Save Time and Typing with Outlook Quick Parts

If you find yourself using the same — or very similar — text in email messages, then learning to use the Outlook Quick Parts feature will help you increase your productivity.

Quick Parts is available in both Outlook 2007 and 2010 and allows you to save and reuse snippets of both text and images for easy reuse. Instead of retyping the information each time, simply use Quick Parts. It is very simple to set up and use.

Setting up Quick Parts

1. Create a new email by either typing CTRL-N or clicking on the New E-mail icon in the ribbon.
2. In the body of the message, type the text that you will be saving as a Quick Part.
3. Select the text that you want to save.
4. From the Insert tab, in the Text group, select the Quick Parts dropdown button and select the Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery option. The Create New Building Block dialog box will appear.
5. Add a name for your new Quick Parts and fill in any other information you would like.

 

Adding Quick Parts to Your Email

It is very easy to add Quick Parts to an email.

1. Create a new email message as described above.
2. In the message body of the email, place the insertion point where you want to add the Quick Part.
3. From the Insert Tab, in the Text group, select Quick Parts and the desired Quick Part from the list. The Quick Part will appear in the body of the message beginning where you placed the insertion point.
4. Finish your email, customizing anything necessary, and click Send.

Another Tip

If you type the name of the Quick Part (it does not have to be the whole exact name) in the body of an email, then press the F3 key, the Quick Part will be inserted where the cursor is located without having to use the mouse.

Every time you reduce the number of keystrokes you have to use, your productivity increases. What other Outlook productivity tips do you use? Please share them with us in the comments section below.