Word 2007
Templates and Forms
Adding the Developer Tab ...................................................................................... 3
Using the Legacy Tools .......................................................................................... 4
Inserting a Text Form Field ..................................................................................... 5
Setting Text Form Field Properties ......................................................................... 5
Inserting a Check Box Field .................................................................................... 6
Inserting a Drop-Down Form Field .......................................................................... 7
Inserting a Calculated Field .................................................................................... 7
Help Text ................................................................................................................ 9
Protecting Forms ...................................................................................................... 10
Saving your Form as a Template ............................................................................. 13
To Use Your Form ................................................................................................ 14
Other Control Types ................................................................................................. 15
Control Properties .................................................................................................... 16
Rich Text .............................................................................................................. 16
Plain Text Control ................................................................................................. 17
Combo Box .............................................................................................................. 18
Drop-Down List ........................................................................................................ 19
Grouping .................................................................................................................. 19
To Group: ............................................................................................................. 19
Export Form data to an Excel Worksheet ................................................................. 20
Saving Form Data to a Text File ........................................................................... 20
Importing Data into an Excel Spreadsheet ........................................................... 21
Importing Data into an Access Database.............................................................. 22
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Forms
Adding the Developer Tab
The Developer tab is not usually visible as a default. To add it to the ribbon:
1. Click the Office button
2. Select Word Options
3. Select Show Developer tab in the Ribbon
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Using the Legacy Tools
Creating a table is a good way to structure your form and makes it easier for users to
move from field to field by pressing the Tab key and it helps give an organised look
to the document.
The Controls and Legacy Tools are on the Developer Tab:
Tip: For ease of use, you could add the Legacy Tools button to the Quick Access
Toolbar – Right-click on the button and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar
Legacy Form Buttons:
Button
I
Name
Description
Text Form Field
Adds a text field to allow for text
entry. Properties can be changed to
input of number, date, time and
calculated fields
Check Box Form Field
Inserts a check box field for ‘Yes/No ‘
responses
Drop-Down Form Field
Enables user to select from a list of
predefined choices
Insert Frame
Adds a floating frame on the form
Form Field Shading
Works as a toggle button to display or
hide shading to the fields. (Will not
print out)
Reset Form Fields
Resets the form fields to their default
settings
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Inserting a Text Form Field
The text field is the most commonly used field. It will record information that the user
enter into the form.
Click on the Legacy Tools button:
Ensure that Form Field Shading is switched on so that you will see the fields
as they are inserted
Place the cursor where you want to add the field
Click the Text Form Field button
Setting Text Form Field Properties
Either double-click the field or select the
button on the Developer tab:
Choosing the Text Form Field Type
In the Type: dropdown, select the type of text field you want to create. Select one of
the following field types:
Regular Text form fields can include text, numbers, symbols or spaces
Number Form field accept only numbers and will not accept leading zeros
Date Form fields allow only dates to by typed
Current Date form fields display the current date and cannot be modified
Current Time fields display the current time and cannot be modified
Calculation Form fields allow a formula to be entered to calculate the results
of fields containing numbers or dates. These cannot be modified by users.
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Default Text
Any text that in entered in this box will be displayed in the form as a default. This
can be changed by the user.
Specifying Field Length
The length of the text form can be controlled, so that that it can limit the amount of
text entered.
Text Format
If you want the data to be entered in a certain ways, the text format box allows you to
control that. For example, you can specify that an entry will always display in
uppercase.
If you have selected Number, Date, Current Date or Current Time the options will
change and allow you to specify how the information is to be entered.
Inserting a Check Box Field
If you want to include choices on our form where the user can select more than one
option, you can add check boxes. By default the check box is initially empty.
Place the cursor where you want to add the Check Box
Select the Check Box Form Field from the Legacy Forms button
Either double-click the field or select the
Developer tab:
button on the
Resizing the Check Box
By default, the check box field is created to match the size of the surrounding text. If
you want to box to stand out you will need to modify the size of the check box
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character. In the Check Box Size section, click the up or down arrows to increase
or decrease the size of the box.
Inserting a Drop-Down Form Field
When you want to provide a list of choices for the user to make, use of a Drop-Down
field.
