Shared Email Templates for Microsoft Outlook / Gmail
Add interactive fillable fields
An interactive fillable field is a field in your template that is replaced with the data you either enter or select via a dialog when inserting the template into an email message. You can create interactive fillable fields for text values, dropdown lists, date and time pickers, or values from datasets by using the WhatToEnter macro.
Here is a quick Interactive fillable fields cheat sheet:
How to add interactive fields to Outlook messages
This video explains how to create fields for entering a text value, selecting from a dropdown, picking a date or time, and selecting a value from a dataset.
How to create a text-entry field
If you want to have an interactive field for a text value in your template, use the Text field option of the WhatToEnter macro.
- In your template, place the cursor where a text-entry field is needed, and then select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- The What to enter dialog will appear. On the General tab, keep Text field selected. Then enter the field name and a default value.
- With the Required checkbox selected, your template won't be inserted into an email message if the value isn't entered.
Tip. With the Insert nested macro button, you can open a list of macros that can be nested and select the one you need.
Tip. The HTML icon means that HTML is supported, so you can enter a piece of HTML code.
If you switch to the Advanced tab, you can specify:
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is not empty.
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is empty.
- What regular expression the value that will be entered or selected via the macro dialog must match.
- If you select the For Insert-if sections only checkbox, the value returned by the WhatToEnter macro won't be inserted into an email message and will be used only for checking a condition.
When you're done, click OK.
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In your template, an interactive fillable field shown with a WhatToEnter macro placeholder will appear. Click Save.
When you insert a template containing a text-entry field into an email message, a dialog will appear making it possible for you to enter some new text or keep the default one.
How to add a field for selecting from a dropdown
To add an interactive field for a list item, use the Dropdown list option of the WhatToEnter macro.
- In your template, place the cursor where a field for selecting from a dropdown is needed, and then select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- The What to enter dialog will appear. On the General tab, select Dropdown list. Then enter the field name and items (one per line).
- To make it possible to make changes to the list item(s) when inserting your template into an email message, select the User can edit selected item(s) checkbox.
- If you want to select several list items when inserting your template into an email message, select the User can select multiple items checkbox. Enter a separator that will divide the selected list items.
- With the Required checkbox selected, your template won't be inserted into an email message if the value isn't entered.
Tip. With the Insert nested macro button, you can open a list of macros that can be nested and select the one you need.
Tip. The HTML icon means that HTML is supported, so you can enter a piece of HTML code.
If you switch to the Advanced tab, you can specify:
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is not empty.
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is empty.
- What regular expression the value that will be entered or selected via the macro dialog must match.
- If you select the For Insert-if sections only checkbox, the value returned by the WhatToEnter macro won't be inserted into an email message and will be used only for checking a condition.
When you're done, click OK.
- A WhatToEnter macro placeholder will be added to your template indicating an interactive fillable field. Click Save.
When you insert a template containing a field for selecting from a dropdown into an email message, a dialog will appear making it possible for you to select any list item.
How to create a date picker field
If you want to have a field for picking a date from a calendar in your template, use the Date option of the WhatToEnter macro.
- In your template, place the cursor where you'd like to add a date picker, and then select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- The What to enter dialog will appear. On the General tab, select Date. Enter the field name. Then select a date format and a language tag (locale). To get a certain number of days subtracted or added automatically, enter the necessary value under Days before/after current date.
- With the Required checkbox selected, your template won't be inserted into an email message without a date. If you think that you might want to leave out a date when inserting the template, clear the checkbox.
Tip. With the Insert nested macro button, you can open a list of macros that can be nested and select the one you need.
Tip. If you need a language tag that isn't listed under Language tag (locale), you can find the necessary language and country on the Supported locale codes page on the Microsoft Learn website, and then enter the corresponding tag from the "Code" column into the Language tag (locale) box. For example, to get the date spelled in Spanish that is spoken in the Dominican Republic, you'll need to enter "es-do".
If you switch to the Advanced tab, you can specify:
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is not empty.
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is empty.
- What regular expression the value that will be entered or selected via the macro dialog must match.
- If you select the For Insert-if sections only checkbox, the value returned by the WhatToEnter macro won't be inserted into an email message and will be used only for checking a condition.
When you're done, click OK.
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In your template, an interactive fillable field shown with a WhatToEnter macro placeholder will appear. Click Save.
When you insert a template containing a date picker into an email message, a dialog will appear making it possible for you to select the necessary date from a calendar.
Tip. On clicking Format, you can change your date format preference if necessary.
Tip. You can also set the default format and language for dates by creating custom team, profile, or company account properties. To learn more, visit these help pages:
How to create a time picker field
To create a field for a time picker, use the Time option of the WhatToEnter macro.
- In your template, choose a place for a time picker field and put the cursor there. Then select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- The What to enter dialog will appear. On the General tab, select Time. Enter the field name. Then select a time format and a language tag (locale). To get a certain number of minutes subtracted or added automatically, enter the necessary value under Minutes before/after current time.
