Making Forms with Microsoft Word

by Charles Kyle Kenyon, Esq.

There are no expectations that this chapter will ever be of the same quality and depth as the other chapters of this guide. That is because it was written by a single author not working with Microsoft. I am not an expert at this, I'm a lawyer with a passion for efficiency and effectiveness. You will not find this chapter on the Microsoft site. Comments are welcome.

You should have reviewed Basic Formatting, Tables and the bookmarks and cross-reference portions of Complex Legal Documents before tackling this chapter.

Click here to break out of a frame.

What You Will Learn

Macro Package for Form Information Management

(this guide table of contents) ------- (MS Word New Users FAQ)

Forms Overview

What I am talking about in this chapter is what is referred to as an online form in Microsoft’s documentation. Such online forms can also be printed forms to be filled out by hand or on a typewriter. These are also often referred to as protected forms because the only place you can type is in the areas open for that on the form. The user can't make changes in the rest of the form, just fill it in.

When used on the computer, these are generally templates that create new documents. These documents are protected from changes in crucial areas. This protection also allows use of special fields inserted with the Forms Toolbar. These fields only work as designed when in a document that has been "protected" for filling in forms. More about the Forms Toolbar later.

An alternative to protected online forms, beginning with Word 2003, would be to use the much more flexible document protection which allows lets exceptions to protection apply by selection rather than simply by Section. This allows spell checking in the unprotected areas but does not provide for use of protected form fields. Instead, you might want to use MacroButton Field prompts and have those unprotected. This concept is not explored further on this page.

Specifically not discussed here are userforms which are a vba construct, ActiveX controls, which also require programming, and the newer content controls. The additional materials referenced at the beginning of the chapter do give information on those.

People should also look into the milder Restrict Editing protection. It may be what you want. Lock Up Your Word Document - Office Watch on Restricting Editing (Word 2003 and later but especially Ribbon versions of Word)

This chapter is about using Word for forms. Microsoft also produces Microsoft Forms which is a completely separate program.

Content Controls and "Legacy" Form Fields

This page is primarily about using "legacy form fields" although there are references to the Content Controls introduced in Word 2007 (and expanded in each version since then). General advice is to not mix legacy form fields and content controls in the same document or template. They do not play well together. However, if you absolutely must do so, read Greg Maxey's white paper (demo) on the subject showing you how to accomplish what you want. Search this page on Content Controls for "Comingling CCs and FFs" to download the whitepaper. The advice on form structure and planning applies to both legacy formfields and Content Controls. Here is a page on using Content Controls for forms: Create a Form Using Word Content Controls by Greg Maxey, MVP

Content Controls are easy to add in the Windows operating system version of Word, not so in the Mac version. Content Controls, though, do work on Macs. You can use documents created with them in the Windows version on a Mac. You can copy Content Controls from such a document on the Mac into another document and they will work in the new document. Neither legacy formfields nor content controls work well in the lesser online or mobile Word programs. John Korchok has created a free Add-In for the Mac that gives ability to add and edit Content Controls in the Mac as well as a page that tells how to do it without his Add-In. Content Controls for macOS by John Korchok

You can create or use "Mapped" Content Controls to make information replicate throughout a document. Updating in one copy of such a control changes the information in all copies. See my page: Repeating Data Using Document Property Content Controls or Other Mapped Content Controls. As with regular Content Controls these are not available to create or edit in the Mac user interface but will work in that interface.

If you are using Content Controls, a key difference between plain-text and rich-text content controls is that with plain-text content controls the tab key will take the user to the next content control while within a rich-text content control, the tab key will insert a tab character within the content control. Unless you need to allow different formatting for part of the information in a text Content Control, plain text (the second icon) is better than the first icon (rich text).

Starting with Word 2013, performance of legacy form fields has degraded. MVP Graham Mayor has provided a utility to convert legacy form fields to content controls. See http://www.gmayor.com/ExtractDataFromForms.htm. I would advise avoiding legacy form fields unless you must use them. Eventually you will want to convert them. The have one advantage in that they have an option to "Update on Exit" which means that anything else in the form that relies on information in the field will be updated when the user tabs out of the field.

Also available, but being deprecated, are ActiveX Controls, which do not work on the Mac or other Word programs. These usually require macros, which are not allowed on many systems. These are a legacy feature predating legacy formfields.

None of the form elements available in Word convert automatically to pdf files. None of them work well in the online or Mobile versions of Word.

Using Tables to organize your page

The Controls

There will be more about the various controls and what they do further down in the page.

Ribbon Versions - on the Developer Tab

The Content Controls are front and center in the Controls Group.

The legacy formfields and legacy ActiveX controls can be accessed in the Windows version using the legacy suitcase dropdown. This menu has one control that is useful even if you are not using legacy formfields, the button to add a Frame.

The ActiveX Controls are not shown or discussed here but are part of the same dropdown from the Developer Tab's suitcase menu.

Older Menu Versions and the Mac

The Legacy FormField Controls are on the Forms Toolbar in pre-Ribbon versions of Word and on the Developer Tab on the Mac. You can view the Forms Toolbar in the Menu versions using View > Toolbars > Forms.

Note the Tables button on that toolbar. This is not on later versions in Windows or the Mac. It really is not needed since there are a number of other ways to insert Tables. This has the control to lock the form.

