Templates for new messages

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jonathan Finney
  • Start date Start date
J

Jonathan Finney

I'm using: Outlook 2003/Windows XP Pro SP2/SBS2003/Exchange

My current method for creating a message 'template' involves keeping a copy
of it in a public folder with the required fields left blank. It works OK
but the template has to be copied and pasted first so we don't lose it.

I'm sure Outlook has a better way of doing this, but have never found one.

Any ideas?

JF.
 
It's not clear what you're actually storing as a "template" -- a draft message? If so, what about forwarding it? What's the purpose of this "template"?
 
Thanks for replying, Sue.

Yes, they're drafts and the purpose is to save having to type 'boilerplate'
text, but it also saves having to fill in the Subject field, too. In some
cases I'll leave the recipients in the To and Cc fields as well.

Forwarding would work but the recipient would see it as a forwarded message
which isn't really the correct use of a Forward since the original message
is a 'dummy'. This would cause many problems.

My most common use for these 'templates' is when sending invoices and
statements, chasing payments etc.

Hope this helps to clarify the question.

JF.



It's not clear what you're actually storing as a "template" -- a draft
message? If so, what about forwarding it? What's the purpose of this
"template"?
 
Did you actually try forwarding? If the message is unsent, forwarding creates a new copy just like the original.
 
Er, no.

I'd better give it a try.

Is this the normal way you'd handle this problem then?

JF.

Did you actually try forwarding? If the message is unsent, forwarding
creates a new copy just like the original.
 
If you have a public folder where everyone knows to look for such templates, yes, it's a good solution. If you don't, then .oft files saved in a network share would also work.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54
 
I tried the Forwarding suggestion, but the signature that correctly gets
added to Forwards and Replies then has to be deleted, so I'd argue that the
method I was using was actually slighntly better. I can see that both
methods have their strengths/weaknesses, but neither is ideal.

Your suggetion of using an .oft file in a shared location sounds much
better. I'll try this.

Is it possible to access these templates from within Outlook in the same way
that we do at the moment (IE a public folder) or would we have to browse to
the template folder outside of Outlook?

JF.
If you have a public folder where everyone knows to look for such templates,
yes, it's a good solution. If you don't, then .oft files saved in a network
share would also work.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54
 
I couldn't save the draft as a template from its own File,Save As command
whilst open as the OFT format isn't available, but with the Draft closed and
highlighted in the list window it can be saved from the File,Save As on the
main Outlook command bar. I then saved it to my desktop and dragged it to
the Templates public folder.

No problem and the template opens up into a message without having to copy
it first and no unwanted signature to delete. So it looks like it's
'problem solved'.

...except the OFT file doesn't show in the preview pane which means that the
only way to select a template is by the Subject field, the contents of which
is what I want the recipient to see and is not much help to distinguish
between a set of templates that have the same Subject field.

What a pity. Looks like it's back to my original method. Not ideal as I
stated in my original post, but it has fewer drawbacks and is ultimately
easier to live with.

It seems daft to me that such a basic feature isn't available in Outlook
already. Surely the ability to browse a set of pre-defined message
templates is something that most business users would find useful. Maybe
there's something by way of an add-in at Slipstick - I'm sure Russ
Valentine's been asked for this before.

If you know of any alternative or a way to achieve this or show the
template's contents in a view window. Please let me know.

Thanks for all your help, Sue.

JF.

I've never tried storing and launching .oft files from a public folder, so
you'll have to give that a go yourself.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54
 
I couldn't save the draft as a template from its own File,Save As command
whilst open as the OFT format isn't available
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need to turn off Word as the email editor before creating the draft.
..except the OFT file doesn't show in the preview pane
Click to expand...

That's normal and expected. It's a file, not an Outlook item.

Many people use AutoText in Word or tools like EmailTemplates to manage boilerplate text and messages.
 
Thanks Mike.

Actually, Outlook 2003 does allow the saving of templates as the article to
which you pointed starts by saying. The problem is that I can't preview the
body text of the templates (see my reply to Sue Mosher above, 05 Jun) so
it's not much use.

JF.
 

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