- With the Required checkbox selected, your template won't be inserted into an email message without including the time. If you think that you might want to leave out the time when inserting the template, clear the checkbox.
Tip. With the Insert nested macro button, you can open a list of macros that can be nested and select the one you need.
If you switch to the Advanced tab, you can specify:
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is not empty.
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is empty.
- What regular expression the value that will be entered or selected via the macro dialog must match.
- If you select the For Insert-if sections only checkbox, the value returned by the WhatToEnter macro won't be inserted into an email message and will be used only for checking a condition.
When you're done, click OK.
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An interactive fillable field shown with a WhatToEnter macro placeholder will be added to your template. Click Save.
When you insert a template that has a time picker into an email message, you'll see a dialog prompting you to select the necessary time.
How to add a field for selecting from a dataset
If you'd like to create an interactive fillable field that will make it possible for you to select a value from a dataset, use the Dataset option of the WhatToEnter macro.
Tip. You can also use the WhatToEnter macro to attach files from datasets. Learn more →.
- Decide where in your template to place a field for selecting from a dataset and put the cursor there. Then select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- The What to enter dialog will appear. On the General tab, select Dataset. Then enter the field name, select a dataset and a column. Then click OK.
- If you want to select several items when inserting your template into an email message, select the User can select multiple items checkbox. Enter a separator that will divide the selected items.
Tip. With the Insert nested macro button, you can open a list of macros that can be nested and select the one you need.
Tip. The HTML icon means that HTML is supported, so you can enter a piece of HTML code.
If you switch to the Advanced tab, you can specify:
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is not empty.
- What value to insert into your email message if the result returned by the macro is empty.
- What regular expression the value that will be entered or selected via the macro dialog must match.
- If you select the For Insert-if sections only checkbox, the value returned by the WhatToEnter macro won't be inserted into an email message and will be used only for checking a condition.
When you're done, click OK.
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When an interactive fillable field shown with a WhatToEnter macro placeholder appears in your template, click Save.
When you insert a template that contains a field for selecting from a dataset into an email message, a dialog will appear, and you'll be able to select a value from the key column of the specified dataset.
How to validate user input with a regex
You can use regular expressions to allow entering or selecting only specific values via the WhatToEnter dialog.
- When inserting the macro into a template, switch to the Advanced tab.
- Under Validate with regex, enter a regular expression to specify the pattern that input must match.
- Select OK.
When you or your teammates insert such a template into an email message, the values entered or selected via the macro dialog will be validated against the specified regular expression. Non-matching values won't be inserted.
How to customize macro output
When inserting the WhatToEnter macro into your template, you can specify what text string to use in an email message depending on whether the result returned by the macro is empty or not.
- In the What to enter dialog (after you're done with the macro parameters on the General tab), switch to the Advanced tab.
- Under Return if result is not empty, enter the text string that you want to be automatically inserted into an email message along with the macro result. In the text string, use [Result] as a placeholder for the macro result (as many times as you need).
- Under Return if result is empty, enter the text string that you want to be automatically inserted into an email message if the macro returns an empty result.
- Select OK.
How to repeat an interactive fillable field
- Select the Insert macro button.
- Select What to enter.
- Under Copy from another WTE, select any WhatToEnter macro that you want to repeat and click OK.
You can also right-click a WhatToEnter macro placeholder in a template that you're creating or editing, select Copy on the menu that will appear, and then paste the macro.
Responses
Haili says:
January 10, 2025 at 6:55 pm
Hi,
Is there a way I can select the key from a dataset and then it automatically fills the other spaces throughout my email?
Example: In my endowment dataset, I have the name of the endowment, the c-code, and the intent. In my email, I want to select the name of the endowment, and it already fills in the intent in another part of my email? Without having to select from the drop-down list twice. Im sorry if that doesnt make sense!
Hello Haili,
Thank you for your comment. Your task is easily solved with the What to Enter > Dataset interactive fillable field. To do this, add placeholders for the same macro in the appropriate positions of your template and define the corresponding column of your dataset to pull the values. When inserting the template, you'll be prompted to select the key value from your dataset, and all the items will be inserted into their designated positions in the message body.
Leroy says:
April 5, 2023 at 8:57 pm
I should've tried that! Thanks :)
You're most welcome, Leroy.
Good to know that our solution works for you.
If it's not too much trouble for you, I would appreciate it if you rate our app and write a few words on Microsoft Office Store. This motivates us and our developers in particular, to continue providing the best experience possible for you and helps others understand how our product can make their life easier. Thank you in advance.
Leroy says:
April 5, 2023 at 6:48 am
Is there a way to insert the value of a What To Enter macro into multiple parts of the message? For example if it prompts for someone's name, we don't have to prompt multiple times?
Hello Leroy,
Thank you for the question.
Sure, it is possible to insert the same value to several places of your template with the What to Enter macro. Simply create the macro once, copy it using the key combination Ctrl+C and then paste it in the desired places in your template using the key combination Ctrl+V.
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