WD: How to Create an Automated Form with Fill-in Fields

• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SUMMARY

This article describes how to create a simple form that automatically prompts a user to fill in information.

MORE INFORMATION

Follow these steps to create a template with automatic fill-in fields:

1. On the File menu, click New.



2. Select Blank Document. (In Word 6.x, select the Normal template.)



3. Under Create New, select Template (In Word 6.x, select New Template). Click OK.



4. Create the Fill-in Fields.
   
   There are two methods you can use to create fill-in fields: menus and keystrokes. Select the method best suited for you.
   
   Method 1: Creating a Field Using the Menus:
   
   
   1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert the text field.
   
   
   
   2. On the Insert menu, click Field.
   
   
   
   3. In the Categories list, select Mail Merge.
   
   
   
   4. In the Field Names list, select Fill-in.
   
   
   
   5. The FILLIN field is displayed in the Field Codes text box below the Categories list. Click inside of the text box to the right of the word FILLIN and type quotation marks around the prompt you want to display. For example, use the following syntax to display a prompt asking the user to enter their name:
   
   
   

   FILLIN "Please enter your first and last name."

   6. Click OK. You will see a sample of the prompt. Click OK to return to your document.
      
      NOTE: To view the field code you just inserted, press ALT+F9 (Windows) or OPTION+F9 (Macintosh).
   
   
   
   7. Repeat steps a-f for every place in the document where you want a fill-in field.
   
   
   
   Method 2: Creating a Field Using Keystrokes.



1. Position the insertion point where you want to insert the field.



2. Press CTRL+F9 (Windows) or COMMAND+F9 (Macintosh). Field braces, { }, appear in the document.



3. Position the insertion point inside the field braces.



4. Type the following, where <prompt> is what Word asks the user to type:

   FILLIN "<prompt>"

   NOTE: If you press F9 while the insertion point is still on the field, you can see a sample of the prompt that will be displayed. This step is not necessary to create the fill-in.



5. On the File menu, click Save As.



6. Name the template appropriately.


NOTE: The template needs to be saved in the directory that contains your user templates. To locate where your User Templates are stored, on the Tools menu, click Options and click the File Locations tab.

NOTE: In Word 6.x for the Macintosh, the template must be saved in the Microsoft Office:Templates folder and be accessed through the File:New command within Word for the Fillin fields to activate.
7. Create an Automated Macro that automatically updates the fields when you open a new document based on the template. To create the macro, follow these steps:


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1. On the Tools menu, click Macro.



2. Type AutoNew for the Macro Name.



3. In the Macros Available In list, select the template name you are using.



4. Click Create.



5. Type the following code:




Sub Main
  EditSelectAll
  UpdateFields
  EndofDocument
End Sub 

6. On the File menu, click Close. When prompted to save changes to your template, click Yes.



After you have finished creating all of the required fill-in fields, text for the template, and the macro to automatically run, close and save the template. On the File menu, click Close. When prompted to save changes to your template, click Yes.

Using the Template

1. On the File menu, click New.



2. Click to select your template.



3. Click OK.

Additional Information

Q187864 WD: How to Create an Online Form Using Form Fields

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, Chapter 14 Forms

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 480-484

Additional query words: fillin field fields forms auto keyboard merge automatic automatically

Keywords : kbdta wordnt kbfield ntword word6 word95
Version : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; winnt:6.0
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbinfo