How to create email templates in Gmail (and use them everywhere)

You write the same emails every week. The onboarding reply. The "here is your invoice" note. The polite decline. Gmail templates store those once, so you stop retyping them. This guide covers how to turn templates on, create them, insert them, and edit or delete them. Then where they stop working, and how to reuse the same text in every app instead of only Gmail. For a handful of standard replies on desktop, Gmail templates are enough. The moment you pick up your phone or leave Gmail, it gets interesting. More on that below.

Gmail calls this feature Templates. The older name was Canned Responses, so you still see both terms in help articles and forum threads. Same feature, one renamed.

You use Outlook instead of Gmail? Check out our guide for Outlook quick parts!

Turn on templates in Gmail

Templates are off by default. You have to switch them on once in settings.

1. Open Gmail on desktop and click the gear icon in the top right.
2. Click See all settings.
3. Open the Advanced tab.
4. Find Templates and select Enable.
5. Scroll down and click Save changes.

Gmail reloads. The feature is now available inside the compose window.

Create a template

1. Click Compose to start a new email.
2. Write the text you want to reuse. Skip the recipient and subject if you want a clean body template.
3. Click the three dots (More options) in the bottom right of the compose window.
4. Hover over Templates, then Save draft as template.
5. Click Save as new template.
6. Give it a name and confirm.

Your template is saved to your Google account and ready to insert.

Insert a template

1. Click Compose.
2. Click the three dots (More options) in the compose window.
3. Hover over Templates and pick the one you want.

Gmail drops the saved text into the email body. Add the recipient, adjust anything specific, and send.

Edit or overwrite a template

Gmail has no separate edit screen. You overwrite the old version with a new draft.

1. Insert the template you want to change.
2. Edit the text in the compose window.
3. Click the three dots, hover over Templates, then Save draft as template.
4. Under Overwrite template, click the name of the existing template.

Gmail replaces the old version with your edited one.

Delete a template

1. Open a compose window.
2. Click the three dots, then Templates.
3. Under Delete template, click the one you want to remove.

Deleted templates do not come back, so check the name before you confirm.

Where Gmail templates stop working

Gmail templates handle a small set of standard replies well. The limits show up fast once your work spreads across more tools.

• They live inside Gmail on desktop. Open the Gmail app on your phone and your templates are gone. Google does not offer them in the Android or iPhone app.
• They work in Gmail only. Switch to Outlook, Apple Mail, Slack, your CRM, a support tool, or a web form, and you are back to retyping or copy-pasting from a notes file.
• Static text only. A Gmail template has no fill-in fields. Every changing part, the customer name, the order number, today's date, you edit by hand each time.
• Tied to one account. Templates are personal. Sharing a standard reply across your support or sales team means someone copies text and rebuilds it in each account.
• A ceiling on how many you keep. Google publishes no official cap, but users report a limit around 50 saved templates per account. Worth verifying against current Google documentation if you plan a large library.

Use your templates everywhere with Typinator

Typinator stores your reusable text on your device and types it into any app. You assign a short trigger, called an abbreviation, and the full text appears the moment you type it. Type `;inv` in Gmail and your invoice reply appears. Type the same `;inv` in Outlook, Slack, a Jira ticket, or a web form, and you get the exact same text. The trigger works everywhere you type.

Advantages of Typinator:

• Every app. Gmail in the browser, Apple Mail, Outlook, Slack, your CRM, help-desk tools, web forms. Anywhere you type.
• Fill-in fields and variables. Build an input form for the parts that change, so a name, date, or order number drops in as you expand.
• Team sets. Share a set of replies with your team through iCloud, a NAS, or a folder in your own network. ergonis runs no snippet server, so your content stays on infrastructure you control.
• iOS companion. The same abbreviations work on iPhone and iPad. The iOS app needs a Mac/ Windows PC and syncs through iCloud.
• Built for large libraries. Thousands of abbreviations expand at full speed, no ceiling around 50.

Typinator is your privacy-first text expander. Your text stays local on your device. ergonis runs no cloud backend and has no access to your content. Typinator comes from ergonis, an ISO 27001 certified EU company, GDPR compliant. For support teams in legal, medical, or finance, that is often what decides whether a tool gets approved at all.

Typinator is available for Windows and macOS.

Gmail templates vs Typinator

Which one fits you

Stay with Gmail templates if you only email from desktop Gmail and you keep a handful of standard replies. Use Typinator if you write across more than one app, work from your phone, need fill-in fields for the parts that change, or want to share a set of replies with your team.

Try it on your own replies:

Install the free Typinator trial and type your first reply in Gmail, Outlook, and everywhere else you write.

Getting started with Typinator? Check this out!

FAQ

What is the difference between Gmail templates and canned responses?

They are the same feature. Google renamed Canned Responses to Templates. Older guides use the old name, newer ones use Templates.

How many templates can you save in Gmail?

Google publishes no official limit. Users report a ceiling around 50 saved templates per account. Verify against current Google documentation before you plan a large library.

Do Gmail templates work on the mobile app?

No. Templates work in desktop Gmail only. The Android and iPhone Gmail apps do not offer them.

Can you use Gmail templates in other apps?

No. They work inside Gmail. For the same text in Outlook, Slack, a CRM, or a web form, you need a system-wide tool like Typinator.

How do you edit a Gmail template?

Insert the template, edit the text, then save it back over the same name under Save draft as template, Overwrite template.

What works everywhere instead of Gmail templates?

Typinator. It stores your text on your device and types it into any app, with fill-in fields and team sharing.