Classic Email Templates are created in Setup, not in the Lightning email composer. The flow below covers the standard path. The exact fields you fill depend on which of the four types you choose at the start.
- Open Classic Email Templates in Setup
In Setup, search for Classic Email Templates (in Salesforce Classic the path is Setup, Communication Templates, Email Templates). Click New Template to begin. Folder access and the Edit HTML Templates permission govern who can create HTML and Custom types.
- Choose the template type
Pick Text, HTML (using Classic Letterhead), Custom (without using Classic Letterhead), or Visualforce. If you choose the Letterhead type, select an existing Classic Letterhead so the header and footer are ready before you add content.
- Set properties and write the content
Give the template a name, a unique name (developer name), an encoding, and a subject. Mark it Available For Use so it appears in pickers. Write the body and insert merge fields with the {!Object.Field} syntax for any record values you want personalized.
- Preview, save, and test
Save the template, then use the preview or send a test email against a real record. Confirm every merge field resolves and, for HTML and Custom types, that the layout holds up in Outlook and a webmail client before any automation uses it.
The display label shown when users pick a template in the composer or in automation.
The developer (API) name that automation and code use to reference the template; renaming the display name does not change this.
The character set for the template body, for example Unicode (UTF-8), which controls how text is rendered.
The email subject line, which can include merge fields just like the body.
The checkbox that makes the template selectable; clear it and the template stays hidden from pickers.
- Merge fields resolve when the template is inserted, based on the Recipient and Related To values; changing those afterward does not update the inserted content.
- Creating or editing HTML and Custom templates requires the Edit HTML Templates permission, so not every user can build them.
- Renaming or deleting a template that an Email Alert references can break automation, sometimes without an obvious error; audit references first.
- Classic Letterheads do not carry into Lightning; rebuild branding as Enhanced Letterheads or Email Branding when you migrate.