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where are my templates in outlook

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Where Are My Templates in Outlook?

If you’ve created Outlook email templates and now can’t find them, you’re not alone. Outlook actually has several kinds of “templates,” and each one lives in a different place. Knowing which kind you’re using is the key.

1. Classic Outlook for Windows (.oft templates)

These are the traditional full email templates you save as files.

How to open your saved templates

  1. Open Outlook (classic desktop, not “New Outlook”).
  2. Go to the Home tab.
  3. Click New Items.
  4. Choose More Items → Choose Form….
  5. In the Look in drop-down, select User Templates in File System.
  6. Your saved templates should appear there; pick one and click Open.

This is the most common place people “lose” their templates: they expect them in the normal email list, but Outlook hides them behind Choose Form.

Where the .oft files live on your PC

By default, Outlook stores .oft template files in a special folder in your Windows profile:

  • C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates [][][]

You can:

  • Open File Explorer.
  • Paste that path (change [YourUsername] to your actual Windows username).
  • You should see multiple .oft files if you’ve saved templates. [][][]

Tip: Pin this folder to Quick access in File Explorer so you can get there fast. [][]

2. “My Templates” add‑in (Outlook 365 / New Outlook / web)

If you’re using New Outlook or Outlook 365, you may not see .oft templates at all. These versions lean heavily on the My Templates add‑in, which stores templates in your mailbox (cloud), not as files. [][][]

How to access “My Templates”

  1. Start a new email or reply.
  2. On the ribbon, look for My Templates (often under Insert or in the message toolbar “Apps” area).
  3. If you don’t see it:
    • Click Get Add-ins or Apps.
    • Search for My Templates and add/enable it.
  4. Once enabled, click My Templates and a pane will appear on the right with your saved snippets. [][][]

These templates are short, reusable blocks of text (great for quick replies) and travel with your account across devices. []

3. Quick Parts / AutoText (mini-templates inside Outlook)

Sometimes what you think of as “templates” might actually be Quick Parts or AutoText. These are saved content blocks you can insert into emails.

How to use Quick Parts

  1. In a new email, type the text you want to reuse.
  2. Highlight it.
  3. Go to Insert → Quick Parts → Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
  4. Give it a name and save. [][]

To reuse it:

  • In a new message, go to Insert → Quick Parts → choose your saved entry. []

These are stored in a file called NormalEmail.dotm in the same templates folder (…\Microsoft\Templates), but you don’t open them directly from the file system; you always access them from the Insert → Quick Parts menu. [][]

4. Why your templates “disappeared” after switching to New Outlook

If you recently switched from Classic Outlook to New Outlook , here’s what likely happened:

  • Your old .oft files still exist in
    C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates.
  • New Outlook doesn’t automatically show them in a built-in dialog like Choose Form.
  • You can still open them by:
    • Navigating to that folder in File Explorer.
    • Double‑clicking a .oft file, which opens the template in New Outlook.

Some users also create a shortcut or pin that folder so they can quickly open templates from there.

5. Quick checklist: “Where are my templates in Outlook?”

Use this mini checklist to figure out where to look:

  1. Classic Outlook desktop and you saved as .oft
    • Use: Home → New Items → More Items → Choose Form → User Templates in File System.
 * Or look in: `C:\Users\[You]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates`. [][][]
  1. New Outlook or Outlook 365 (no .oft visible)
    • Use the My Templates pane from the ribbon or via Get Add-ins → My Templates. [][][]
  2. You used Quick Parts instead of full templates
    • Use: Insert → Quick Parts in a new email to find your saved entries. [][]

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.