How to Use Templates in Outlook (Full Emails and Quick Replies)

If you type the same email every week, a booking confirmation, a welcome note, a 'thanks for your enquiry', Outlook templates will give you that time back. The confusing bit is that Outlook has two different template tools that do different jobs, and Microsoft's help explains them in a handy comparison. Here's which to use and how to create, use and share each.

Two kinds of Outlook template

	Mail Templates	My Templates add-in
What it saves	A whole email: recipients, subject, body, formatting and attachments	Short snippets of text
Formatting	Rich formatting, images, tables and attachments	Plain text with basic styling
Best for	Complete repeat emails, like announcements or welcome emails	Standard phrases and replies you drop into any email

Microsoft notes both need a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan, so if you can't find either option, that's the first thing to check.

Create a full email template (new Outlook)

1. From the Home ribbon, select New, then Mail.
2. Write the email you want to reuse: recipients, subject, body and any attachments.
3. On the Message ribbon, select Mail template, then Save email as template.
4. Give it a clear name and select Save.

You'll find your saved templates under Settings, Mail, Templates, listed by account. Microsoft adds that templates are saved to the account you wrote the draft from, and you can reach them from that mailbox in Outlook on the web too.

Send an email from a template

1. From the Home ribbon, select New, then Mail from template.
2. Choose your template. It opens as a draft.
3. Change the recipients, subject and any details that differ this time.
4. Select Send.

Here's the bit to remember: changes you make to the draft aren't saved back to the template. If you click Save, you just create a draft. To update the template itself, save a new version using the steps above.

Create quick reply snippets with My Templates

1. Start a new email.
2. On the Message tab, select My Templates to open the task pane.
3. Select +Template, give it a title and type the text.
4. Select Save.

Next time, open My Templates in any email and click a snippet to insert it. Microsoft says these are saved to your primary mailbox, so they follow you to Outlook on the web, both versions of Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac. If My Templates isn't in your ribbon, your organisation may have switched add-ins off, so ask your IT admin.

Templates in classic Outlook

Classic Outlook uses a different route to open templates: New Items, More Items, Choose Form, then set Look In to User Templates in File System, pick your template and select Open. The same rule applies: edits to the email don't change the saved template.

Sharing templates with your team

Microsoft has a separate guide to downloading, adding and sharing templates as .oft files. It's the way to give everyone on a team the same welcome email or quote follow-up, and to bring templates you made in classic Outlook into new Outlook. One person writes it well, everyone sends the same polished version.

Templates worth setting up first

• Enquiry reply: thanks, what happens next, and a link to book a call.
• Meeting follow-up: summary, actions and owners.
• Onboarding: welcome, key contacts and first steps.
• Gentle chaser for a document or decision you're waiting on.
• Out-of-hours reply explaining when you'll respond.

Keep a placeholder like [NAME] or [DATE] in bold so you can't miss what needs changing before you hit send. If you write a lot of sequences, my onboarding email drip template and re-engagement email template are good starting points for the wording.

Keep your templates sounding human

The risk with templates is that every email starts to read like a form letter. Write them the way you'd talk to a client, keep them short, and leave a space near the top for one personal line, such as a reference to what they told you on the phone. Review your templates every few months: links, opening hours, product names and team names all go out of date quietly, and an old template can send wrong information to dozens of people before anyone notices. A quick read-through each quarter keeps them working for you rather than against you.

Template or quick text?

Use a Mail Template when the whole email repeats, including attachments or the subject line. Use My Templates when only a paragraph or two repeats and the rest changes every time. Most people end up using both: a handful of full templates and a library of snippets.

My verdict

Save full repeat emails with Mail template, Save email as template, and send them with New, Mail from template. Use My Templates for standard replies you drop into any message. Remember edits to a draft never change the template, and share .oft files so your team sends the same version.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use a template in Outlook?

In new Outlook, select New, then Mail from template, choose the template, edit it and send.

How do I create an email template in Outlook?

Write the email, then on the Message ribbon select Mail template, Save email as template, name it and save.

Where are my Outlook templates saved?

In new Outlook, find them under Settings, Mail, Templates, listed by account.

Why don't I see My Templates in Outlook?

Microsoft says your organisation may have add-ins turned off. Templates also need a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan.

Does editing an email update my Outlook template?

No. Changes to the draft aren't saved to the template. Save a new template to update it.