How To Save Email Templates In Outlook

If you find yourself writing the same email over and over again, learning how to save email templates in Outlook can be a huge time-saver. This guide is for anyone who sends frequent status updates, client follow-ups, new-hire welcomes, or any other repetitive message. We will walk you through creating, saving, and using templates in the Outlook desktop app, turning a five-minute task into a ten-second one. This process helps ensure your messages are consistent, professional, and free from errors you might make when typing them out from scratch every time.

Fast Answer

Key Action: Create a new email, write your content, then go to File > Save As.
File Type: In the "Save as type" dropdown menu, select Outlook Template (*.oft).
To Use: Go to New Items > More Items > Choose Form... and look in "User Templates in File System."

5-10 minutes Time needed

Beginner Difficulty

File Location Watch out for

Before You Start

You need the Microsoft Outlook desktop application installed on your Windows or macOS computer. This process is different from the "My Templates" feature in the web version of Outlook.
Have the content ready for your first template. This includes the subject line, the body text, and any standard files you want to attach.
Know where you want to use placeholders. Think about the parts of the email that will change each time, like a person's name, a project number, or a specific date.

Check first: Outlook templates are saved as files on your computer. They are not automatically synced to the cloud. If you switch to a new computer, you will need to manually move your template files (`.oft` files) to the new machine.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Start by Composing Your Base Email

First, open the Outlook application. Create a new, blank email message. You can do this by clicking the "New Email" button on the Home tab of the ribbon, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N (on Windows) or Cmd+N (on Mac). This blank email will become the foundation of your template.

Leave the "To," "Cc," and "Bcc" fields empty for now. You will fill these in each time you use the template. The goal here is to create the reusable part of the message.

Add Your Subject, Body, and Attachments

Now, fill in the parts of the email that will stay the same. Write a clear, standard Subject line. For example, if it's a weekly report template, the subject could be "Weekly Project Status Report for [Project Name]."

Next, write the body of the email. Type out all the standard text. For parts that will change, use placeholders to remind yourself what to fill in later. Square brackets are great for this, such as [Client Name], [Date], or [Link to Document]. This makes it easy to spot what needs to be personalized. You can also apply any formatting you need, like bold text, bullet points, or different font colors.

If your email always includes the same file, like a company brochure or a standard form, attach it now. Click the "Attach File" button in the ribbon and add the necessary documents. This attachment will be saved as part of the template.

Tip: Create a generic closing, but leave space above your signature to add a personal sign-off sentence if needed. This keeps the template efficient but allows for a human touch.

Use the "Save As" Function

Once your email draft looks exactly how you want your template to be, it's time to save it. Do not click "Send." Instead, go to the top-left corner of the new email window and click on the "File" tab. This will open the main menu screen for that email message.

From the menu on the left, select "Save As." This action will open a standard file-saving dialog box, similar to when you save a Word document or a picture. This is the crucial step to convert your draft email into a reusable template file.

Select "Outlook Template (*.oft)"

In the "Save As" window, you'll see a field called "Save as type." By default, it will likely say "Outlook Message Format - Unicode (*.msg)." You must change this. Click the dropdown menu and scroll through the options until you find "Outlook Template (*.oft)". Selecting this file type tells Outlook to save the message as a reusable template instead of a one-time email draft.

This is the most common place where people make a mistake. If you save it as a .msg file, it will just be a saved draft, not a true template that generates a new email when opened.

Give Your Template a Clear Name and Save It

After you select the correct file type, Outlook will automatically change the save location to your default user templates folder. It's highly recommended to keep this default location, as it makes finding the template inside Outlook much easier later on.

Now, in the "File name" field, type a descriptive name for your template. For example, "Weekly Client Update" or "New Project Kickoff" are much better than "Template1." A clear name will help you quickly identify the right template when you have several saved. Once you've named it, click the "Save" button. You can now close the original email draft without saving changes.

Access Your Saved Template to Use It

Now for the most important part: using your new template. To do this from the main Outlook window (not an open email), go to the "Home" tab. In the "New" group on the far left, click on "New Items." A dropdown menu will appear. From this menu, hover over "More Items" and then click on "Choose Form...".

This "Choose Form" dialog is Outlook's library for different message types, including your custom templates.

Find Your Template in the "Choose Form" Library

In the "Choose Form" window, you'll see a dropdown menu at the top labeled "Look In:". By default, it often shows "Standard Forms Library." You need to change this. Click the dropdown and select "User Templates in File System."

As soon as you select this option, the window will display a list of all the `.oft` template files you've saved in the default location. Find the template you just created by its file name and click on it to select it. Then, click the "Open" button.

Tip: If your template isn't listed, it means you likely saved it in a different folder. You can use the "Browse..." button in the "Choose Form" window to navigate to the folder where you saved your `.oft` file.

Customize the Template and Send Your Email

Outlook will now open a brand new, unsent email message based on your template. You'll see your pre-filled subject line, body text, formatting, and any attachments you included. The key here is that this is a copy of your template, not the template file itself. Any changes you make here will not affect the master template.

