Email Templates - Outlook 2007 - Keyboard

Creating an Email Form in Outlook 2007

Do you ever have to send emails containing pretty much the same content from time to time? If this is the case, you're probably used to going to Sent Items, opening the last relevant email, then amending it before you send it on to a new recipient. However, there is another way - you can create a suitable email template and store it in your Personal Forms Library. This is how you make it happen in Outlook 2007:

The Developer Tab

The Developer tab is an optional ribbon tab that contains a number of useful features, one of which - "publish form as" - you will need to access in this walkthrough. So, the first thing we need to do is check that you have your Developer Tab displayed in the ribbon:

1. Create a new email message with CONTROL N (from your Inbox) or CONTROL SHIFT M (from anywhere).
2. Tap the ALT key to move to the upper ribbon associated with the new message.
3. With focus on the Message Tab, press the LEFT ARROW to move to the Office button. Press the SPACEBAR.
4. In the Office button dialog box (containing the New, Open, Save options etc) press ALT I to open the Editor Options dialog box.
5. Focus will be on an option called Popular in a list of other categories. Ensure that Popular is indeed in focus then press TAB to move to the Working with Outlook settings.
6. Press the TAB key until you have focus on the Show Developer Tab in the Ribbon checkbox. Tick this checkbox using the SPACEBAR.
7. With the Show Developer Tab checkbox checked, press TAB to move around to the OK button and press the SPACEBAR to confirm.
8. Return to your document and move back to the upper ribbon. ARROW RIGHT along the upper ribbon and check that the Developer tab is present. If it is, you're ready to move on to the next part.

Now that you have the Developer Tab present in your ribbon you'll have access to the Publish option. So, let's go through creating an email template, storing it and accessing it via your Personal Forms Library:

Create an Email Form

1. Create a new message with CONTROL N or CONTROL SHIFT M.
2. Type in any recipient details in the To: field and input a typical subject line as necessary.
3. Type in all of the standard data (the stuff that needs to stay the same from message to message) as necessary. For example, you might need to include standard text such as:
• Contact Information
• Instructions
• Disclaimers
• Form Labels (Title, Address, Telephone etc)
4. After you have input your required text - and you have checked that it is laid out exactly as required - press ALT to move to the upper ribbon.
5. Move to the Developer Tab and press the DOWN ARROW to move to the lower ribbon.
6. Use the TAB key to move through the lower ribbon and focus on the Publish drop down button. Press SPACEBAR.
7. In the Publish drop down menu, highlight the Publish Form As option and press the ENTER key.
9. In the Publish dialog box, press the TAB key or use ALT L to move to the Look In combo box. Check that this is set to Personal Forms Library and press TAB to move back to the Display Name field.
10. In the Display Name field type in an appropriate name for your email message template.
11. Press TAB to move to the Publish button and press SPACEBAR to save.

Access the Message Form

With your form stored in the Personal Forms Library you can access it quickly and easily when required:

1. From your Inbox, move to the Menu Bar in Outlook 2007 with the ALT key.
2. Navigate to the Tools menu using the RIGHT ARROW key.
3. Open the Tools menu using the ENTER or DOWN ARROW key. Move down through the options in Tools and locate the Forms submenu.
4. Access the Forms submenu with the ENTER or RIGHT ARROW key. Highlight the Choose Form... option and press the ENTER key.
5. The Choose Form dialog box will now take focus, press ALT L to move to the Look In combo box. Set this to Personal Forms Library if it isn't already then TAB to the list of files stored there.
6. Browse the list of files and press ENTER on the specific file you need. This form will now open and take focus.
7. Fill in the additional details required to complete the email message and send it in the usual way.

Now, instead of copying and pasting or resending an already sent email or keeping body text in a separate document, you can set up a range of Outlook templates and load them in when you need to. Have fun!