Tech Support Guy banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Word: How to Create Fill-in Forms

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  ruhler1 
#1 ·
I've tried and tried and have tried reading various help manuals. I am trying to create a fill in form using Word. It is for my husband's small business. Thank you!
 
#2 ·
Originally posted by ruhler1
I've tried and tried and have tried reading various help manuals. I am trying to create a fill in form using Word. It is for my husband's small business. Thank you!
I could possibly help ... but, what exactly do you mean by fill-in form. I want to be sure that we're thinking of the same thing. :) I could possibly know how to help. Feel free to email me! Or post your reply.

Thanks!

- Isabel
 
#3 ·
Candace: I'm sorry if this doesn't paste very nicely, but here's a write-up I did:

Copied from "my archives":

Bite the bullet and do the form, as you will be far happier with the results. When you have completed
your first form, you'll be an expert and you'll never go back--I promise you. I could make your form
above in 5 minutes. Forms are easy, there's just a few tricks:

Using tables is extremely helpful. Using the following method to count columns, count the most number
of columns you will need in any one row. In other words, the more they have to hit tab in that row,
the more columns you need. Here's how you count them:

NAME: _________________________________________
1 2

E-MAIL:______________________Phone:____________
1 2 3 4

[ ] Package 1
1 2

[ ] Package 2
1 2

________________________________________
Signature
1

If this were all you have on your form, make a 4-column, 2-row table. Select the table and turn off
all borders, but make sure you are viewing your table gridlines.

ROW 1
Select first 2 cells in row 1. Hit Table-merge cells. Select 3rd and 4th cells in row 1 and hit F4 (repeats
the merge command). Now you have two cells in row 1.

In left cell, type NAME:
In right cell, hit the ab| button on Forms toolbar, which inserts a text form field.
Select entire row 1. Click on line between 1st and 2nd cell and drag to left so only thing that fits
in 1st cell is NAME: and not much extra space. This should leave the second cell rather wide to allow
room for the name.
Click in the cell that contains the formfield, but do not select the formfield. Use your border toolbar
button to place a border on the bottom of the cell.

ROW 2
Already has 4 cells, no need to merge.

In 1st cell, type EMAIL:
In 2nd cell, insert text form field.
In 3rd cell, type PHONE:
In 4th cell, insert text form field.

[Hit tab to create 3rd row. Continue in this manner until all "rows" of your form are created.]

This part you can do all at once, or as you go along:

Double-click each form field to bring up the properties. Notice you can change the max width. If you've
got a "SEX" field on your form, you can make the max width just one character for M, F. Or even for
the jokesters: Y or N. If you've got a 7-digit account number, you can format the field as numbers and
type 0000000 in the format box. That way if someone types 12345, it'll show up as 0012345. Nice, huh?

Make sure you teach yourself how to use the dropdown field. If you've got a field called Department,
you can list the departments so that you avoid typos and wrong information being entered.

For your package 1 and 2, use the checkboxes. I place these in their own cells as well. It's easier
to keep them aligned.

While creating the form, you can use the padlock on the forms toolbar to TEST the form. When you lock
it, the person completing the form cannot change anything on it, they can only tab from one field to
the next. No underlines moving around on this baby--they're borders, not characters.

Once you have entered your data, unprotecting and reprotecting the form causes your data to be lost.
'Nuf said.

When you love your form, protect it properly by hitting Tools-Protect document, check the Forms box
and hit ok. Put a password on it if you like, but I'll bet 90% of the people wouldn't know how to unprotect
it anyway. If you ever password-protect your forms, please save unprotected backup copies first. I strongly
urge you to do this.

For people who want to allow the person to complete the form and then run a spellcheck, this cannot
be done because it requires unprotecting the document to spellcheck. However, there is macro code available
for this purpose. I've got a template with a toolbar on it. Anyone who wants it, request Spellcheck
with toolbar.dot from techsupportgirl@home.com

~Dreamboat
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top