Do you have a chunk of text you type quite a bit in Outlook that you’d rather not have to retype all the time or copy and paste it from a previous email? Save yourself a bunch of time by using Quick Parts.

Available since Outlook 2007, Quick Parts are saved blocks of text you can re-use in multiple emails, and it’s easy to use.

First, type up the text you plan on re-using and then highlight what you want to turn into a reusable block.

Click on the “Insert” tab and select the “Quick Parts” drop down, selecting “Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery”

Give the chunk of text a name and hit “OK”.

To insert that bit of text again in an email, go back to the “Insert” menu, select the “Quick Parts” and then you’ll see your quick part. Select it to insert it into your document:

Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy way to edit Quick Parts. You basically have to insert one, save to a new name, and delete the old one (right click on the Quick Part you’re trying to edit and select “Organize and Delete” to get into the area to delete them). But this is still a great way to save a ton of time on cookie-cutter e-mails.

Microsoft Word also has a Quick Parts menu under their Insert tab that can be used to insert text, document properties, images, etc… . For me, Outlook was the biggest time saver (as I spend more time in Outlook than Word) but the process is very similar, in case the need arises.