How To Create Email Templates In Outlook

Creating email templates in Outlook saves you time on messages you send again and again, from daily updates to client replies. This guide walks you through building a template on Windows and the web, saving it for one-click use, and fixing the most common template problems before they slow you down. The main caution: the menu path changes between Outlook versions, so check which one you use before you start.

Fast Answer

Open Outlook and go to: Home tab > New Items > More Items > Choose Form
After writing your template: File > Save As > Outlook Template (.oft) and store it in your default Templates folder

5-10 minutes Time needed

Beginner Difficulty

Version menu changes Watch out for

Before You Start

Access to Microsoft Outlook on Windows, Mac, or the web version (your menu path depends on this).
A clear idea of which message you want to template, such as a daily stand-up update, a project status reply, or an out-of-office notice.
Any fields you use in every send, like your name or job title, so you can build those into the template from the start.

Check first: Outlook desktop for Windows has the fullest template features. The web version and Mac version handle templates differently, so confirm which one you will use before you follow a specific set of steps.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open the blank email form

Start Outlook and click New Email to open a blank message window. This is the form you will fill with the text you want to reuse. Do not open a reply or a forwarded message, because those bring extra header fields that can mess up your template.

If you are in Outlook on the web, this step looks a little different. You open a new message in your browser, write what you need, and then copy the text into a saved document or use quick parts if your account supports them. The desktop version is the most reliable place to create the template file itself.

Tip: Keep the message window open for the next few steps. You will save this exact window as your template in a moment.

Write your reusable message

Type the full body of the message you want to reuse in the blank email window. Include the greeting, the main text, and the sign-off. If you use a lot of standard paragraphs, format them here with bold headings, bullet points, or a clear font size so the template keeps that formatting every time you open it.

Leave placeholders like [Customer Name] or [Date] in the text where you need to fill in something specific for each send. These placeholders make it easy to find and replace the one or two bits that change, without rewriting the whole message.

Tip: Write the placeholders in square brackets with capitalised words. They stand out against your normal text, so you do not miss one before you hit send.

Fill in the subject line

Click the Subject field and type the subject line you want to reuse. You can also add a placeholder here, such as [Customer Name] – Project Update. The subject saves with the template, just like the body text, so you do not have to type it again each time.

Leave the To, Cc, and Bcc fields blank in the template. You will add recipients each time you use the template, because the recipient rarely stays the same for every single send. Saving the template without recipients avoids accidental replies going to the wrong person.

If you use the same team or same list every time, you can add those recipients to the template, but be very careful. One slip of the mouse can send a template message to everyone on that list before you have finished editing it.

Save the message as an Outlook template

With your message window open and your text written, click File in the top-left corner, then Save As. In the window that opens, find the Save as type dropdown menu at the bottom. Select Outlook Template (*.oft).

Outlook automatically points you to your default Templates folder. This is the right place to save it, because Outlook looks here first when you go to insert a template. Give the file a clear name like Daily-Status-Update.oft, then click Save.

Tip: If you do not see a Templates folder in the list, just save to the default location Outlook shows you. It will still appear in the Choose Form window later.

Close the message and test your template

Close the email window you just saved. Choose No if Outlook asks if you want to save changes, because you already saved the template file. Now open a brand new message window to confirm your template is not left sitting in your outbox half-written.

Test the template by going to the Home tab, clicking New Items, then More Items, and finally Choose Form. In the window that appears, look in the Look In dropdown and select User Templates in File System. You should see your saved template file listed there.

Use your template for a real send

Double-click your template name in the Choose Form window, or click it once and press Open. Outlook opens a new email message pre-filled with your subject line and body text. Fill in the recipient, change any placeholders, and review the whole message before you send.

Because the template opens as a brand new email, nothing you do to it changes the saved template file. You can edit freely, add attachments, or rewrite entire paragraphs, and the .oft file stays the same for your next use.

Tip: Add the template to your Quick Access Toolbar or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+2 to open the folder view if you use templates very often. It saves you a couple of clicks each time.

Turn a sent message into a template later

If you just sent a message that you want to reuse, you do not have to retype it. Open the message from your Sent Items folder, click File, then Save As, choose Outlook Template (*.oft), and save it the same way you saved your manual draft.

This works for any message you have sent, even if you did not plan it as a template at the time. Just clean out the recipient addresses before you save, because the To and Cc fields carry over from the sent copy.

Warning: Sent messages include the original recipients in the header fields. Clear those fields before you save, or you risk sending the template to the original list whenever you use it.

