How to get email templates and quick replies in Outlook with Text Lightning
Use the free Text Lightning add-in for Outlook to insert saved email templates with one double-click, fill in the recipient's first name automatically, attach standard files, and copy a sender's email, name or subject in one click.
By Nur Islam- 3:58 video
- 6 steps
Jump to a step (6)
Customer service, sales and HR staff send the same kinds of emails all day. Retyping greetings, reattaching the same files and copying sender details by hand adds up, and small mistakes like the wrong name slip in.
Text Lightning adds a Quick Text sidebar to the Outlook compose window. Each template can hold text, variables such as the recipient's first name, and file attachments. Some templates can be files only, which is handy for documents you send often.
It also adds copy buttons that grab the sender's email address, name or subject from a message you are reading or replying to.
What you need
- Outlook on your computer
- The free Text Lightning add-in, downloaded from the developer's website
- Your common replies and any files you attach often
Step by step
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01
Open the Quick Text sidebar
Open a new email or a reply and click Quick Text to open the Text Lightning sidebar. It lists your saved templates. Some contain text, some text plus a file, and some only a file.
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02
Insert a template with the recipient's name
Add the recipient to the To field first. Then double-click a template, for example
Feedback Request. The text is inserted, any attached file is added, and the greeting picks up the recipient's first name because the template uses a name variable.This also works on replies. Reply to a message, open Quick Text and double-click a template; the greeting uses the sender's name automatically.
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03
Use a file-only template for attachments
For files you send often, create a template that contains only the file. Double-clicking it adds the attachment and no text, so you can write the rest of the email yourself.
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04
Create a new template
Open Text Lightning and choose New Text. Pick Text (you can still attach a file to a text template) and click Next.
Paste your draft, then click Edit Text. Place the cursor after
Hi, open Fields and double-click the first-name field so the recipient's name is filled in. At the end, add your own name with the My Full Name or My First Name field. Save and click Next.On the attachment page, add a file if the template should always include one, or skip it. Name the template (the video uses
Subscribe) and click Finish. -
05
Test the new template
Compose a new email, add a recipient, open Quick Text and double-click the new template. Check that the recipient's first name appears after the greeting and your name appears in the sign-off.
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06
Copy the sender's email, name or subject
Use the add-in's Copy menu to choose Copy Email, Copy Name or Copy Subject, then paste where you need it. This works in a reply window and in the main Outlook window when a message is selected.
Tips and common problems
- Add the recipient before inserting a template. The name variable is filled from the To field, so an empty To field means no name.
- Templates can carry attachments. Use a file-only template for a brochure or form you send all the time.
- The copy buttons work from the main Outlook window too, so you can grab a sender's address without opening the message.
Related video
For another Outlook add-in that tracks deliveries and read receipts, see Get email read receipts and track email deliveries in Outlook.
Questions
How do I create email templates in Outlook that include the recipient's name?
With Text Lightning, add a first-name field to the template text. When you insert the template after adding a recipient, the add-in fills in that person's first name.
Can an Outlook template attach a file automatically?
Yes. In Text Lightning you can add a file when creating a template, and it is attached whenever you insert that template. You can also make templates that contain only a file.
Is Text Lightning free?
Yes. The video presents Text Lightning as a free Outlook add-in, downloaded from the developer's website.
