Then we learned to copy and paste. It was awkward, and it was not much faster than typing; it worked, though, and felt much better.
Now we click. It's still the same canned reply, of course, but now Gmail stores and inserts it.
Set Up and Use Email Templates in Gmail
To enable message templates in Gmail:
- Follow the Settings link in Gmail.
- Go to Labs.
- Make sure Enable is selected for Canned Responses.
- Click Save Changes.
Save a Message as a Template in Gmail
To save an email for future use as a template in Gmail:
- Compose the message in Gmail.
- Do leave the signature in place if you want it to appear in messages sent using the template.
- You can leave both the Subject: and To: fields empty. They are not saved together with the template. (The subject, if you enter one, is suggested for the template name, though.)
- Click Canned responses (beneath the Subject line).
- Select New canned response... under Save.
- Type the desired name for your template.
- Click OK.
Create a New Message or Reply Using a Template in Gmail
To send a canned message or reply:
- Start a new message or reply.
- Click Canned responses.
- Select the desired template under Open.
- If prompted to overwrite what you have already typed in your message (and if you indeed want to replace it with the boilerplate text), click OK.
- Make sure you fill the To: and Subject: fields.
- Edit the message as needed and click Send.
Note that Gmail will overwrite the entire message with your template. This includes any quoted text from the original email when you reply.
Have Gmail Send the Canned Replies for You
Using message filters, you can make Gmail reply with a template automatically.
Edit a Message Template in Gmail
To change a template's content:
- Start with a new message.
- Click Canned responses.
- Select the desired template under Open.
- Make the desired changes to the message.
- Click Canned responses again.
- Select the same template as before, but under Save.
- Click OK.