Place the cursor where you want to add the field
Click the Drop-Down Form Field button in the Legacy Forms button.
Either double-click the field or select the
Developer tab:
button on the
Adding Items to the Drop-Down List
In the Drop-down item: field – type in the first item that you want to appear in your
list. Then click on the Add>> button, or press Enter. You can type in as many items
as required.
If you require a blank or none option then this needs to be entered in the drop-down
list. To add a blank, place the cursor in the Drop-down item: box and press the
spacebar then click on Add>>.
Once all the items have been added to the list, they can be reordered by using the
up and down arrows on the right-hand side. The item at the top of the list will be
displayed when the form is used.
Inserting a Calculated Field
A calculated field allows the form to perform simple mathematical calculations. It is
used within the Text Form field.
In order to use fields as part of a calculation they must be bookmarked before you
enter a Calculated Form field. Within each of the Form Field option dialog boxes
there is an option or adding a bookmark. This can be any name but is usually the
name of the box, for example Charge
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You must also ensure that the Calculate on Exit and Fill-in Enabled boxed are ticked:
Type in bookmark name
Once bookmarks have been set up on the fields that you want included in the
calculation, then the Calculated Form Field can be entered:
1. Place the curser where you want to add the calculated field
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2. Enter a Text Form Field
3. Either double-click the field or select the
Developer tab
button on the
4. In the Type :dropdown, select Calculation
5. In the Expression box, type in the formula required. The formula must entered
after the = sign. Normal mathematical operators apply. For example:
=Charge*2 or =Charge*10%
6. In the Number format box select how the result will be displayed, for example
as currency or number.
7. Place a tick in the Calculate on Exit box.
8. Click ok.
Help Text
If you think that users of your form will need help when filling in your form you can
create customised help messages.
Double-click the field you want to add the help text to and use the Properties button.
If you want help text displayed on the status bar, click the Status Bar tab. Enter the
text you want to displayed then click on OK
You can also display text on the Help Key (F1) tab. Any help text you enter here will
be displayed when the F1 key is pressed.
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When the form is protected, and the F1 key is pressed the following dialog box will
appear:
Protecting Forms
You must protect the form first before you can see the form as the user will see it.
When you protect a form, you lock the firle din p;alce so that no furrterh changes can
be made to field formats. You will be able to use the drop-down lists as intended,
select check boxes and enter text in text fields.
1. To protect the form, click the
button on the Developer tab.
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2.
Select the Restrict Formatting and Editing option
3
In the pane that appears on the right, in Editing
restrictions section, tick the Allow only this type of
editing in the document:
Then select Filling in forms from the drop-down
Then click
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You will then be prompted to enter an optional password:
Your form is now protected. The next thing to do is save it as a template.
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Saving your Form as a Template
You need to save your form as a template so that it can be used over and over again
without affecting the original. When you use a template, you are using a copy every
time you select it from New option.
1. Click the Office button
2. Save As
3. Click on Trusted Templates to save your form in the Templates folder
4.
Also ensure that you change the file type to Word Template (*.dotx)in the Save as
type: drop-down.
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To Use Your Form
You can now try out your form as others will see it.
1. Click the Office button and select New
2. Click on My templates:
3.
You will then see your template forms:
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Using Controls in Word 2007
New features in Word 2007 and 2010:
Date Picker
1. Place the cursor in the form where the Date Picker is to be inserted.
2. On the Developer tab, click the Date Picker icon
on the Controls ribbon.
3. As shown below, it places a Control in the form:
4. Click the centre of the control to select it and then click the
the Controls group.
button in
Do not click the “Contents cannot be edited” box!
5. Select the Content Control Cannot be Deleted checkbox.
6. Click the desired date format.
Other Control Types
Button
Name
Description
Rich Text
Will accept text, numbers, dates and also tables and
graphics
Plain Text
A plain text content control is limited to plain text in a
single or multiple paragraphs. It cannot contain other
items, such as tables, pictures, or other content
controls.
