WD: Setting Form Fields to a Fixed Length

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

Form field length expands or contracts, depending on the amount of text you enter into the form fields. This can result in other form fields or text moving to new positions, which affects the horizontal and vertical alignment of your form. This behavior can occur even though you have set a maximum limit for the number of characters to be entered into the field.

CAUSE

Setting the maximum number of characters for a form field does not establish a permanent dimension for the field. This setting refers only to the widest the field can be. If there are fewer characters typed than the maximum allowed, the field will be only as wide as the number of characters typed.

For example, if the maximum field size is 30 characters, and you type a five-letter word in the field, the field will be five characters wide. If you type 50 characters in the field, only the first 30 characters are shown.

WORKAROUND

Using one of the following methods may or may not help you achieve the results you want; however, any of these methods can be used to give you more precise control over the position of other fields or text within your form.

Method 1:

Place the form fields inside a table. Each cell that contains a form field will have a fixed width so varying the text length will not move text or other form fields horizontally on the page. Setting the table row to an exact height to control the number of lines that display in your form result will maintain the vertical position of other items on your form.

Method 2:

Place the form field in a frame. You can format the frame to have an exact height and width. To locate this option, select the frame, then choose Frame from the Format menu.

Method 3:

Set a tab immediately after the form field. The drawback to this method is that if the text inside the form field extends past the tab stop, the text or form field following the tab stop will not be positioned correctly.