Pre-written email message in OE

[brk1221]

Hi, I would like to create a new mail message in OE for sending to new and prospective customers. Instead of typing the same info each time and inserting our company logo and links etc. , How can I create one messages and save it to the Desktop to be used over and over?

Thanks
Tim

 

[donb01]

You could save it as a draft, and each time you need it just open it, copy all and paste into a new message. Type in the customer's address, name if you're doing that, and send away.

 

[smah]

Unfortnately, once you do that the draft is gone (it's now in sent items). The easy way is to start a new 'form' message (copy & paste the body text from one of your already sent items). Don't enter any recipients in the To: field. Then, use File, Save As... to save it to your desktop (or your documents or wherever outside of OE). Now anytime you want to send it, you really don't even need to open OE - just double click the saved form, add recipients, & send. You'll find that OE sends the message and your saved form is still saved, ready to be used again.

 

[brk1221]

Not sure I know what you mean by "form" message. If I create a new message, paste in body text, file, save as, "test". It saves a file calles test.eml. When I double-click it opens up but not ready to send. It displays as a "received" mail.

Thanks
Tim

 

[smah]

It should not be displaying as a 'recieved' mail. Try the exact same thing with a new mail message with new text and saved as 'test.eml'. Make sure it includes a subject, but no 'To:' address. I think that somehow the copy & paste from a sent message, is causing it to act that way.

By "form" message, I just meant this template/master document that you're trying to create.

 

[brk1221]

Still does not seem to work. Got the same results.

Also it I tested it on some other machines and found out that it works fine on Windows 2000 and Windows 98. Not on XP, but unfortunately the majority of the pc's are XP.

Thanks

 

[smah]

Well that's bizarre. I'm 90% certain that that worked on XP at some point, but I just tested on XP's with IE6, IE7, & IE8 and found that you're right- I guess that I should have checked first. Saving as stationary doesn't seem to work either. Without going to a third-party application, the only other thing that makes sense is to use donb01's suggestion (which I misread initially) - save a draft email, then copy & paste from that draft into the body of a new e-mail, thereby leaving the draft to use again.

 

[brk1221]

I also found a way creating a new shortcut and entering the following:

mailto:?subject=test&body=Thank You for your interest in our company.

This works but there seems to be limits to what you can put in the body. I can't seem to add graphics or hyperlinks.

Thanks
Tim

 

[donb01]

The comment I made about creating the message and saving it as a draft noted that you should open the draft message, copy the text into the clipboard and then close the draft message (which will not send it so it will not be gone). Then use New to open a new message and paste in the copy from the clipboard and change whatever personal greeting you need to.

The other person that suggested creating the message and saving it on the desktop should work too. If that doesn't, just create the message in Word and save it on the desktop. You can then double click on the file which will open it in word, then you can copy it from Word and paste it into a new E-mail that way.

I'm assuming what you are doing is fairly low volume. If you need something you can mass-produce I would suggest you look into Constant Contact or one of the other mail management systems.