populate a new number every time.

    1. Hello, Alejandro,

      You need a macro that will create a new email from the template and change its subject. For example:
      Sub CreateFromTemplate()
      Dim myTemplate As Outlook.MailItem
      Set myTemplate = Application.CreateItemFromTemplate(Environ("Appdata") & _
      "\Microsoft\Templates\template.oft")
      myTemplate.Subject = "Test " + "2"
      myTemplate.Display
      Set myTemplate = Nothing
      End Sub

  25. THANK YOU!!!
    :o)

  26. Is it possible to have a standard template so that when i click reply to a message it automatically comes up without me having to do anything else?
    I have created a template for new messages but would like to use this when replying to incoming messages.

    many thanks

    1. The solution I've come up with is creating a folder containing the generic email template. When I'm ready to use, I highlight that email in that folder, then click a custom quick step that copies that file to the draft folder.

      I then click Draft folder then click my newly copied email template. Make proper adjustments (as necessary) then send. And email template in template folder remains for the next job.

      lots of info on line on how to create quick step

  27. Kindly Advice, I have two accounts in outlook 2013 (office 365 as Microsoft Exchange & Outlook.com as IMAP). I have created & saved template, in the from field i selected outlook.com mail ID. I also created a reply rule pointing to this template & applied this rule to a specific sub-folder which is under Inbox in Outlook.com account.

    The problem is it sends these mails from Office 365 account Outbox. I suppose due to it being default send account. But in that case kindly help me understand what is the purpose of selecting "from:" field in the template when outlook is clearly ignoring which account i want to send these email from?

  28. Please help, I have designed a letterhead stationery in Outlook 2010 for our company using various textboxes containing text relevant to our company details etc. It looks fine when I send it and print on my side but on the recipient side the textbox outlines appear as grey boxes. How can I get rid of this?

    Thank you
    Tosca White

    1. Similar to Tosca's issue, the formatting of a saved template I'm using is different when received. I saved an Outlook template within my stationary folder as an oft., but the table in my template is spaced differently on the recipient's side. What am I doing wrong? I want to use this template for monthly newsletters, but it needs to look professional.

      1. Hello, Leslie,

        The issue may occur if the sender and recipient have different versions of Outlook.

  29. Great help! Thank you very much!

  30. I have created outlook templates before using this method and it has worked perfectly. Today when I have tried to create a new one when I go to save as there is no "outlook template oft" available to select in the "save as type" field ... its just disappeared .... Please help ??

    1. Hello Kerry,

      It looks very strange, this option is always available when saving a message. Sorry I have no idea why it happens. Try restarting Outlook just in case. If it doesn't help, turn to Microsoft support service http://support.microsoft.com for assistance.

  31. Please tell me what went wrong. I've been using outlook for my emai for a long time . however today I seem to be locked out

  32. Do you have an affiliate link I can put on my web site?

    1. Hello Melissa,

      Our support team emailed you the details, thank you.

  33. I have a client using Outlook 2010 who wants to have an email template made. The catch is that he does not want certain content in the template to be editable (both images and text) -- his plan is to share this email template with co-workers to send out from their own accounts, but he does not want them to change or delete parts of the content by mistake.

    Is there any way to "lock" content in an Outlook email template, so that when a user opens a new email from the template, they can't edit designated sections?

    Thank you in advance!

    1. Hello Amanda,

      I regret to tell you that it is not possible with with standard Outlook templates. Our developers will do some research to investigate whether it is possible in principle. If if is, we will try to implement this feature in our add-in.

  34. Sigh. A proprietary format. Thanks for nothing Microsoft!

  35. FYI: I had to find the file in Windows Explorer to drag it to my task bar. It would not budge from the Outlook template window. Right click also produced no menu.

  36. Template can only made in Outlook 2010 and 2013? Mine is 2011. My Save As item is useless.

  37. I created an email newsletter which contains a lot of images... Most people who open it up and read it on their desktop with Microsoft Outlook say it looks fine, however some people who open it up in Microsoft Exchange OR Microsoft Outlook on their smart phone (BlackBerry) have a ton of "attachement files" just show up!

    How do I get rid of those? Anybody know?

    THANKS!

  38. I have created a custom email template with custom fields to be filled out by my sales force. However somewhere along the way I do not have the ability to attach any files once I run the template. I am using 2007 and not sure what I am missing. When I try to use standard email fields, the attachment shows up a check box? Thank you.

  39. I have a business partner who wants to save the template so that it is coming from a specific “From” email address. When we try to update it in the “From” menu, after we save it and try to open it again, it’s reverting back to my own email address.

    Is there a way to do this?

    1. A standard template doesn't store the contents of the From field. You can create an Outlook macro to automatically add addresses in the From field to a particular template.

      Or you can try our Shared Email Templates. It can fill the From field as well as other email fields.

  40. ive managed to create oft email template file and saved it. but unable to share it with my colleagues, how can do this?

    1. Hi Chandini,

      Please clarify what exactly doesn't work: you can't attach the .oft template file to email or your colleagues can't add your template to their Outlook or something else.

  41. Thanks Svetlana!

  42. Hi Svetlana,

    I have created a form in Word 2013 using the developer tool. Followed all instructions I can find on inserting it into outlook in order to create an email template. Not for the life of me will the form work. PLEASE HELP! ... or if I can insert this form into gmail that would be better. Is this at all possible?

