Microsoft Outlook allows you to effortlessly construct a Form. Business cards, meeting requests, appointments, and email messages are all common Outlook Forms capabilities. All of these forms are kept in a place called the Standard Forms Library.

Some of the components in these Standard Forms can be customised by adding, replacing, or hiding portions. If you need to send out emails with specific information requests, form customisation is very critical. Here are the steps for creating a custom form in Outlook.

SETTING UP THE DEVELOPER TAB

The first thing to note is that you can only create a custom form on Outlook using the Developer tab. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Outlook.

Step 2: Right-click on the Ribbon then select Customize Ribbon from the list of options.

Step 3: On the new dialog box beneath the group titled Choose Commands From, select the drop-down and choose Main Tabs.

Step 4: Select Developer from the Options listed and click on Add located at the center of the dialog box.

Step 5: Beneath the group titled Customize the Classic Ribbon, tick the box beside Developer, then click on OK to close the dialog box.

DESIGNING A CUSTOM FORM

With Developer now available on your Ribbon, you can access the Design a Form feature to create your new From.

Step 1: Type Design a Form into the Search Menu. You may also navigate to the Developer tab on the Ribbon, choose the Custom Forms group, and then Design a Form.

Step 2: On the new dialog box, select the drop-down and choose Standard Forms Library.

Step 3: Select the Form you would like to customize (we picked Appointment) from the listed options and click on Open.

Step 4: To add a new field or region to the open Form, select New Form Region from the Ribbon.

Step 5: From the list of fields shown, select a new field and click on New.

Step 6: Input details of the name of your new field, the type of data to be entered, the format for the data and select OK.

Step 7: On the tab beside your Form Name, select P.2 option.

Step 8: From the Ribbon, select the Page button.

Step 9: From the drop-down select Rename Page.

Step 10: Enter the name for the new Page and click on OK.

Step 11: Select Field Chooser from the Ribbon

Step 12: From the Field Chooser, drag the new fields created to the new Page.

SAVING AND PUBLISHING A FORM IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK

After you’ve finished creating your custom form, you’ll want to save and distribute it. You may save the form as a template or publish it to a folder immediately. The following is how it works:

Saving a Form on Microsoft Outlook

To save the new form as an Outlook Template, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: On the Ribbon tab select File.

Step 2: Click on Save As.

Step 3: Input File Name and Save File Type as Outlook Template.

In the future, you can always access the Form by selecting Choose Form from the Developer tab.

NOTE: By choosing Outlook Template, the file gets saved as .ost. However, on Microsoft Outlook 2013 users are not allowed to save certain forms as templates.

Publishing a Form in Microsoft Outlook

Another way to save a custom form is by publishing it. Here’s how it works:

NOTE: This doesn’t work in Office 2013 version.

Step 1: On the Ribbon tab select Publish.

Step 2: Select Publish Form As.

Step 3: On the new dialog box, select the drop-down beside Look In to choose a location for the new form.

Step 4: Enter a Display Name for the Form.

Step 5: Select Publish.

To access the Form, Select New Items from your Outlook Ribbon, More Items, and then Choose Form.

IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK, CREATING VOTING BUTTONS

Using Microsoft Outlook to create forms allows you to personalise the type of information you gather and send out. The voting button is another function in Microsoft Outlook that allows you to collect data. You may create a poll and follow the results using the voting button.