My custom list variable in my template is not appearing when creating a page from the template

Hi Gabriela - thank you for your reply. You've pointed out the expectation that I would like; a live clickable list on the finished page. Is there another way of rendering such a list after initially publishing from a template? 

@Dave Matthews if you want the list to stay live and selectable on the published page, the template variable won't get you there, but a Confluence database will. Create a database in the space, add a Tag or Single select field with your options, then embed it on the page — each entry keeps a clickable pick-list you can change any time after publishing, and you can add rows as you go. For a simpler editable checklist a task list does the job, and for a single fixed state the Status macro. Of those, the database is the closest native thing to the interactive list you were after.

Thanks Gabriela. I am operating in the govcloud version of confluence and do not have access to the database feature. 

Unfortunately, in govcloud it looks like I do not have the /task list either. 

Lastly - and this is a separate issue - the status macro is not working correctly in my space. I have turned off the 'allow custom statuses' feature in the space settings, and set 4 statuses I wanted to use. When I use the status macro, I can create custom statuses, and the 4 statuses I created in settings do not appear. 

On the status one, that's expected behaviour and it explains what you're seeing. The four statuses you set under Space Settings > General > Avatars and status only control the page content status, the label that sits above the page title. That's the one that shows just your four options once you've turned off custom statuses.

The Status macro you add in the body with /status is a different feature entirely. It's freeform by design, you pick a colour and type any title, and it has no link to the space status list, so there's no setting that will limit it to your four. If you want the restricted picker, set the status from the area above the title and leave the macro out of the body.

On govcloud missing databases and task lists, that's the awkward part for the live list you were originally after, since the database was the closest native fit. One thing to try - /action item still gives you a tickable checkbox you can edit after publishing, if a simple checklist would cover it. Past that, native options are thin without databases, so a Marketplace app may end up being the practical route for a persistent selectable list.

Let me know how the status picker behaves once you set it from the title area.

Gabriela I appreciate your help very much. Unfortunately, none of these options will work for what I will be using the pages for. I was hoping to engineer out some of the human errors from mistyping or freeform, can't do that with the limitations I have in govcloud + my use case. 

Nevertheless - you have been so helpful and I hope to see your replies in this forum when I am at need again! 

The dropdown in your template already blocks freeform entry, which is the part you're after for cutting out mistyping. When someone starts the page from the template through the Create menu, CAPA Severity comes up as a Major/Minor dropdown in the fill-in form. They pick one of the two, with no way to freeform it, and their choice gets written into the page as text. It's a one-time pick at creation and doesn't stay editable once the page is published, but for keeping people off freeform entry it holds up, as long as everyone makes the page through Create rather than copying an existing page. A short line in the template telling people to create from it covers most of the gap you're hitting in govcloud.

Hi Gabriela - there are other variables that would be selected after initial creation of the template. This would be an iterative page as it would serve as the hub for documenting a root cause investigation. Those are the use cases that are not fulfilled by only being able to select variables upon creation from the template.