How To Make An Email Template In Outlook

This guide explains how to approach how to make an email template in outlook, including the preparation, practical steps, common mistakes, and final checks that help you finish with confidence.

5-10 Minutes Time needed

Easy Difficulty

Formatting Consistency Watch out for

Before You Start

Before you begin, make sure you have everything you need. This process is straightforward, but having the right software version is key to accessing all the features described below.

What You Need

Safety, Timing, or Context Checks

Check first: Complex formatting, custom fonts, and intricate layouts may not appear correctly for recipients using different email clients like Gmail, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird. For templates sent to external contacts, it's best to stick to simple formatting (bold, italics, bullet points) and standard fonts (like Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri) to ensure everyone sees the email as you intended.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Follow these steps to create and save your first email template in Outlook. The process involves composing a standard email and then saving it in a special format that Outlook recognises as a reusable template.

Common Problems When You Make An Email Template In Outlook

While creating templates is usually smooth, you might run into a few common issues. Here’s how to troubleshoot them.

Advanced Tips for Email Templates in Outlook

Once you've mastered the basics, you can use these advanced techniques to make your templates even more powerful and accessible.

Use Quick Parts for Reusable Snippets

Sometimes you don't need a full email template, just a reusable block of text, like a project description, a set of instructions, or a detailed answer to a common question. For this, Outlook's Quick Parts feature is perfect. To create one, type your desired text in an email, highlight it, go to the Insert tab, click Quick Parts, and choose Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. You can then insert this block of text into any email with just two clicks.

Add Your Template to the Outlook Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar

For templates you use daily, navigating through the "Choose Form" menu can feel slow. You can add a direct shortcut to your template on the main Outlook ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar for one-click access. This requires customising the ribbon:

Share Templates With Your Team

To ensure brand consistency, you can share your `.oft` files with colleagues. The easiest way is to email the file as an attachment. They can then save it to their own Outlook templates folder. For larger teams, a better solution is to store the `.oft` files in a shared network drive or a SharePoint/Teams folder. This creates a central library of approved templates that everyone can access, ensuring all outbound communication is uniform.

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