How to Use Email Templates and Canned Responses for Repeat Replies

If you have typed the same directions, the same price list or the same "we received your application" five times, you are ready for templates. Every mainstream mail app has a way to store reusable text; none of them require extra software. This guide shows where the feature lives in each app, which replies to template first, and how to keep the result sounding like a person.

Quick summary

• Outlook desktop: Quick Parts (Insert, Quick Parts, Save Selection) for blocks of text, or save a whole message as an Outlook Template (.oft) via File, Save As. New Outlook and Outlook.com have My Templates under the Apps button in compose.
• Gmail (if you route your domain through it): Settings, Advanced, enable Templates; then in compose, three dots, Templates, Save draft as template.
• Thunderbird: write the message, then File, Save As, Template. It appears in a Templates folder; double-click to open a copy.
• Apple Mail: no native templates. Use a signature as a template (Mail, Settings, Signatures) or macOS Text Replacement (System Settings, Keyboard) for short blocks.
• Webmail: many clients let you save a draft and reuse it; some have a Templates or Canned Responses section under Settings, Compose. Check your host's settings page.

Where templates live in each app

• Outlook desktop: Quick Parts (Insert, Quick Parts, Save Selection) for blocks of text, or save a whole message as an Outlook Template (.oft) via File, Save As. New Outlook and Outlook.com have My Templates under the Apps button in compose.
• Gmail (if you route your domain through it): Settings, Advanced, enable Templates; then in compose, three dots, Templates, Save draft as template.
• Thunderbird: write the message, then File, Save As, Template. It appears in a Templates folder; double-click to open a copy.
• Apple Mail: no native templates. Use a signature as a template (Mail, Settings, Signatures) or macOS Text Replacement (System Settings, Keyboard) for short blocks.
• Webmail: many clients let you save a draft and reuse it; some have a Templates or Canned Responses section under Settings, Compose. Check your host's settings page.
• Any app: a plain text file or note with your standard paragraphs works surprisingly well, and it survives switching apps.

Which replies to template first

1. Acknowledgements: "We received your message and will reply within one working day."
2. Directions, opening hours, parking, what to bring.
3. Pricing and quote scaffolds: the structure stays, the numbers change.
4. Invoice sends and payment reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days.
5. Application received, interview invitation, polite rejection.
6. Onboarding for a new customer: what happens next, who to contact.
7. The "we cannot help with that, but try..." reply that every business sends weekly.

Write templates that do not sound like templates

• Leave three blanks: the name, one sentence specific to their message, and the next step with a date. Fill all three every time.
• Write in the voice of the person sending, not a corporate voice. Read it aloud once.
• Keep them short. A template that is longer than the reply you would have typed is a sign it is trying to cover too many cases; split it.
• Mark the placeholders visibly, such as [NAME] and [DATE], so a half-edited template is obvious before send.
• Review them every quarter. Prices, staff names and opening hours drift.

Templates on a shared mailbox

Store shared templates where the whole team can reach them: a Templates folder in the shared support@ mailbox works on any IMAP client, because folders sync to every device. Each person opens the template message, uses Edit as New or Forward, removes the forward header, personalises and sends. On OquMail the shared mailbox is a normal free mailbox with webmail, so the Templates folder is visible to everyone who has it added.

Automate the ones that need no judgement

A receipt, an appointment confirmation or a "we got your form" is a template with no human decision in it. Those belong in your system, sent through a transactional API the moment the event happens. OquMail's send API takes a POST with from, to, subject and html, authenticated with a Bearer key, and logs each delivery. Keep people for the replies that need a person.

Common questions

Do templates sync between my phone and computer?

Outlook's My Templates sync with the account; Gmail templates are server-side; Thunderbird's Templates folder is on the IMAP server so any app can open it. Quick Parts and Apple Mail signatures are local to that computer.

Can a template include an attachment?

Outlook .oft files and Thunderbird template messages can carry attachments. For anything larger than a couple of megabytes, put a link in the template instead so the file stays current and mailboxes stay small.

How many templates is too many?

When you cannot find the one you need faster than typing the reply. Ten to fifteen well-named templates cover most small businesses. Name them by the situation ("Quote follow-up 7 days"), not by content.