Now you can personalize the message. Fill in the "To" and "Cc" fields, replace the placeholders like `[Client Name]` with the correct information, and add any other specific details for this particular email. Once you're done, click "Send" just like you would with any other email.

Quick Reference

Situation	Use this	Why
Sending a full, repetitive email with attachments.	Outlook Template (.oft)	Saves the entire message structure: subject, body, formatting, and files.
Reusing a small block of text or a single paragraph.	Quick Parts	Faster for inserting common phrases into any email without needing a full template.
Quickest access to one specific template you use daily.	Pinned Taskbar Shortcut	Launches a new email from the template with one click, bypassing the "Choose Form" menu.
Sharing a standard response with your team.	Share the .oft file	The .oft file is portable and can be sent to colleagues to install in their own Outlook.

Common Problems When You Save Email Templates In Outlook

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are a few common issues and how to fix them.

I Can't Find My Saved Template

This is the most frequent problem. The cause is almost always one of two things: either the template was saved in the wrong folder, or you are looking in the wrong place within Outlook. Double-check that you are navigating to New Items > More Items > Choose Form... and then changing the "Look In:" dropdown to "User Templates in File System." If it's still not there, try creating another template and pay close attention to the folder path Outlook suggests. You can then move your lost template into that correct folder using Windows File Explorer.

My Template Opens for Editing Instead of as a New Message

This happens if you double-click the `.oft` file directly from your computer's file system (like in File Explorer). Doing so opens the template file itself for editing. To use the template to create a new message, you must open it from within the Outlook application using the "Choose Form" method described in the steps above. This ensures Outlook creates a copy and leaves your original template untouched.

Formatting or Images Are Missing

If you find that your fonts, colors, or images are not appearing correctly when you use the template, it's often due to complex formatting. For best results, stick to standard fonts and simple formatting (bold, italics, bullets). When adding images, make sure you embed them using the Insert > Pictures option rather than copy-pasting them. This ensures the image data is saved within the template file itself.

Advanced Tips for How To Save Email Templates In Outlook

Once you've mastered the basics, you can use these tricks to make templates even more powerful.

Create a Pinned Shortcut for Faster Access

For a template you use constantly, the "Choose Form" menu can feel slow. You can create a desktop or taskbar shortcut that opens it instantly. First, find your `.oft` file in the templates folder. Right-click the file and choose "Create shortcut." Drag this new shortcut to your desktop. You can now double-click it to launch a new email from the template. For even faster access on Windows, you can drag the shortcut onto the Outlook icon on your taskbar to "pin" it. Now, you can right-click the Outlook icon and see your template listed for one-click access.

Use Quick Parts for Smaller Text Snippets

Sometimes you don't need a whole template, just a reusable paragraph or sentence. For this, Outlook's "Quick Parts" feature is perfect. To create one, type the text you want to reuse into an email. Highlight the text, go to the "Insert" tab, click "Quick Parts," and then "Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery." Give it a name, and now you can insert that block of text into any email from the same Quick Parts menu.

Share Your Templates with Teammates

Since templates are just files, they are easy to share. You can attach an `.oft` file to an email and send it to a colleague. Or, for a whole team, you can store your standard templates in a shared location like a SharePoint library or a network drive. Your team members can then copy the `.oft` files into their own Outlook templates folder to ensure everyone is using the same, consistent messaging.

How To Save Email Templates In Outlook FAQ

Can I save email templates in Outlook for Mac?

Yes, you can. The process on a Mac is very similar. You compose your email, then go to File > Save as Template. The key difference is that Outlook for Mac saves templates as `.emltpl` files, not `.oft` files. To use a saved template, you go to File > New > From Template... and choose your file.

Does the web version of Outlook have the same template feature?

Not exactly. Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com) does not use `.oft` files. It has a separate feature called "My Templates," which is an add-in. It's designed more for saving and inserting small snippets of text and does not support attachments. You can find it by creating a new message, clicking the three-dot menu (...) in the toolbar, and selecting "My Templates."

How do I edit a saved Outlook template?

To edit a template, you need to open the original `.oft` file. The easiest way is to navigate to the templates folder on your computer using Windows File Explorer and simply double-click the file. This will open it in an editable state. Make your desired changes to the subject, body, or attachments, and then click File > Save to update the template file. Close the window, and your template will be updated for future use.

Is there a limit to how many email templates I can save?

No, Outlook does not impose a limit on the number of templates you can save. You are only limited by the available storage space on your computer's hard drive. You can create as many as you need to cover all your repetitive email tasks.

Final Checklist for How To Save Email Templates In Outlook

Compose the base email with a complete subject line and body text.
Use clear placeholders like `[Name]` for sections that need personalization.
Attach any files that should always be included with the message.
Navigate to File > Save As from the new email window.
Change the "Save as type" dropdown to Outlook Template (*.oft).
Give the template a descriptive file name for easy identification.
Confirm you are saving it in the default "User Templates" folder.
Test the template by opening it via New Items > More Items > Choose Form... to ensure it works correctly.