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how to create email templates in outlook

Outlook + Typedesk
email templates you can reuse everywhere

If you send the same Outlook email more than twice, Typedesk lets you stop retyping it. You save the message once, give it a short shortcut like /intro, and the full email appears the moment you type those characters inside Outlook. This page shows how the Typedesk integration works in Outlook and what it does that the native options do not.

Available on Mac, Windows and in your browser

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How to create email templates in Outlook

Outlook has native options like My Templates and Quick Parts, but they only work inside Outlook. Here is the native method, and the faster way with Typedesk.

Without Typedesk

For reference, here is the built-in method. The latest Outlook (new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web) uses My Templates; classic Outlook for Windows still uses Quick Parts. Either way, it takes several clicks and the templates only live inside Outlook.

With Typedesk

Typedesk sits on top of Outlook through the desktop app and the browser extension, so it works in both classic Outlook and Outlook on the web.

1

Open a new email or reply in Outlook.

2

In the compose toolbar, open the 'More actions' menu (the three dots) and choose 'My Templates'. If you don't see it, open 'Apps' and add My Templates first.

3

In the My Templates pane, click '+ Template', add a title, and type your template text.

4

Click 'Save'. Your template now lives in the My Templates pane.

5

To reuse it, open My Templates and click the template to drop it into your email.

6

In classic Outlook for Windows, use the 'Insert' tab instead: 'Quick Parts' > 'Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery'.

1

Create a template in Typedesk and assign it a shortcut, for example /refund or /meeting.

2

Open a new email or reply in Outlook and type the shortcut.

3

The full message expands instantly, formatting included.

how to create email templates in outlook
typedesk + Outlook

Why Outlook users need reusable templates

Outlook is where follow-ups, status updates, intro emails, and the same five answers to the same five questions get written over and over. Native Outlook tools like My Templates and Quick Parts help, but they live only inside Outlook; they do not store variables that personalize each message, and they cannot be shared cleanly across a team. So people rebuild the same snippets in Outlook, then again in Gmail, then again in their help desk.

What to save as a template in Outlook:

  • Meeting confirmations and reschedule replies.
  • Intro and follow-up sequences for sales or recruiting.
  • Standard answers to billing, scheduling, or onboarding questions.
  • A formatted signature or disclaimer block.

How it works

Set up Typedesk once and reuse your Outlook templates everywhere you type.

how to create email templates in outlook
1

Install the Typedesk desktop app for Windows or Mac, plus the browser extension for Outlook on the web.

2

Save your most-used Outlook emails as templates, each with a short shortcut like /refund or /meeting.

3

In Outlook, type the shortcut in the body or subject line and the full message expands instantly.

how to create email templates in outlook

Keep one library across every tool

This is the part Outlook alone cannot do. The templates you build for Outlook are the same ones you use in Gmail, your help desk, Slack, and any web form, because Typedesk holds a single library that follows you everywhere. Update the wording once, and it updates in every app. Teams can share an approved library, so everyone sends consistent, on-brand replies.

Your Outlook templates, with superpowers!

Typedesk text expander boosts the effectiveness of your Outlook templates, offering smart placeholders and easy sharing options.

Customize every Outlook template with variables

Typedesk drops a name, date, or order number into your Outlook template as it expands, so each email reads like you wrote it by hand, with no manual editing and no form-letter feel.

Works out of the box, in every Outlook

Typedesk templates work in classic Outlook, new Outlook, and Outlook on the web, with no add-in or integration to set up. Your shortcuts follow you across all of them.

Share one Outlook template library with your team

Keep every reply in a single shared library so your whole team sends consistent, on-brand emails. Update the wording once and it changes for everyone, something native Outlook templates can't do.

Insert any Outlook template with a shortcut

Type a short shortcut like /refund and the full template expands right where your cursor is, with no menus and no clicking through a My Templates pane.

Take Outlook templates to a new level

The most versatile solution to create and manage Outlook templates

Features

typedesk how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Create templates with custom fill-in fields

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Share templates with teammates

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Insert templates with a text shortcut

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Search templates by keyword

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Organize templates into folders

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Reuse the same templates across apps

how to create email templates in outlook
how to create email templates in outlook

Comparison covers the built-in reusable-message features available in each product's standard interface. Optional add-ins, mobile keyboards, developer APIs, and third-party tools are excluded.

Bring your Outlook templates everywhere

Set up your most-used Outlook replies in Typedesk once, then use the same shortcuts in every tool you work in.

I love typedesk! It is by far one of my favourite tools to have in our tech stack.

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Pip Meecham

Tech Advisor & ClickUp Channel Partner

We use typedesk to ensure that communications remain aligned and uniform across all our channels as our company scales up.

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This software is unreal. It's like having a ChatGPT writing assistant on every single app I use and having all the prompts I can create at my fingertips.

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This app is a phenomenal tool.

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David Shutler

Senior Recruitment Consultant

While our help desk does provide saved answers, I use typedesk to maintain a personal voice in my canned responses quickly and efficiently.

Melanie Shears

Finance & People Operations, Customer Billing Specialist, Helpscout

Very flexible & convenient, very fast, active developing team with regular updates! Saving me hours of my time.

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Gerrit Grunert

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A great productivity boost for me.

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Upendra Singh Rathore

Co-founder, Chordius Digital LLP

I(we) absolutely LOVE typedesk. This is a no brainer for any solopreneur or team that have to deal with customers support, fill forms on a regular basis, or just save time in general. It also syncs up on the cloud with everyone on the team so we have brand consistency across the company and remove the guessing out of the replies that our team have to generate keeping it custom for all our clients. We write or edit it once, and the entire team is automatically up to date for their very next communication. It's 10x faster, and works like a charm across all our platforms. UI is friendly with minimal learning curve. And like that wasn't enough, they just brought chatGPT integration at no extra cost allowing us to bring the power or 'reply', 'paraphrase', 'summarize' and much more to all our activities with the press of a keystroke. No need to copy/paste from one app to another or even having to go to chatgpt itself, it brings it right there and then for us. Thank you, definitely makes our life much easier. Our team now use it for their personal tasks as well.

