Creating a form field to be filled out by a user and populate through out the document

Anonymous
2015-03-01T18:08:02+00:00

I know this is simple but I cannot figure it out.

Working in

|Office 2013

 |Microsoft Office Word

 |Office for Windows 8.1

Please don't reference Greg Massey, I can't understand anything there and his tutorials seem completely out of whack with Word 2013.

I am building a contract where field are repeated several times, (FirstName, LastName, Address, etc.)

I want to create a field in the contract that populated throughout the document with these variable from the first field I population:

I want to enter the information each time from a template directly on the template. When a user would get to the template the first page might have something like this. There they would fill in the variables in italics

This contract is for FirstName LastName at ThisAddress, ThisCity, ThisZipCode

Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here. 

Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here.  Static content continues here. 

Then one of the variable above is needed again.  If it was entered above, it would automatically populate the fields filled in above.

FirstName LastName promises to pay $1 for services.

All Service are performed in ZipCode

I know you can do this with bookmarks, but when I did that, and then wanted to CHANGE the variable to make a contract with another person, I had to recreate the bookmark and all referenced fields on the whole thing from an original bookmark again.  I want to make this once, and the use just enters the basic information one time and it autopopulates the rest of the doc.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2015-03-02T05:53:50+00:00

It is NOT to the default text that you create the cross reference, but to the bookmark that is assigned to the FormField.  

It is a good idea to assign a meaningful bookmark name to the formfield and in the example below, I have used TenantName as the bookmark as well as setting that as the default text.   Note that I have also checked the Calculate on Exit box

Then, after setting cross references to the Text of the Bookmark and Protecting the document for Filling in Forms, when I enter "Bill Smith" into the FormField

and then press the tab key, this will be the result

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John Korchok 236.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2015-03-02T14:44:28+00:00

Hi Davyd,

Legacy Form Fields will not relay the information until you protect the document for Filling in forms.

  1. Developer>Restrict Editing
  2. Editing Restrictions>Check Allow only this type of editing in the document.
  3. Set the dropdown to Filling in forms
  4. Click on Yes, Start Enforcing Protection
  5. Save your document.

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2015-03-01T21:36:56+00:00

    See the following page of Greg Maxey's website:

    http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/word\_tip\_pages/repeating\_data.html

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-01T21:32:30+00:00

    Ok, that did allow me to create a book mark it, but when I change the text in the Rich Text Control, it does not repopulate the REF to the new value.

    Originally:

    Rich Text Control Tenant Name:  [Click here to enter text.]

    Reference to tenant name:  Click here to enter text.

    Works great.

    Then I type in an actual name to the Rich Text Control:

    Rich Text Control Tenant Name:  [Davyd  Smith]

    Reference to tenant name:  Click here to enter text.

    The name does not populate the REF

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  3. John Korchok 236.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-03-01T21:19:56+00:00

    Try inserting a Rich Text control. The Plain Text control does not allow bookmarks, for some reason.

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