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How to Add a Drop-down List in Email Template and Use it in Outlook?

When we are using an email template to compose new messages or reply to messages, we may need to change a few variables in every email. In this case, inserting a drop-down list in an email template to choose between the multiple variables will be a great help and save a lot of time. In this tutorial, we will introduce an easy way to add a drop-down list to an email template and use it.


Add a Drop-down List in an Email Template and Use it in a Traditional Way

Create text with a drop-down list in Word

1. To show the Developer tab in Word, go to Files > Options > Customize Ribbon. Under Customize the Ribbon and under Main Tabs, select the Developer check box. See screenshot:

2. Open a new blank document and type the text used for the email template.

3. Select the content where you want to insert the drop-down menu. And in the Controls group on the Developer Tab, click Drop-down List Content Control.

4. Now the control is added, click Properties in the Controls group.

5. In the Content Control Properties window, click Choose an item in the Drop-Down List Properties section, then click the Remove button to delete it.

6. Click the Add button, and the Add Choice dialog box pops up. Input the predefined value that will appear in the drop-down list.

7. Repeat the step 6 until all the values are added. Then click the OK button to save the changes. Now the text with the drop-down list is created in Word successfully.

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Save the text with drop-down list as an email template in Outlook and use it in a traditional way

1. In Outlook, go to the New Tab, click New Email in the New group. Copy the text in Word and paste it into the email body. Make sure the list in Outlook functions well.

2. And then you need to save the message as an email template. Go to the File tab and click the Save As button.

3. Make sure you select the Outlook Template option in the Save as type box. And input your template name in the File name box.

√ Note: You must keep the default destination folder to save email templates unchanged. Because once you change the default destination path, Outlook will fail to locate them. The default destination folder where email templates are saved is:
C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

4. Click the Save button to save the text with a drop-down list as an email template.

5. To use the saved email template in a new message, go to the Home tab, click New Items > More items > Choose Form.

6. In the Choose Form window, choose User Templates in File System from the drop-down menu in the Look In box. All the saved email templates will be displayed. Pick the one you want and click the Open button.

7. Then a new message is created using the selected message template. In the message body, you can click the drop-down list to select an item you need.


Create and Use an Email Template with a Drop-down List with an Amazing Tool

Here I recommend a useful feature - Auto Text of Kutools for Outlook. With this feature, you can easily save the body content (including drop-down list) of a template as an auto text entry and use this entry with just a few clicks in future! Click to download Kutools for Outlook now!

After installing Kutools for Outlook, please do as follows:

1. In Outlook, go to the New Tab, click New Email in the New group. Copy the text with drop-down list in Word and paste it into Outlook. Make sure the list functions well in Outlook. At the same time, the Kutools Pane will appear at the right side of the page.

√ Tips: If the Kutools Pane does not appear, you need to click Kutools > Pane to open it.

2. Select the text and click the ➕ button in the AutoText section.

3. In the popped-up New Auto Text dialog box, input the name of this email template in the Name box. And choose a category from the Category drop-down list. The default category is General. You can click the New Category button to create more categories. Click the Add button.

4. The email template is successfully saved as an auto text entry and listed under the Auto Text tab in the Kutools Pane.

5. Just click the saved template in Kutools Pane, then the text with a drop-down list will be inserted into the email body. Just one click. It's simple as that!


Related articles

How To Add A Drop Down List With Custom Filed In Outlook Task Window?
You might be familiar with custom text/formula/number fields in Outlook, but do you know how to add a custom drop-down filed? This article will guide you to add a drop-down filed in task window.

How To Edit An Existing Email Template In Outlook?
In normal, it’s easy to apply an email template in Outlook, but do you know how to edit this existing template? This article will introduce the solution about editing an existing email template in Outlook.

How To Change Default Email Template In Outlook?
It’s easy to create and apply email templates in Outlook. However, it seems impossible to set your custom email template as default one. But, in this article I will introduce a trick in a roundabout way to change the default email template in Outlook.


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Comments (4)
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This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Bonjour,

J'ai utilisé votre méthode qui marche très bien, mais depuis une semaine maintenant quand j'essaie d'ouvrir le template à partir du dossier ou ils sont stockés, il me met le message "The attempted operation failed. an object could not be found" dans outlook uniquement si outlook est déjà ouvert. En effet si j'ouvre le template avec outlook fermé il me l'ouvre bien. J'ai fait les tests et il s'agit visiblement de la liste déroulante qui pose problème. Je l'ai supprimée de mes mails et le mail s'ouvre sans problème.
Avez vous une idée?

Merci
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello Xavier,
Sorry for the late reply. I tried to open the drop-down template from the folder where it is stored. No matter whether Outlook is open or not, the template can be opened with no error. And it is the first time I receive this kind of feedback. So I think it may not be the drop-down template, which is a .oft file, that causes the error.

Then I googled "The attempted operation failed. an object could not be found in Outlook". This answer may solve your problem. https://www.systoolsgroup.com/updates/fix-operation-failed-object-not-found-outlook-error/#:~:text=An%20object%20could%20not%20be%20found%20in%20Outlook%202016%2F2013,the%20PST%20file%20for%20errors. Hope this may help. And if it still not working, please don't hesitate to contact us. Have a nice day.
Sincerely,
Mandy
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hi mandy,

Thks for your response. I retried this morning and the problem is always there. I made a new template by following the steps above and always the same message. All users in my dept have the same problem, we work on office365.
The problem is really with the drop down list as if I save the template without the dropdown list it open the mail without message.

Thks

Kr
This comment was minimized by the moderator on the site
Hello Xavier,

Thanks for your feedback. So I guess the drop-down list template is the problem. I am using Outlook 365, too, with an Exchange account. And sorry that I can't find an answer to why this error happens. I searched on google and found no case for the error caused by the drop-down list template. (T__T)

Therefore, I highly recommend you use the second method in our article. With the Auto Text feature of Kutools for Outlook, you can easily save the drop-down list template as an auto text entry and use this entry with just a few clicks in the future!

You can download the Kutools for Outlook add-in for a 60-day free trial. It supports Office (or Outlook) 2010 - 2021 (and later versions) and Office 365. You can download it here: https://www.extendoffice.com/download/kutools-for-outlook.html. Please have a try.

Best wishes,
Mandy
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