Why bother faxing or mailing something back and forth when you can create the same form in Word so that it can be filled out on the computer, saved, and sent by email?
http://www.researchtutorials.com/videos/dc/wordforms.flv
Downloads
|
Download: Fillable Form Example (Word 2003) (67.5KB) Added: 28/07/2009 Tutorial: Make a fillable form in Word |
June 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
These tutorials will definitely improve my efficiency!
Thanks and God bless!!!
June 10th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Glad you enjoyed it!
September 17th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Fantastic. Answered my “how do I do it” questions perfectly.
Great tutorial. Well done!
September 25th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Great tutorial! Really appreciate the time you put in. Great tool!
October 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
excellet
November 12th, 2008 at 11:51 am
You Totally Rock
That was brilliant, easy to understand and follow
November 19th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Seriously- I can’t thank you enough!
January 8th, 2009 at 11:52 am
I will be able to utilize your EXCELLENT techniques daily. Thank you for taking the time to share!
January 27th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Most Excellent tutorial!!
January 27th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Thanks for the great tutorial.
January 31st, 2009 at 11:53 am
GREAT JOB…Keep up the good work
Jim
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 am
Great tutorial! Is there a way to protect the fields so that when someone hits “enter” it doesn’t increase the size of the row?
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:54 am
Jill – There is a way to prevent the user from increasing the size of the row:
1. Click in any cell in the row you want to protect (or select the whole row by left clicking outside of the table, in the white space to the left on the row’s first cell). If you want to apply this rule to every row in the table, select the whole table.
2. Go to Table > Table Properties
3. Select the Row tab
4. Under Size, instead of “Rows” it should say “Row 1″ (or Row 2, 3, etc. – it’s whatever row you selected in Step 1).
Note: If the Table Properties box opens and the Row tab is already selected, select another tab and then reselect the Row tab. This resets the “Row” heading, which seems to always default to “Rows” upon first opening, even when you’ve selected a specific row.
5. Check the box next to “Specify height”
6. Select the row height you want to enforce (try “.3″ for starters)
7. For “Row height is:,” select “Exactly”
8. Click OK
9. Your row is now fixed at the height you set. It won’t expand if the user hits enter or exceeds the space for text.
February 5th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Thank you, Kurt. It works exactly as you say!!
March 11th, 2009 at 11:55 am
You are GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for teaching me how to do these forms. I appreciate it greatly.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:55 am
This is gold.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Super fantastic! Excellent tutorial!
April 15th, 2009 at 11:56 am
This tutorial was awesome!!! thank you so much
April 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Hi Kurt,
I attempted protecting the row height following the directions you gave Jill, and I’m still having difficulties.
If I continue typing, the row expands distorting the other cells and table. Anything else I can try?
Thank You,
May 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Jessica:
Hmm … have you protected the form? The effect may not take until you protect the form.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:56 am
I liked this tutorial alot! But is there anyway you could make it printable?
May 7th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Maria:
If I get around to making a printable version of the tutorial, I’ll definitely post it. In the mean time, see the link below for an excellent and very detailed (printable) overview of how to make fillable forms in word. The tutorial covers many of the tips I covered (and several I didn’t!):
http://www.officearticles.com/tutorials/an_extreme_tutorial_in_creating_fill-in_forms_in_microsoft_word.htm
April 30th, 2009 at 11:57 am
That was exactly what I have been trying to make. Thanks
May 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
cool tutorial. thanks a bunch Kurt. it was just what i needed.
May 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Thank you so much for this great tutorial!!!! Really helpful!!!!
June 10th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
This is great!! I was wondering though what version word you are using? Ive been trying to follow the tutorial, but cant find most of what your talking about. I have word 2007, and can navigate back and forth pretty well. I could not find the text options though? This is definitly better than buying a software package to do just this one thing.
Thank You–
June 11th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Heidi:
I am using Word 2003 and yes, as you’ve discovered, the two versions are very different.
For a tutorial on how to make fillable forms in Word 2007, try this link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100307461033.aspx.
The 2007 tutorial will show you how to make visible something called the Developer tab, which includes several tools from version 2003 (known in 2007 as “legacy tools”). One of these tools is the 2003 form toolbar that I use in my video. It should include all the form fields that you might need.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Just like to say what an excellent tutorial this is. I learned a lot from it. A couple questions for you Kurt.