In recent versions on the Mac, these same controls are found on the Developer Tab. These legacy formfields are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Content Contros, but they are not.

These are the same controls shown for legacy formfields in the Windows version, with the addition of the Lock control.

Starting from Scratch

Locking and Unlocking Forms

Starting from a Printed Form

Click on the Size tab and make sure your size scale is 100%. Word will likely have inserted at 97% or something close but not at the 100% that you need. Close the Format Picture box by clicking on OK.

Move your pointer to the edge of your text-box and right-click on the text-box border. Select “Format Text Box” from the short-cut menu.

Change the options under Fill to “No Fill” and Line to “No Line.”

Click on the Layout tab and then click on the box that says “Behind text.”

Click on the “Advanced” button and on the Position Tab click in the “Absolute position” radio buttons and select “from page” as the reference for both vertical and horizontal spacing. Uncheck the box that says “Move object with text” and check the box that says “Lock anchor.”

Once you have your background, you would use the Forms Toolbar (or Developer Tab in later versions) to insert a borderless table or frames to place your form fields in the blank areas on the background image so the form can be filled in. From here it is like starting from scratch except you don't add the text.

Spell-Checking Forms

The regular Spell Checking tool is disabled in protected Forms protected for filling in forms. This is the only protection method available in menu versions of Word. Ribbon versions have methods that do not disable Spell Check. These use Content Controls rather than the "legacy" controls from the menu versions. Create a Form Using Word Content Controls by Greg Maxey, MVP

However, you can use a macro to spell check the contents of your fields and any unprotected sections. You can explore this on the MVP FAQ site. This macro works in versions of Word from Word 97-2003 so far as I know.

Pre-Printed Forms

This is an extreme challenge to do with any word processing program. Word is no exception. You will keep more of your hair if instead you try to either scan the form and use the scanned image as a background for Word fields or reproduce the form from scratch. Otherwise, what you will want to do is either create a (borderless) table that has spaces for your fields that match where your fields are on the paper or insert frames to hold the fields. In either case, if you change the printer (or even the printer driver) you may need to reform your page.

To print on the preprinted form using a scanned image that will not be printed as background, start by positioning the image in the page as a floating picture. Print this on your form and adjust until the printing lines up perfectly with the preprinted form. Then position your fields on the form. If using Content Controls, when you print, make sure that the option to print images or drawings is turned off. If using legacy form controls you can use the option to print data only.

You will be money ahead (assuming your time is worth at least minimum wage) buying a top-of-the-line typewriter and typing these by hand rather than trying to print them using a Word Processor.

Another good alternative is to scan the form and use it as the basis for an Adobe Acrobat form. This is not a Word function but is done relatively easily using Adobe software. (It does require the full Adobe Acrobat program, not just the free reader.)

As of the beginning of 2018, Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Pro is available for free download from Adobe. While this is older software, it will handle this function.

Word Help topics:

Word 2000

·         Create a Form

·         Overview of Forms

Word 97

·         Create an online form

SUMMARY

This article contains four Visual Basic for Applications macros that you can use to emulate the Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows functionality of the ENTER key for moving between form fields in protected documents.

In Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows, if you press the ENTER key in a document protected for forms, the insertion point moves to the next form field. By contrast, in later versions of Word, the ENTER key does not move to the next form field but instead inserts a paragraph mark, just as it would in an unprotected document. This allows you to enter multiple lines of text into a text form field.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Solution Providers, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://mcspreferral.microsoft.com/

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp

First Macro: Moves the Insertion Point to the Next Form Field

Second Macro: Assigns the EnterkeyMacro Macro to the ENTER Key

Third Macro: Adds an AutoOpen Macro to the ENTER Key

Fourth Macro: Removes the Command Assigned to the ENTER Key

Q173707 OFF97: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

REFERENCES

For more information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q163435 VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Create a Form to Protect Information and Allow User Input

Do you ever want people to enter information in a document and, at the same time, prevent them from changing certain information? An easy solution is to create a form in Microsoft Word 2000. A form allows users to enter information, while it prevents unauthorized persons from changing the form.

Create a form with a table

It's simple to create a form in Word 2000. You can use a table to lay out the form and then enter form fields in the cells where you want information entered or updated. A form field can be a Text Form Field, a Check Box Form Field, or a Drop-down Form Field. Text form fields are used when you want the user to enter information, such as names and addresses. The check box and drop-down form fields allow users to select items that are on the form.

Step 1 - Create a table

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then select Forms.
2. On the Forms toolbar, click Insert Table.
3. On the table that appears, drag your mouse to select the number of rows and columns you want.
4. Adjust the columns to the appropriate widths.

Step 2 - Create a form

Step 3 - Protect the document

Before you distribute the form, you need to protect the document.

1. On the Tools menu, click Protect Document.
2. Under Protect document for, click Forms.
   If you created sections in your document, click Sections to specify which sections you want to protect. For example, you might want to create separate sections for a table with data that users cannot modify and a table in which users can enter data.
3. If you want others to be able to change the form, under Password, enter a password that you share with users who are authorized to change the form.

To quickly protect your form

For more information about creating forms, type create a form in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Word Help window, and then click Search. For information on creating sections, type insert sections in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Word Help window, and then click Search.

from http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/2000/articles/wCreateForms.htm

page views since 7 September 2001