Quick Reference

Situation	Use this	Why
First-time setup on Windows desktop	Home > New Items > More Items > Choose Form	This is the main menu path for opening your saved templates
Saving a reusable message	File > Save As > Outlook Template (.oft)	The .oft file type keeps subject and body formatting
Finding saved templates	Look In dropdown > User Templates in File System	This folder is the default location Outlook checks
Reusing a message you already sent	Open from Sent Items > Save As > .oft	You skip retyping text you already wrote
Editing a template after saving	Open it, edit, then File > Save As > .oft again	You overwrite the original with your changes

Common Problems When You Create Email Templates In Outlook

Your template does not show up in the Choose Form list: Check the Look In dropdown and switch it to User Templates in File System. If it still does not appear, you may have saved the file to a different folder than the default. Use the Windows file explorer to move your .oft file into the Templates folder under your Outlook profile.
The template keeps the wrong recipients: This happens when you save a sent message without clearing the To and Cc fields. Open the saved template, highlight and delete every address in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines, then save again.
Your formatting looks different when you open the template: Outlook templates keep formatting from the original draft, but fonts can shift if you open the template on a different computer or in a different version. Set the font explicitly in the template instead of relying on the default.
Mac users cannot find the template menu: Outlook for Mac has a different menu layout. Use the web version or copy your template text into a separate document that you paste into new messages. The .oft file format does not work the same way on Mac.
You cannot open a template created by someone else: The .oft file might have been saved in a different Outlook version or on a system with different settings. Recreate the template from scratch on your own machine to make sure it works.

Advanced Tips for How To Create Email Templates In Outlook

Once you are comfortable with basic templates, you can speed things up a lot with a few clever additions.

Use Quick Parts for short chunks: Instead of saving whole messages as templates, highlight a paragraph, go to Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. You can then drop that paragraph into any email without opening a separate template file.
Create a set of related templates: If you reply to similar enquiries with different levels of detail, save each version as its own template with a clear naming scheme like Project-Update-Brief.oft and Project-Update-Detailed.oft. Naming conventions help you find the right one fast.
Use keyboard shortcuts for template folders: You cannot assign a shortcut directly to a template file, but you can add the Choose Form command to your Quick Access Toolbar. Right-click the ribbon and choose Customise Quick Access Toolbar, then find the Choose Form command and add it.
Keep a master template file: Store one master template with all your placeholders and standard paragraphs, then use Find and Replace to swap placeholders for real names and dates before you send. This works well if your messages change a lot but have a consistent structure.
Skip templates for shared team messages: If your whole team sends similar updates, put the text in a shared OneDrive document or your team site instead. Everyone can copy and paste from the same source, and you do not have to update individual template files.

How To Create Email Templates In Outlook FAQ

Common Issues

If the result is not working as expected, return to the previous step, check the material or setting involved, and make one adjustment at a time for how to create email templates in outlook.

Can I create a template in Outlook on the web?

Yes, but the web version does not use the .oft format. You have to write your message, copy the text, and store it somewhere safe like a OneNote page or a Word document, then paste it into new messages. The desktop version gives you a proper one-click template file.

How do I edit a saved template?

Open it through New Items > More Items > Choose Form, find your template in User Templates in File System, and open it. Edit the text and formatting, then go to File > Save As and save it as the same .oft file name to overwrite the original.

Can I add attachments to my Outlook template?

Yes. Open the template, attach the file you want to include, then save the template again. The attachment becomes part of the .oft file and appears every time you open the template. Be aware that this makes the template file larger and might include sensitive files that you do not want to send repeatedly.

What is the difference between a template and Quick Parts?

A template is a whole email message with a subject line and body that opens as a complete draft. Quick Parts save single paragraphs or blocks of text that you insert into any email. Use Quick Parts when you only reuse part of a message and templates when the whole message stays the same.

Why does my template not work after an Outlook update?

Microsoft occasionally changes menu names and folder locations. Your .oft file is usually still there, just in a different place or under a new menu name. Look for User Templates in File System in the Choose Form window, and check your Windows user folder for the Templates directory.

Final Checklist for How To Create Email Templates In Outlook

You used the correct menu path for your Outlook version: Windows, Mac, or web.
You cleared all recipient fields from the template before saving.
You saved the file as an Outlook Template (.oft) in the default Templates folder.
You tested the template by opening it through Choose Form and confirming it appears in User Templates in File System.
Your placeholders like [Customer Name] and [Date] stand out clearly in the body text.
You checked the format and font on the computer where you will actually send the messages.
If you saved a sent message as a template, you cleaned out the original recipients and any private attachments.
You have a naming system for your templates so you can find the right one quickly.

Your template is ready. Open it once more, fill in the recipient, replace any placeholders, and send with confidence knowing your standard text is already in place. Over the next week, notice which messages you write more than twice and turn those into templates too.