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. Anonymous
    2015-03-03T20:11:14+00:00

    I read through this post with amusement.  Afterwards I discovered that what for a long time for me has been clear as a bell, is apparently clear as mud to some others.

    Davyd, the Repeating Data page is fairly long as it is :-(. The first six sections were published prior to the release of Word 2007 and the introduction of content controls.  Since all of the methods in section 1 through 6 are functionally similar, I never saw a need (other than mentioning that fact) to change those sections.  I have just completed a change to section 2 based on this post.

    There continues to be debate about what is the best method to create a form/repeat data.  I suppose the first consideration in that debate is NOT what you the form designer is working with, but what the form users will be working with!

    While a userform is near perfect to the designer, it is daunting to the novice.  With it you can easily validate data entered by the user (e.g., ensure SSN is 9 digits and formatted XXX-XX-XXXX), but if the user does not or is not permitted to use macros it is useless to him or her.  While content controls are near magical (but not perfect) they are useless if your from user is working with Word 2003. 

    Are your users poor spellers or, like me a careless typist?  If so then with using formfields, not only what they type incorrectly may go unnoticed, everywhere it is repeated will be unnoticed as well.

    Davyd mentions he is using Word 2013.  In my opinion, if he and his users have access to Word 2010 or higher (I exclude Word 2007 because of the missing checkbox content control, a "protected" content control  form is superior to a protected formfield form.

    While it would still be functional, by "protected" content control form, I do not mean "Editing Restrictions - Filling In Forms"  

    In this type of form, the "best" way to repeat data is by mapping (binding the content control data) to a document CustomXMLPart.  In this way a change to any like titled content control updates the XML data and all like titled controls mapped to that node.

    The easiest way (IMHO) to that is download, extract and load my Content Control Tools Add-In: http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/word_tip_pages/content_control_tools.html

    1. Open a new document.

    2. Add all the content controls.  Title all the ones you want to repeat the same data with the same title e.g., if you need TenantName repeated 10 times then create 10 CCs titled "TenantName {copy and paste works wonderfully).

    1. Click the Add-Ins tab.
    2. Click The Content Control Tools control
    3. Click the InstaMap tab

    6. Click "InStaMap Content Controls"

    7. Set editing restrictions (optional)

        a. Developer>Restrict Editing

        b. Editing Restrictions>Check Allow only this type of editing in the document.

        c. Set the dropdown to No Changes (Read only)

        d. Click on Yes, Start Enforcing Protection////

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-02T16:22:18+00:00

    I think I have it working.  I want to thank you all for your help, I really do appreciate it.  I especially want to think John Korchok For his patience working with such a dummy.  ;)

    Your a prince John, I am grateful to have someone like you take the time to help.  You were extremely clear and measured in your response so I could get this completed. 

    I just inserted all of this into a real document and it appears to be working beautifully.

    thanks again

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-03-02T14:30:59+00:00

    Thanks, can't see your images though.

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