You probably use the same replies for standard email messages that you get every day, or every week. Here’s a tip for creating copies of draft messages, that saved me some time today.
I keep a collection of draft messages in Outlook 2013, and copy and paste paragraphs from those messages, to save time when replying to email. For example, if someone says that one of my sample files doesn’t work, I can use this message, as part of my reply.
Create a Draft Message
Today, I had to send a file to several people, and wanted to send each one individually. So, I created a draft message, with the subject line, file attachment, and the message body completed.
I saved that message, so it was stored in the Drafts folder. Then looked for a way to create copies, so I could send out the message several times, without a lot of copying and pasting. I just wanted to fill in the email address, and a personalized note at the top of each message.
Copy a Draft Message
Unfortunately, there’s no command for that, at least not that I could find, so I turned to my good friend, Google, to see what it could suggest. Fortunately, it found the MSOutlook Info site, run by MVP Robert Sparnaaij, and it had the answer.
Forward the Message
The website confirmed my suspicious that Outlook doesn’t have a built in way to send a copy of a draft, without removing the draft.
But, there was good news – you can use the Forward feature, to send a copy. I was dubious, because I didn’t want “FW:” to appear in the subject line. That would look spammy!
I followed the instructions, and it worked just fine, with no indication that I’d used a Forward. Here’s what I did, and you can click here to see Robert’s original post, which includes instructions for other versions of Outlook.
In Outlook 2013:
- Create and save a Draft email
- Open the Draft message
- Press Ctrl + F (shortcut for Forward), to create a copy of the email
NOTE: If the cursor is in the message body, the Find window will open, instead of creating a copy - Fill in the copy email address, and any other personalization
- Send the copy, and close the draft – or create another copy to work on.
I hope that helps you save some time!
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