Make Your Email More Efficient With Gmail Templates

Email templates let you type less and send faster. Ultimately, they can make you more efficient when composing messages. Gmail templates contain canned responses you can quickly insert into any email to fill out all the details you'd otherwise spend time writing with each new message. Here's how to use them.

How to Enable Canned Responses in Gmail

Before you can start using templates, enable them in Gmail, which you can do by using the Canned Response feature.

1. Click the Settings gear in the Gmail toolbar, it's located just below your image.

2. Select Settings.

3. Go to the Advanced tab (this used to be called Labs).

4. Go to the Canned Responses section and select Enable.

5. Select Save Changes.

How to Save a Message as a Gmail Template

While Gmail provides some pre-made templates, you can create and customize your own as well. Here's how to save an email for future use as a template in Gmail.

1. Compose your template message in Gmail. Leave the signature in place if you want it to appear in the template. You can leave the Subject and To fields empty since they are not saved.

2. Select More options (the three dots next to the Discard draft button in the lower-right corner of the email).

3. Select Canned responses, then choose New canned response.

4. Enter a descriptive name for your new template. It's also used as the subject of the message (though you can always change the subject once you've inserted the template).

5. Select OK to save the Gmail template.

How to Create a New Message or Reply Using a Gmail Template

Once you create your template, here's how to use it as a canned response or reply in Gmail.

1. Start a new message or reply, then select More options.

2. Choose Canned responses.

3. In the Insert section, select the desired template to immediately import that template into the message.

   Remember to fill out the To and Subject fields.

Gmail won't overwrite any existing text unless you highlight it before inserting the template. For example, you could type something manually and then insert a template message to include it after your custom text.

How to Edit a Message Template in Gmail

You might need to change your Gmail template at some point.

1. Press Compose to start a new email message, then go to More options > Canned Responses.

2. In the Insert section, choose the template you want to change and import it into your email message.

3. Make the desired changes to the template.

4. Select More options > Canned responses, choose the template you altered, then select Save.

5. In the Confirm overwrite canned response dialog box, select OK.