1. How do you setup digital signatures for an email and if you use Printed for the name how do they print it (fill it out) and send it back to you after they print their name or digitally sign it?
2. Is there a way to add the form to your blog or website so they can fill it out and submit to your email?
That is all for now. Thanks for a most excellent tutorial. Is there a way to embed this tutorial in a blog or website for others to see, that is if you allow it.
Fred.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Fred:
Great questions!
“1. How do you setup digital signatures for an email and if you use Printed for the name how do they print it (fill it out) and send it back to you after they print their name or digitally sign it?”
Hmm … not sure what you mean by using “Printed for the name.” The name of the Digital ID? The Word form you created? Either way, I don’t think that would affect their ability to fill it out and send it to you, digitally signed or not.
Do you want users to digitally sign the Word document/form you created, or digitally sign the email they send you (with, for example, the Word document attached)? These are two entirely separate options.
1. To digitally sign an email, it depends on the email client the person is using. If it’s Outlook, the user needs to create (i.e., register for) a Digital ID (aka, digital signature) and then install it on his computer. He then needs to configure Outlook (Tools > Options > Security) to attach the digital signature to every outgoing message, or add it manually to individual emails. You can find a good tutorial on this here: http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/13695/how-do-i-install-a-digital-signature-in-outlook.html
To digitally sign a Word document or form:
1. With the Word document open, go to Tools > Options
2. Click on the Security tab
3. Click the Digital Signatures button
4. The Digital Signature dialog box opens. Click Add.
(If the user hasn’t saved the document – i.e., the data he entered in the form fields – he will be asked to do so now.)
5. The Select Certificate dialog box opens. Select the digital certificate you want to use.
6. Click OK
If the user doesn’t have a digital certificate, he or she will need to create one. There are many different methods for this; the easiest one is described here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP052495581033.aspx
“2. Is there a way to add the form to your blog or website so they can fill it out and submit to your email?”
There probably is but I don’t know the steps. However, I suspect an easier method is to create the fillable form directly on your web page (i.e., in HTML), using web design software (Dreamweaver, FrontPage, etc.).
“Is there a way to embed this tutorial in a blog or website for others to see, that is if you allow it.”
There might be but I don’t know how! (And I have no problem allowing it!) In the meantime, feel free to just add a link to the URL of the tutorial.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Kurt,
Thanks for the reply. I look forward to seeing more tutorials from you on this site. The only thing that would have made it better was to make it interactive like Adobe Captivate allows you too. I know you can do similar things using Camtasia Studio but, I have more steps when making interactive videos so I use Adobe Captivate for them. Just IMHO. Keep up the great work and thanks again.
Fred.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Hi Kurt,
Your tutorial was very helpful. Using you video, I created a fillable form for use on making comments/evaluations on my students. This is a form I plan to save and use over and over again. When typing on the lines, how can I prevent the lines from moving. I’ll type a sentence and instead of skipping to the next line, the line moves. My evaluations are usually 6 to 10 lines long. Please tell me how I can prevent the line from moving. Thank you for your time and help.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Hi Mary.
Can you clarify the problem you’re having?
At the beginning of the tutorial, I show some examples of problems with lines moving.
0:28 – When you enter text, the line moves. The fix is described at 16:17: Instead of manually typing lines using an underscore, add a solid border to the bottom line of the table cell.
0:56 – When you add text to a row (in this example, it’s a tall row to write comments) and hit enter, the row height expands, but you want to keep the row at a fixed height. The fix is described at 40:10: It involves setting the “Row height is:” property to “Exactly” (instead of the default, “At least”) Also, see my reply (February 03, 2009) to Jill’s question: “Is there a way to protect the fields so that when someone hits “enter” it doesn’t increase the size of the row?”
Does this help?
June 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Hi Kurt,
Excellent tutorial. If I understand Mary’s question, I think this is what she is referring to…I am also curious:
I would like to create a box like the one you have created for comments. However, within the box I would like the user to see lines where they are required to type. The only problem with creating rows is that you can’t type a continuous paragraph (on multiple lines) without losing the bolded line. Any advice? I realize i could just underline the text as I type but then it would require additional formatting (with tabs and spacing) to make sure all the lines are the same length.
Any ideas?