Patrick Charlier

Co-founder

Typedesk is an innovative TextExpander alternative that I use daily. Can’t recommend it enough. Can’t wait until it’s available on iOS! Highly recommend.

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Steven 👾

Helping people work smarter, not harder.

Typedesk is one of my favourite tools and saves me literally 2+ hours a day, I use it every 5 mins or so. Highly recommended!

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Shane Harris (Patch)

@shane_harris_patch_

I was a Textexpander user, but I like Typedesk more. The user experience is better and now that they have implemented a way to use Openai is just way better than their competitors.

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David Peter

@david_peter6

I absolutely love typedesk, and use it for a bunch of canned (and less canned, to be honest) responses, including a regular report I need to create for a client (cheating? No. Optimising it and just filling the numbers and name in [and a bit of random boilerplate] for a weekly report? YES!). Now enhanced with ChatGPT? Sign me up! I've been an avid recommender of Typedesk in my businesses for a while now. @michel_vermeulen and his team just gave me even more reason to move all my teams over.

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Theo Pistorius

Founder of 4 SA biz's. Pls no cryptos

I had a couple of other tools that provided some similar functions to typedesk, but once I started to learn the additional capabilities, I dumped the others and settle on typedesk. I’ve still far from master everything that could be possible, simply down to the availability of my time, but I use it daily, I’ve been able to separate home and business uses into a clearly define set, and can call them from a single interface. Being able to return different data, in multiple ways depending on circumstance is brilliant, it simply prompts me to give it the right scenario, and it reformats to suit. I had a small issue with the Mac version on initial install, but support were responsive, helpful and resolve the issue in the next release, and gave me a temporary work around. Bugs are fine if support is there, so that was a positive experience too. I’m very happy with typedesk and look forward to expanding my use of it, and continue to share knowledge about it with friends and colleagues so they benefit too.

Customer review

Mike Foston

Hi

Typedesk allready was really usefull as my textexpander. But when I started using ChatGPT and other AI tools I quickly starting using Typedesk as my prompt repository too. If you are into prompting you'll notice that there is a lot of reoccuring phrases. Like "Imagine you are a SEO specialist" and "Write using Hemmingway rules". Exactly those elements you can store in Typedesk and use easily to construct your 'perfect' prompt. And you can use it in ChatGPT but also in all other AI tools. For me Typedesk is the 'perfect' prompt repository.

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Asing Ku

@asing_ku

Typedesk changed the work of my team, it was not the first canned-response system we used but it's been the first we loved because of its reliability and simplicity to use

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Luca Ronchi

@luca_ronchi

i been using typedesk for several years, since 2021, i would say the software is great, i have windows/mac they sync perfectly, this is one of the software that i use everyday, it saves much of my time on thinking on how to answer clients, i have my FAQ in typedesk, i just search it and copy/paste into my support desks. i love it has a search function, and i can share the answers with my co-workers. so they save time on answering FAQs.

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李鼎嘉

@new_user_74d7929319

I have been using Typedesk for a few months, and it has saved me so much time and allowed me to send out constant messages effortlessly!

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Tor Jones

Backpack is filled with colored pencils.

It is very easy to use. Simplicity is key which is perfect, because you don't want to be bogged down and distracted when a fast response is required. Glad i purchased, will definately get my ROI with time saved

James_Riddles

This is an extremely helpful tool. Several times a day I have to input information into a government form. Each requires that I type two identical sentences into each form. Typedesk allows me to speed throught this. Only saves a few seconds per form, but it certainly adds up.

Sumo-ling

We're a professional service company and have a lot of form communications that we send to different clients. Typedesk has helped us save a significant amount of time putting together these communications.

JH

I have been a longtime user of TextExpander and keyboard snippets / shortcuts from other apps. I really enjoy using apps that allow me to save time by re-typing common phrases. With the use of multiple apps, I no longer have to edit text in every app to update a phrase or snippet, I can just update Typedesk.

mc_sumo

We're loving typedesk! It's easy to use, and saves us tons of time when it comes to sending emails to our customers. The variables work well, although we wish we could have alternate email addresses assigned to each user and be able to use them in variables.

sebfontan

I had been looking for something exactly like this for a while because others I've tried have disappointed me. I was beginning to think I would never find it.

Sumo-ling

this is a must-have tool for all company owners! huge time saver

masuk_sarker

Typedesk is a great tool, as you can answer fast and directly by copy and paste. It's not depending on the plattform as it's operating as an desktop app. To sum it up typedesk is really a little but great helper with more even potential.

nomorewords

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Outlook templates and canned responses.

Visit learning center

Can you create an email template in Outlook?

Yes. Outlook has My Templates and Quick Parts for reusable text, and you can save a full message as a template file. All three work only in Outlook, which is where Typedesk adds variables, team sharing, and cross-app use.

Why did my Outlook email templates disappear?

This usually happens after an update, a profile change, or switching between classic and new Outlook, since native templates are tied to the local app or profile. Keeping your templates in Typedesk avoids this because the library lives in your account and is not lost when the app changes.

Does Typedesk work in both Outlook desktop and Outlook on the web?

Yes. The desktop app covers classic Outlook, and the browser extension covers Outlook on the web, using the same shortcuts in both.

Are Outlook email templates free?

The native My Templates and Quick Parts features are included with Outlook. Typedesk adds shortcuts, variables, shared libraries, and use across every other app.

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