[nrhearn]

Hi, I'm just exploring the Legacy Controls and Form Fields in Microsoft Word, and I'm having a problem that almost looks too dumb to put in writing, but that I can't seem to figure out!

When I insert a form field for text, and then restrict the document for editing, I want typing to appear inside the form field, and with the same formatting as I've set. Right now, when I restrict access and try to fill it in, it looks more like:

____asdfjkl;_________________

The typing inserts itself, but doesn't appear in the formatting I want (size, underline, etc.)

Is there a way to change this before I restrict the document for editing?

See attachment for a screen-shot of what I'm talking about.

Thanks in advance; this one really has got me puzzled.

[DKTaber]

nrhearn: I use Word forms 100's of times in surveys I send out. I have never encountered a problem with attributes (bolding, underlining, etc.) that I apply to fields in any protected Word document. I assume you are protecting the document after you create it -- right? If not, none of the properties you attached to the fields will work.

BTW, the attached example doesn't tell me anything about the problem.

[nrhearn]

Thanks for the reply, DKTaber. I am protecting the document after I create it, and maybe I'm just adding the form fields incorrectly; my steps are, (Developer Tab, Legacy Tools, insert Text Form Field), then I select an area for a line, and click "Underline" (which, theoretically, should make the Form Field underlined as well.) However, when I go to protect the document, I can type in the "grey area" (form field) but underlining other properties don't continue. You can see, in the attached example, that the form field extends before and after the typing that I've inserted, but the formatting doesn't stay the same as the "underlined" and "bolded" text I would like.
Maybe I'm not doing a great job at explaining this, but hopefully someone has encountered this problem before.
Thanks!

[DKTaber]

I saw the example you attached to the original post, but cannot reproduce that behavior. I also don't know what you mean by 'legacy controls' and a 'developer tab'. Inserting form fields doesn't involve those (at least not in my version, which is Office 2000; what version of Office or Word are you using?). You can add a field by using the Forms toolbar (View, Toolbars, check the Forms toolbar) and clicking the "ab|" symbol on it to insert a field wherever your cursor is at that moment. If you want the text in the field to be underlined, click the underline icon on your formatting toolbar while the field is highlighted. After you have all the text and fields in the document organized the way you want them, you then protect the file using Tools, Protection, click the Forms radio button, and optionally enter a password. Is that what you're doing?

[nrhearn]

DKTaber--
Thanks again for responding with me and persisting in helping me out. I am using Office 2007. The "ab|" symbol is the same on mine, and protection is on the ribbon, which is what I'm doing. I've tried starting a new document, and it has identical behavior.

[DKTaber]

Ahaaa. Does the protection give you choices of what to protect; i.e., "Track changes", "Comments", "Forms"? If, for example, you just choose to protect without seeing the options, the default is probably "Track changes", in which case the fields would not work.

[nrhearn]

Thank you very much! The problem seems to be solved.
Thanks again for staying with me!

[DKTaber]

Originally Posted by nrhearn

Thank you very much! The problem seems to be solved.
Thanks again for staying with me!

But what solved it -- the advice about selecting a protection option. . . or something else?