    Oh, the form works perfectly fine in word.

    Kind regards,

    Melissa

    1. Hi Melissa,

      I'm very sorry but I am unable to help with this issue because I have no experience with Word forms.
      You can probably post your question on http://www.answers.microsoft.com, hopefully someone will know the answer.

  43. Hello. I have multiple Outlook profiles and when I add the stationery to one profile, it is using that for my personal work profile as well. I don't see a way with Outlook 2013 to assign the stationery to a particular email account, like you can with a signature.

    1. Hi Rayna,

      As far as I know this is not possible because Outlook signatures are account-specific while Outlook theme (Stationery) is global.

  44. I have a custom email template with cells and rows. I have images I have inserted into some of theses cells and am having trouble setting the positions into these cells. is there an easy way to position and lock the images into these cells? center of the cell? top left corner? left margin-center of the cell? while locking them into position? i can drag the images all around but this a manual process and the positions are not necessarily uniform. thanks in advance.

    1. From our own experience with sending newsletters, there is no easy way. Different email clients behave in a different way not complying with standards, and regrettably Outlook is not an exception.
      To be properly positioned, each image requires specific CSS styles. We do not know any way to do this via drag-n-drop.

  45. Hello Svetlana,

    May I ask you if it would be possible to have a email template with different tabs? So I can use it for sending out information of different vendors in the same email.

    Kind Regards,

    Gilly

    1. Hello Gilly,

      Regrettably, it's not possible to create an email template with tabs either with standard Outlook templates or with our Shared Email Templates add-in. The Shared Email Templates allows adding fillable fields that will prompt the user to enter some text in a message before it goes out, though I am not sure this feature is fit for the case.

      1. Thank you Svetlana for your feedback! It is a shame we cannot do it.

  46. I want to create a template and have a file attached to it so I don't have to attach it each time I use it. Can this be done?

    1. Your directions on creating the template has been a huge help; particularly as we have 6-8 different emails that must be sent upon hiring of new employees! I atached a file to the email (before I saved it as a template)and, when I opened the template, it was still there. My only question is this: If we make a change to the document (that the attachment is pulling from), when we send a new email (using the template), it still has the original file attachment, not the updated version (which we "saved as" with the same file name. It appears this attachment is static and does not pull "live" from the source. Do you know if this is the case? Is there a way around this?

    2. Hello Linda,

      I do not know a way to do this with standard Outlook email templates, but you can easily create such a template with Shared Email Templates.

  47. Thanks a lot Svetlana Cheusheva! you saved my day,
    your post is clear and perfect

  48. Thank you for this clear, concise and applicable tutorial. After looking at, and attempting to use, several other tutorials, your was a breath of fresh air.

    1. Thank you very much for your feedback, Tabitha! I am really pleased to know you liked it.

  49. Good Morning Svetlana
    I have followed your instructions completely and created my template and saved in the right location. However I can run the form and open it up perfectly but when I send it to myself to test it I receive the email but with no text that I typed in at all. I have checked to see if the text box was enabled and visible etc which it is I just cant seem to fathom it out - any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you
    Ryan

    1. Hello Ryan,

      It's very hard to diagnoze the root of the problem without seeing your template. If you can send it to me at support@ablebits.com as an .oft file (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates), we will try to figure this out. You can remove any sensitive info, if any, and leave only the formatting and some sample text.

      1. Hello Svetlana
        I have sent you the .oft template that I am using. There is no sensitive information in it. If you could have a look at it for me then that would be great.
        Kind Regards
        Ryan

        1. Hello Ryan,

          You have created a very complex form, we are really impressed! I consulted our Outlook guru and he spotted a couple of issues that need to be fixed. I emailed you the details a few minutes ago, hopefully the information will be helpful.

          1. Hi Svetlana,

            I am also facing a similar issue in my environment as Ryan in my Outlook 2013. I have Windows 7 with office 2007 and some with Office 2013. The Forms works perfectly on Outlook 2007 but not in Outlook 2013, when we reply back to the user the message content is empty. Could you please send me the steps to help resolve the issue.

            Thanks in advance.

            Regards,

            Pralhad

          2. Hi Svetlana
            You and your gurus have worked wonders - the form works perfectly now.
            Thank you ever so much.
            Ryan

  50. Dear Svetlana,
    I often am on a web site, click on something that tells me this is how to contact the organization and then an Outlook HTML E-mail form pops up with a send address in it. I write my subject and compose my message and then............ I cannot figure out how to send it. I did read somewhere that Ctr Enter would do it, but it doesn't work.

    This is really frustrating.
    Thank you,
    Jack

    1. Hi Jack,

      If the "send" button is not visible, try to check if your email account is properly configured in your outlook. You can try this by opening your outlook and composing an email from scratch. See if you can send from there. You can also see if maybe the send button is hidden from your toolbar.

    2. Dear Jack,
      I have never heard about such problem before. When I click an email address on some web-site, I always see a normal Outlook message window with the Send button. Anyway, for us to understand the problem better, can you please click our support address (support@ablebits.com) and then send us a screenshot of what you see?

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