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Draftable for Outlook is an Outlook add-in that sends email attachments and text directly to Draftable Desktop for comparison. This add-in allows you to start comparison workflows from within Outlook, eliminating the need to manually download attachments and navigate to them in Draftable.
Note:Draftable for Outlook requires Draftable version 25.10.000 or later to be installed and running on the user’s system.
New Outlook — Drag and drop not supported:Dragging and dropping email attachments from Microsoft’s New Outlook into Draftable is not supported. This is due to a Microsoft limitation — New Outlook does not expose file attachment data in a way that external applications can consume. If you are using New Outlook, please use the Draftable for Outlook add-in workflows described on this page to compare email attachments instead of drag and drop. See Microsoft’s documentation for further details.

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Accessing Draftable for Outlook

Draftable for Outlook is accessible via the Draftable for Outlook button in the Outlook ribbon. When you open or reply to an email, you’ll find the button on the right-hand side of the Message tab.
Outlook Message tab ribbon with the Draftable for Outlook button highlighted on the right
Clicking the button opens a dropdown menu with four options:
  • Compare attachments
  • 1-Click Compare
  • Send Text as Newer
  • Send Text as Older
Draftable for Outlook dropdown menu showing all comparison options: Send Text as Newer, Send Text as Older, Compare attachments, and 1-Click Compare

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Draftable for Outlook Workflow

The Draftable for Outlook workflow integrates directly into Microsoft Outlook, allowing you to send email attachments and text to Draftable Desktop for comparison — without needing to download files manually. All comparisons are performed in Draftable Desktop, providing full access to advanced features, local files, and profiles.
Please note:Ensure that Draftable is open in the background when using Draftable for Outlook, otherwise documents will not be loaded correctly or at all into Draftable.

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Comparison Options

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1. Compare attachments

The Compare attachments option opens an attachment selector, allowing you to choose specific files from the email to send to Draftable Desktop for comparison.
Draftable for Outlook dropdown with Compare attachments highlighted
This is useful when:
  • The email contains multiple attachments and you only want to compare specific ones
  • You want to select which attachment should be the older vs. newer document
  • The email contains non-document files you want to exclude
Once you click “Compare Selected”, the chosen documents will open in the Draftable New Comparison window.

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2. 1-Click Compare

The 1-Click Compare option sends all email attachments to Draftable Desktop with a single click. This is the fastest way to start a comparison when an email contains the documents you want to compare.
Draftable for Outlook dropdown with 1-Click Compare highlighted
When clicked, all attachments from the current email are sent to Draftable Desktop’s New Comparison window, ready for you to arrange and run the comparison.

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3. Send Text as Newer / Send Text as Older

The Send Text as Newer and Send Text as Older options allow you to select text from the email body and send it directly to Draftable Desktop as either the newer or older document in a comparison.
Draftable for Outlook dropdown with Send Text as Newer and Send Text as Older highlighted
This is useful for:
  • Comparing quoted text from different email threads
  • Comparing text snippets without needing full document files
  • Quick text-based comparisons directly from email content
To use this feature, select the text you want to compare in the email body:
Email body in Outlook with text selected for comparison
Then click Send Text as Newer or Send Text as Older depending on which side of the comparison the selected text should appear. The text will be sent to Draftable Desktop’s New Comparison window:
Draftable Legal New Comparison window with selected email text loaded into the Newer document pane

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Notes

  • Draftable for Outlook requires Draftable version 25.10.000 or later to be installed and running on the user’s device.
  • Comparisons are performed in Draftable Desktop, ensuring full access to all features, profiles, and local file access.
  • Make sure Draftable Desktop is running before using the add-in.
  • If you need further assistance or support for Draftable for Outlook, please reach out to support@draftable.com