Drop down menu to select status in template
Asked by Stephanie Willis:

I've seen similar questions asked but all the answers seem out of date with the new Confluence editor. I'm using Confluence Cloud.

I am looking for a way to add a drop down box with statuses (BACKLOG, IN PROGRESS, DONE, BLOCKED, AT RISK) on a Confluence Template so that those who are using the template will be able to select the proper status and keep it updated as the status changes.

I've seen some talk about Variables but I no longer see that as an option when creating a template in Confluence Cloud so I think it might be out of date.


Answers:
author: chrsme
body: Hi [@Benjamin](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3275402)   

Any out of the box solution yet?  
This function is a deal breaker to make Confluence as a test documentation tool. We would like to just use Confluense and no add-ons.

Regards,

Christian

comments: author: Benjamin
body: Hi [@chrsme](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4941722) ,

Based on documentation, it looks like the variable is there for confluence cloud.

Follow this documentation, to build out your test template:

<https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/create-a-template/>

-Ben


author: Max Wittstamm
body: I agree with Christian, it would be so helpful! So tedious to change the status manually all the time with copy paste or typing it.


author: Stiltsoft Support
body: Hi [@Stephanie Willis](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/560717) ,

You can have a look at [Handy Macros for Confluence](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1214971/handy-macros-for-confluence-formatting-and-interactive-ui?tab=overview&hosting=cloud&utm_source=atlassian-community&utm_medium=answer&utm_campaign=handy-macros-traffic-sources&utm_id=1216111&utm_content=drop_down_menu_to_template). It allows users to create custom status sets with unlimited number of statuses to choose from. These statuses can be changed in the page view mode without switching to the edit mode later on.

Best regards,

Elena.


author: Benjamin
body: Hi Stephanie...Yes, It's available in cloud. When you create a global or space template, you should be able to select new variable from the "+" icon. or you can use "/" for a shortcut. Once added, just configure the name of the variable and select list and add the list of items lie Backlog, in progress, done....etc. I just tested it to make sure my information is up to date. Let me know if you have any other questions.

comments: author: Stephanie Willis
body: Thank you, Benjamin. That helped me find the Variable section so I could play around with it. I implemented that into my template but now when I create a new page from template, it has me select the right variable from the drop down on creation but then I cannot change it.

Do you know of a way to have a permanent drop down so the product team can select the right status at any time?


author: Stephan Sutter
body: Hi [@Stephanie Willis](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/560717)

Our Easy Dropdown Menu Confluence App could be a possible solution. It lets you create permanent dropdown menus.

You can find the [Easy Dropdown Menu](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1216797/easy-dropdown-menu-drop-down-selection?hosting=cloud&tab=overview) on the Marketplace.

Regards,  
Stephan (PM at EPS Software Engineering AG, the vendor of the Easy Dropdown Menu)


author: Benjamin
body: Hi [@Stephanie Willis](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/560717) - I haven't seen a method out of the box. Usually, I see done from a product team is using the status color macros but that's manual input.

May want to look into market add-ons like the one mentioned by [@Stephan Sutter](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/551343)


Tags: cloud

confluence-cloud

select-list

template

variable