Fills the content control with a single image. Will not
allow entry of any other Word objects or text
Picture
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Combo Box
Contains a drop-down selection of list entries that
users can select from. Can also be edited by users
Drop-Down
List
A drop-down list displays a drop-down list of list
entries that users can select. Unlike a combo box, the
drop-down list does not let users enter a custom input
Buildingblock gallery
A building block gallery enables users to select from a
list of document building blocks to insert into a
document. A document building block is a piece of
content that has been created to be used multiple
times, such as a common cover page, a formatted
table, or a header.
A group control defines a protected region of a
document that users cannot edit or delete. A group
control can contain any document items, such as text,
tables, graphics, and other content controls. Hold the
Shift key and click on controls to group them
together.
Group
Control Properties
Rich Text
Content control cannot be deleted- users can not delete the control itself
Contents cannot be edited: Any text in the control cannot be changed
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Remove content control when contents are edited: once the control has been
used to enter the required text, the control field will disappear. Will leave a
more ‘normal’ looking document
Plain Text Control
Similar to Rich text control but has an extra useful option:
1. Allow carriage returns (multiple paragraphs)
This will allow multiple paragraph to by typed into this field, otherwise pressing
Enter will complete field
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Combo Box
1. Click on Add... to add list items
Users can add extra items when using the control, but will not be added to the list.
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Drop-Down List
As with the Combo Box, click on the Add... button to add items to the list. Users will
not be able to add any other entries.
Grouping
You can protect the form but spell check will not be active when the form is
protected.
An alternative to protecting, would be Grouping. You can select the whole form or
just certain elements.
To Group:
1. Select the entire form (Control +A)
2. Click on the
3. Select Group
button on the Developer tab.
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You will be able to use the controls as intended but all form objects and text will be
protected.
Save the form as a template as described on Page 13
Export Form data to an Excel Worksheet
To enable you to analyse the results from data collected in your forms quickly, it is a
good idea to export to Excel or Access.
To save you having to manually copy and paste data into another application, it is
better to save the form data to a text file and then this can be easily imported into
Excel or Access.
Saving Form Data to a Text File
1. Open the completed Word form
2. Click on the Office button and then Word Options
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Scroll down to the Preserve fidelity when sharing this document section:
5. Tick the Save form data as delimited text file box and click on OK
6. Click on the Office button and Save Copy As...
7. Save the file as a Plain Text file (*.txt) and click on OK
8. When the File Conversion dialog box appears, click OK.
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Importing Data into an Excel Spreadsheet
1. Open up an Excel spreadsheet and click on the Data tab
2. Find the Get External Data group and click on the From Text button
3. Locate your plain text file and click on Import
4. Ensure the file type is set to Delimited and click on Next
5. Under Delimiters, place a tick in the Comma box (ensure any other are
removed), and click on Next
6. Format each individual column as you wish (not mandatory) and click on
Finish
7. Ensure the cell reference is correct for where you wish the data to appear and
click on OK
8. The data is now imported. You can insert a new row above if you wish and
put in column headers
9. Save the Excel spreadsheet.
You can import the data from more than one form into this spreadsheet. Simply
follow the instructions as above for each form, using the same spreadsheet.
Each time you import the data from a new form, you will NOT be able to import
into the next blank row in your spreadsheet.
You will need to leave a blank row each time and delete the blank rows at the end if
you wish.
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Importing Data into an Access Database
1. Open up a blank Access database
2. Click on the External Data tab, find the Import group, and click on the Text
File button
3. Browse for, and open your plain text file
4. Select Import the source data into a new table in the current database
and click on OK
5. Ensure the file is set to Delimited and click on Next
6. Under Delimiters, place a tick in the Comma box (ensure that any other ticks
are removed) and click on Next
7. For each column specify a field name and select the data type and click on
Next
8. Select Choose my own primary key and select the column you wish to be
the primary key
9. Click on Next
10. Enter a name for the table and click on Finish
11. Click on Close
To add data for the next form:
1. Open up your database
2. Click on the External Data tab, find the Import group, and click on the Text
File button
3. Browse for, and Open your plain text file for the new form
4. Select Append a copy of the records to the table: and select the table you
created above
5. Click on OK
6. Ensure that the file type is set to Delimited and click on Next
7. Under Delimiters place a tick in the Comma box (ensure any other ticks are
removed) and click on Next
8. Click on Finish
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