Forms And More In Word 365

You can take your documents from good to spectacular very easily in Word 365.

Let’s start with forms. Suppose you want to create a form that your users/readers can inset information into. You would start with a template or document and then add something called content controls (i.e., checkboxes, text boxes, date pickers, drop-down lists, etc.) If you use databases, the controls above can also be linked to your data.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

Show your Developer tab. If it is not displayed on your Ribbon, you can add it.

1. On your File tab, go to Options | Customize Ribbon.
2. Under Customize the Ribbon and Main Tabs, select the Developer check box.
3. Click OK.

After you show the tab, the Developer tab will stay visible, unless you clear the check box.

Start with a form template or start from scratch if you prefer, with a blank template.

Now you want to start adding your content to your form:

Go to Developer and select the controls you would like to add to your document or form. Should you want to remove a content control you have added, simply select the control and press Delete. You can set the properties on your controls once they are inserted. I should add that you can print a form that you have created using content controls but the boxes around those content controls will not print.

In a Rich Text content control, your users may format text as bold or italic and key in multiple paragraphs. Should you want to limit what your users add, insert the plain content control instead:

1. Click where you would like to insert your control.
2. Select Developer | Rich Text Content Control or Plain Text Content Control.

You can use building block controls when you would like users to select a specific block or text. Building block controls can be very helpful when you want to add different boilerplate content, depending on different requirements. You can create Rich Text content controls for each version of your boilerplate content and use a building block control as the container for your Rich Text content controls:

1. Click where you would like to insert your control.
2. Go to DeveloperBuilding Block Gallery Content Control or Building Block Content Control.
3. Select Developer and content controls for your building block.

4. Click where you would like to insert the control.

Next up, Assigning specific properties to your control. Keep an eye out for it!

—