How to reply in HTML format automatically in Outlook?
In daily email communication using Microsoft Outlook, maintaining consistent formatting across your replies is important for readability and ensuring your messages are professionally presented. By default, Outlook allows you to customize the format of new emails to HTML, but when replying to received messages, Outlook follows the original format of the incoming message, which could be plain text, rich text, or HTML. This behavior sometimes leads to replies lacking advanced formatting features, such as font styles, images, or hyperlinks, if the original email was not sent in HTML format. This article provides practical solutions for users seeking to reply in HTML format automatically, highlighting methods for manual conversion, utility-based automation, and VBA customization, so your replies always retain the desired formatting quality.
Reply in HTML format manually with formatting
Always reply in HTML format automatically with Kutools for Outlook
Reply in HTML format automatically with VBA
Change default message formatting settings in Outlook
Reply in HTML format manually with formatting
If you need to convert the format of a reply from Plain Text or Rich Text to HTML in Outlook, you can do so easily during the reply process. This technique is especially useful if you want to add formatting, links, tables, or images to your reply for better visual impact or functionality.
Begin by selecting the email message you wish to respond to. Then, click the Reply button located on the Home tab in newer versions of Outlook, or within the Toolbar in Outlook 2007. A separate reply window will open based on the original format of the received email.
Next, switch the reply’s format to HTML. On the Format Text tab, choose HTML. In Outlook 2007, this option can be found under the Options tab. Switching to HTML unlocks features like colored text, embedded images, formatted tables, and hyperlinks.
Once you have chosen HTML as your format, the reply window immediately updates so your message supports advanced formatting. Now you can compose your reply as desired. When finished, click Send to deliver your email in HTML format.
Tip: If you notice formatting options are unavailable, make sure you have actually switched to HTML format as described, since Plain Text replies do not allow rich formatting. If the "HTML" option is greyed out, check whether your Outlook security and add-ins settings are restricting message formats.
Note: This method is manual and only sets the format for each individual reply. For users who frequently require HTML replies, consider the automated approaches described below for efficiency.
Always reply in HTML format automatically with Kutools for Outlook
For those who regularly communicate using HTML formatting and want a consistent reply experience, Kutools for Outlook offers the Fixed Reply Formatting utility. This function allows you to designate a preferred reply format (HTML, plain text, or rich text). Once set, all future replies will use the selected format automatically, eliminating the need to manually switch formats for each message.
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To enable this feature, navigate to the Kutools Plus tab, select Utilities, choose Fixed Reply Formatting, then click on Set Reply Formatting.
Within the Set Reply Formatting dialog box, select HTML and confirm by clicking OK. This ensures that every reply window opens with HTML as the default format.
After setting your preference, activate it by going to Fixed Formatting > Fixed Reply Formatting > Enable Fixed Reply Formatting under the Kutools Plus tab. This ensures the utility remains effective for all your future replies.
From now on, Outlook will automatically reply to all emails in HTML format, simplifying the process for frequent users. This setting is especially helpful for business users who need professional and uniform email formatting across all correspondence.
Additional hints: If at any time you need to switch back to a different format, just revisit the above options and select your preferred format. Remember, when using Kutools for Outlook, all of your replies—whether responding to plain text, rich text, or already HTML messages—will be standardized in HTML unless you manually change the setting. This consistency is beneficial but may not be desirable if you need to preserve original sender formatting (for legal or technical reasons).
If you wish to try out this utility, you can download Kutools for Outlook for a 30-day free trail, install it, and follow the steps above to set up Fixed Reply Formatting. The process is straightforward and designed for immediate productivity enhancement.
Reply in HTML format automatically with VBA
Advanced Outlook users may prefer to automate reply formatting using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). This method enables you to reply to messages with HTML formatting, regardless of the initial received format, and can be extended or customized as desired.
To begin, select the email message you wish to reply to in HTML format. Press the Alt + F11 keys to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
Next, click Insert > Module to add a new code module.
Copy and paste the code provided below into the new module window:
Sub AlwaysReplyInHTML()
Dim oSelection As Outlook.Selection
Dim oItem As Object
'Get the selected item
Select Case TypeName(Application.ActiveWindow)
Case "Explorer"
Set oSelection = Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection
If oSelection.Count > 0 Then
Set oItem = oSelection.Item(1)
Else
MsgBox "Please select an item first!", vbCritical, "Reply in HTML"
Exit Sub
End If
Case "Inspector"
Set oItem = Application.ActiveInspector.CurrentItem
Case Else
MsgBox "Unsupported Window type." & vbNewLine & "Please select or open an item first.", _
vbCritical, "Reply in HTML"
Exit Sub
End Select
Dim oMsg As Outlook.MailItem
Dim oMsgReply As Outlook.MailItem
Dim bPlainText As Boolean
'Change the message format and reply
If oItem.Class = olMail Then
Set oMsg = oItem
If oMsg.BodyFormat = olFormatPlain Then
bPlainText = True
End If
oMsg.BodyFormat = olFormatHTML
Set oMsgReply = oMsg.Reply
If bIsPlainText = True Then
oMsg.BodyFormat = olFormatPlain
End If
oMsg.Close (olSave)
oMsgReply.Display
'Selected item isn't a mail item
Else
MsgBox "No message item selected. Please select a message first.", _
vbCritical, "Reply in HTML"
Exit Sub
End If
'Cleanup
Set oMsgReply = Nothing
Set oMsg = Nothing
Set oItem = Nothing
Set oSelection = Nothing
End SubOnce the code is added, if you want to reply only to this selected message in HTML format, simply press the F5 key to run the code. This will open a reply window with HTML formatting enabled, ready for editing and sending the reply.
2.2) Select Project1.AlwaysReplyInHTML from the command list;
2.3) Click Add to include the macro in your toolbar;
2.4) Click OK to confirm your changes. See screenshot:
icon. To use it, select the relevant email and click your custom toolbar button, which automatically opens an HTML-formatted reply.
Parameter considerations: Pay attention to macro security settings in Outlook; ensure macros are enabled or digitally signed to avoid execution errors. If you encounter any issues running the macro (such as permissions prompts or disabled buttons), check your Outlook trust center settings and macro security options. Always save your work before making changes with VBA to prevent data loss.
Change default message formatting settings in Outlook
Although Outlook replies in the format of the original email by default, you can set your default compose format for new messages to HTML, even if this does not affect replies. This approach is useful for sending new emails, but does not override reply behavior or received message format. To change this setting, go to File > Options > Mail > Compose messages and choose HTML as the default format. While this helps with new message consistency, for replies, use one of the other methods shown above.
Summary and troubleshooting suggestions: If your replies do not appear in HTML format after following these steps, verify your Outlook version and check for any account policies or add-ins that might restrict formatting changes. For enterprise and shared mailbox environments, system-wide policies may override user preferences. Experiment with the manual switch or automation options above to find what best fits your workflow. Whether you select manual formatting, automate with Kutools, utilize VBA scripts, or adjust message settings, these solutions will help streamline professional communication with consistent HTML formatting in Outlook replies.
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