Outlook opens Stationery files as blank email

To anyone else facing a similar problem I think I have found a workaround. Open 'New Email Message Using' and right click, then select 'Add to Quick Access Toolbar'.

Once done this will create a shortcut to add templates within the window quick access toolbar at the top of your Outlook window;

From here I was able to open my templates without issue. Hope that might helps someone else as I have been playing with this for ages looking for a solution.

Is there any update to this issue? We have users in our organization that are still unable to create emails using Stationary.

Hi, Eleni,
Unfortunately, those actions didn't solve my problem, but I hope Microsoft will fix this bug soon.

Thaank you!

Greetings Oksana_2023,

This is a current bug in Microsoft Office.

More details can be found in this post: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/outlook/stationery-not-loading/m-p/3969536/highlight/true#M18666

There are two options to get the background image working in new emails.

1. Create a template and use a shortcut on your desktop to create new emails with the stationery image working.
2. Revert Office to a version before the bug was active.
   • The last known working version is 16.0.16827.20166

Microsoft appears to be aware of this bug, and hopefully they will resolve it soon.

Take Care.

Dear Oksana_2023,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community. It will be a pleasure working with you,

Outlook opens stationery files as blank email. This seems to be a known issue that many Outlook users have reported after a recent update. There are a few possible solutions that you can try to fix this problem. Here are some suggestions:

• One possible reason for this issue is that Outlook is configured to include original message text only when replying or forwarding an email. This means that the stationery is not included in the reply or forward, and it is removed from the original message as well. To fix this, you can change the Replies and forwards mail settings as follows: Open the Outlook app. Click on the File menu in the top left corner. Click on Options. Select Mail from the left pane. Under Replies and forwards, set the following options: When replying to a message - Attach original message When forwarding a message - Include original message text Click OK to save the changes.
• Another possible reason for this issue is that Outlook is not showing the stationery in the message list or reading pane. This means that you can only see the stationery icon, but not the actual stationery. To fix this, you can enable the inline previews for stationery as follows: Open the Outlook app. Click on the View tab in the top menu bar. Click on Reading Pane in the Layout group. Select Options from the drop-down menu. Under Attachment and pictures, check the box for Show attachments in message list and Show attachment preview in reading pane Click OK to save the changes.
• If none of the above methods work, you may need to repair your Outlook datafiles or reinstall your Outlook app. Sometimes, corrupted or outdated files can cause issues with opening stationery files. To repair your Outlook data files, you can use the Inbox Repair tool (scanpst.exe) that is included in your Office installation folder.

I hope this helps you resolve the issue with opening stationery files as blank email.

To notify us and have us get back to you, simply reply to this post.

Thank you,

Microsoft Community