Tips & Tricks
Need help customizing all of the features available with Email Templates? Below are a list of commonly used Tips and Tricks to help you get the most out of the package.
Getting Help
Creating Templates
What Is A Template
Addressing
Processing Multiple Messages
Reply To All
Reply Including Partial Text
Single Step Send
Rich Text and HTML Formatting
A Personal Touch
Messages To Contacts
Messages To Groups Of Contacts
Moving Processed Messages
Changing The subject Prefixes
Organize Templates
Scripting
Preaddressed Templates
Shared/Public Templates
Template Elements
Automatic Templates
Automatic Deferred Delivery
Activating More Than One Template
Asking Questions
Extensions
Changing The Subject
Message Attachments
Message Options
The Email Templates Help File may be accessed under Help \ Email Templates Help Topics in the Outlook menu bar.
To convert a message into a template, simply drag it into your Templates folder within Outlook. Alternatively, to create a new template, select Actions \ Email Templates \ Create New Template from the Outlook menu bar.
Templates are normal messages stored in a special Outlook folder that is normally named 'Templates'. You may modify templates just like you do with any other message.
Templates may contain addresses, which are copied into the messages created from them. Pre-addressed templates can be quite useful in cases when you send frequent messages to a particular person or mailing list.
Templates may be applied to more than one message at a time. Simply select (highlight) several messages and then select a template from the menu. A new message will be created for every message selected. To have the new messages go straight into the Outbox, hold down the Control key while selecting the template.
To use a Reply Template to reply to all the addressees of a message (i.e. not only to the sender), hold down the Shift key before applying the template.
Simply select (highlight) the section of the message you wish to include in your reply and then select a reply template from the menu. A new message will be created only inlcuding the text you wanted to include.
To have the message created by the template go straight into the Outbox (without first being displayed for approval), hold down the Control key while selecting the template.
Templates may contain Rich Text or HTML, which is reflected into the newly created message. You must select the corresponding checkbox under Tools \ Options \ Email Templates Options for this to happen.
The &sender_first_name; template element can automatically give a personal touch to template replies.
When you select a contact and activate a New Message Template, the newly created message is addressed to the contact.
To send a template message to a list of contacts, select the contacts, and then select a New Message Template from the menu. A new message will be created for each contact. To have the new messages go straight into the Outbox, hold down the Control key while selecting the template.
Use the 'et moveto' command to automatically move messages to a particular folder after applying a template to them. For instance, you can have reply templates move answered messages to a 'Replied To' folder after replying to them.
To change the text before the subject of a Reply Template (Re:) or a Forward Template (Fw:), go to Tools \ Options \ Email Templates Options.
If you have a long list of templates, consider creating subfolders under the templates folders, and re-organizing the templates inside them. The subfolders will appear as submenus in the template menus.
Email Templates scripts can automate about every email task you can think of. For more information on scripting, please consult the help file under Help \ Email Templates Help Topics in the Outlook menu bar.
When creating a template for a message you send to the same person over and over, you can make the message header information (To, Cc, and Subject) a part of the template. Once in the template, this information never has to be retyped into each mail message you send.
Public Templates are used to share templates with other members of your Workgroup. To setup Public Templates, put the templates in a Public Folder, and then select that folder under Tools \ Options \ Email Templates Options \ Public Templates.
For a list of template elements, please refer to the Introduction to Templates section of the Email Template's help file. The help file may be accessed under Help \ Email Templates Help Topics in the Outlook menu bar.
Email Templates may be automatically activated through the Outlook Inbox Rules Wizard. They are available as a 'custom action' within the wizard. (Note: Custom actions are not supported in Outlook XP).
If you would like to defer delivery of a message until a later time, use the 'et defer' command (e.g. 'et defer 2 days'). This feature is quite useful for automatically sending follow-up messages to previously sent messages.
Use the 'et redirect' command to activate more than one template with a single click (i.e. through a single template).
Use the &input.value; template element to prompt for information. The element will then be substituted with the entered text everywhere it is used in the template.
Email Templates Extensions are specialized scripts entered in the Extensions subfolder of the Templates folder. They can provide additional template elements and other functionality. Please take a look at some of our sample extensions.
To set a different subject into a message created by a Reply or Forward Template, consider using the 'et set subject' command.
To include the attachments of the original message into a message created by a template, use the &attachments; template element.
When creating a new template, check the message Options (in the Outlook toolbar) for options such as 'Importance', 'Sensitivity', 'Reply To', etc..