How To Send The Perfect Email On Your Mac

I’ve been school system administrator for 10 years on both Macs and PCs. There’s not much that can go wrong with either that I haven’t seen a few times. Still, I’m surprised when long time Mac users ask me to help with something that seems very simple, but that not everyone knows.

I had just installed a RAM upgrade in an iMac for one of our classrooms when the teacher asked if I knew how to create customized email messages? She gave me an example from an email message she had received. I said, “Oh, you mean like email stationery? Click here.”

Where Are The Custom Email Messages?

We’ve all received customized email messages, complete with photos, graphics, perhaps a theme message for the holidays or a special event.

How does a Mac user create those artsy craftsy email messages? It’s easier than you think and twice as fast.

In my example above I said, “Click here,” and then noticed there wasn’t a Show Stationery button in her Mac’s Mail toolbar. Where did it go?

If you can’t find the Show Stationery button in your Mac’s Mail toolbar, click the View button in the menubar, select Customize Toolbar, then drag Show Stationery to the toolbar. Then, click it.

Custom Stationery For Free

Most of the time I use plain old text for my email messages, but I receive custom email all the time (the kind advertisers use; filled with graphics and text, usually in a colorful theme).

Click New Message in Mail. Then click the Show Stationery button. A wide bar slides to the top of your message and displays the available stationery themes. Apple provides plenty.

There’s Birthday, Announcements, Photos, and others. Simply click on a desired stationery theme and your message is instantly created. Type in your message or drag and drop a photo from the Photo Browser (another button), and you have a customized email message.

What If You Want More?

When it comes to your Mac there is no such thing as too much of a good thing. Apple gives you a few custom stationery themes for free. So does Jumsoft.

There’s a Mail Stationery package with 100 stationery templates and themes, but there’s also 20 in the Goodies: Mail Stationery pack that are free.

Apple gets in on the free goodies, too, with the Graffiti Mail Stationery Pack; a collection of five improved themes.

Equinux has a number of Stationery Packs for special occasions, including holidays and a Love & Romance Collection for Valentine’s Day (it never hurts to be prepared).

aMac Island gets in the game with many Stationery Packs and a way to get your stationery with your business logo.

How Easy Is It To Use Stationery?

It doesn’t take much to get started once you’ve installed the stationery packs.

Click the Show Stationery button, select a particular theme, then click on a stationery template. It’s that easy.

Enter text the old fashioned way. Many templates let you drag and drop your own photos into the stationery. Templates can be saved as Favorites for one-click use in the future.

What if you want to customize your own stationery? Check our Graphic Mac’s How to create customized OS X Mail stationery in Leopard. With a little effort, and some knowledge of HTML, you can build your own stationery template.

The end result is a whole series of classy, attractive (sometimes gaudy) Mail stationery templates for any occasion or company.