reply with template in outlook 2010

Question

As a continuous process to improve our customer service at our helpdesk I'm looking to integrate a functionality in our outlook so that we can reply to existing e-mails using outlook template's (.oft).

My search online mostly gave me results for auto-reply'ing. However this is not what I (we) need.

We are in need for a tool that enables us to select from a list of standard templates (with subject oriented reply's). http://replywith.4team.biz/ Gives a solution in the right direction, however, as with any company, we would like a free tool.

Is this programmable in VBA? And if so, how?

Answer 1

Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die.

Here is one small, untested, VBA sample based on http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ff865637.aspx

Sub CreateReplyFromTemplate() 

dim currItem  As Outlook.MailItem 
dim currItemReply  As Outlook.MailItem 
Dim MyItem As Outlook.MailItem 

set currItem = activeinspector.currentitem
Set curritemReply = currItem.Reply
Set MyItem = Application.CreateItemFromTemplate("C:\HelpTopic1.oft") 

MyItem.To = currItemReply.To
MyItem.htmlbody = MyItem.htmlbody  & currItemReply.htmlbody

currItemReply.close oldiscard
currItem.close  oldiscard

MyItem.Display 

set curritemReply = nothing
set MyItem = nothing
set currItem = nothing
End Sub

For ways of deploying the VbaProject.OTM file http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=28 or see if this works VbaProject.OTM deployment

Alternatively, the free version is built into Outlook.

Reply with a message template via Quick Steps - http://www.msoutlook.info/question/665

Working with message templates - http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/messagetemplates.htm

If training for this is available, the cost of one day of training for each person could be $300.00 or more.

Answer 2

Of course you can do that in VBA, but would you really want to? You can buy 10 licenses of that tool for $99.50. I don't know where you work, but at most software companies $99.50 will buy you about an hour worth of programmer's time (benefits included). You probably could have bought 1 license if you saved the time it took you to post this question.

Answer 3

Just to add to the answer above, in sub CreateReplyFromTemplate() instead of

Set curritemReply = currItem.Reply

Replace with

Set currItem = Application.ActiveExplorer().Selection(1)