Here is how to create a Lightning Email Template in Lightning Experience. You build it once in the Email Templates list, set who and what it relates to, then reference it from sends and automation.
- Open the Email Templates list
From the App Launcher, search for and open Email Templates. This is the Lightning home for templates. Click New Email Template to start a fresh one.
- Name it and set Related To
Give the template a clear, searchable name and choose a folder. Set Related To to a specific object for scoped templates, or leave it blank (or pick Lead or Contact) for a global template usable from most records.
- Write the subject and body with merge fields
Compose the subject and body in the builder. Use the merge-field button to insert HML placeholders so the email pulls live data. Add any static or dynamically generated attachments.
- Save, share, and wire it up
Save the template, then confirm its folder sharing grants the right teams access. Reference it from a manual send, an Email Alert, a Flow Send Email action, or an Approval Process notification.
A human-readable name shown in the template picker. Make it descriptive so the right people find it fast.
The folder the template is saved in. Folder sharing controls who can use and edit it, so pick one that matches the intended audience.
The email subject line. It can contain merge fields and is required for the template to send a usable message.
- Lightning templates use HML (triple curly braces) while Classic and Visualforce use SML ({!Field}); pasting a body across types breaks the merge fields.
- A Lightning template scoped with Related To set to a specific object will not appear on records of other objects, which surprises people expecting it everywhere.
- Lightning Email Templates cannot be opened or used in Salesforce Classic, so verify the interface your senders are on before standardizing on them.
- Salesforce does not keep native version history for templates, so an edit overwrites the prior content with no undo beyond deployment-level source control.