Meghan
June 24th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Hello Mary,
All you have to do to fix your problem is to not only fix the rox height as Kurt demonstrated but also fix the column width. You can do this by selecting the whole chart in question right click and select autoformat. In there you should see something that says fixed column width. Hope this helps. And Kurt, thanks, the playing around with the tables really helped.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
This was awsome – great work and thanks!
July 9th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
This was amazing, I learned so much from this!
Thank you!
July 20th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
wow i’ve been fussing around for the last 6 months trying to figure out an easy way to make and e-mail a form. was one frustrating issue after another…. but this one tutorial and it’s all clear as day! feel like a genius : ) thanks for the great tutorial !!!!! i still can’t believe how easy yet versatile it is!
July 27th, 2009 at 11:05 am
As always Kurt your tutorials are so helpful and just embedded with tons of short cut tips! Awesome! Thank you for doing this.
July 27th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Where did the video go?
July 27th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
It’s back!
August 1st, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Kurt, this tutorial was outstanding. I struggle with making forms so they cannot be edited.
Learning this also adds to my skill set!
Thank you
Juanita Richburg Seon
Solutons By Seon…turning the light on your dream!
August 2nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
everything worked out great except when i e-mailed it ( not as an attachment) i did a test to myself and my e-mail landed up in my junk mail with just the text one line after another and minus the fields
: ( any ideas why?
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:56 am
ingrid, check and make sure your emails are being sent as html, a lot of email clients have ‘Send as Text Only’ selected so it’s easier to read by people who don’t have email clients capable of showing html. Hope that helps.
August 5th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Ingrid:
I suspect you need to send the Word form as an attachment. (In Word, File > Send To > Mail Recipient (As Attachment).) Sending the form in the body of the message disables the interactivity of a Word form (because it’s no longer really a Word document).
If you want to create an email form to collect data, the best option is to use a feature in Access 2007 (it will require Outlook 2007, too).
You can see a demo here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access/HA102527131033.aspx
Basically, you create your fields in Access, use a wizard to build an (HTML) email form based on those fields, and you then send the email to your recipients. They can fill in the form directly in their email and when they send it back, the data goes directly into your Access database. This is more efficient than using Word forms, but it does require you having Access 2007 and your recipients having Outlook 2007. Most of us aren’t there yet.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hey Kurt,
Thanks for the thoughtful, detailed and well-produced tutorial! Even numbskulls like me can follow it!
~Bob
August 5th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Is there a way that you can take away the option to save when the document is closed? Like if the form was on a public computer, the form was filled out and printed, and when exited, the filled in information was automatically cleared?
August 6th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Kristi:
If it’s possible, it would probably require some programming (using something called Macros) and be rather tricky.
Instead of preventing it from being saved, consider saving the form as a Document Template (ends with .dot) rather than the more common Word Document (.doc). When someone opens a template, Word serves up a *copy* of the template, but as a normal Word Document. If they do try to save it, they’re forced to give it a new name. This way, the original template (the .dot file) never gets overwritten.
To change your Word form (which is most likely a .doc file) to a Document Template, do this:
1. Open up your form in Word
2. Go to File > Save As
3. In the “Save as type:” box, choose Document Template (*.dot).
4. Click Save
Or, if you’ve already created your form, go to where you saved it, right click on the file name, choose Rename, and change the .doc to .dot. You’ll be asked to confirm this change because changing file extensions can sometimes corrupt a file. In this case, however, it should work fine.
A great use of the template feature is for company Memos. If your company has a standard Word memo template (or fax cover sheet, supply order form, etc.) – with a logo, fields for TO:, FROM:, etc. – you (or they!) should save it as a .dot file. That way when you open it to fill in a new memo, if you save it you won’t override the template: you’ll always have a clean, blank memo template waiting for you next time.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:50 am
WOW! Thanks so much. I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure this out. I just have one question. Is there a way to make the text that is being typed in more closer to the bottom line? Right now when I type on my form the text is a bit too high above the base line so it looks funny.
Thanks again,
Craig
September 1st, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Very informative, easy to follow! Thank you for making this tutorial. My form was completed in no time!
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
This was the BEST tutorial I’ve been able to find on forms in Word. Really GREAT!
I can create forms myself, now.
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Hi, I am making a form that is mostly copy with an occasional fillable area and not necessarily a chart of information. How do you put in just one area or a few here and there?
Also, I am going to write a lease which I would love to have a chart like you did here that would figure out the total dollar amount owed if you put numeric information in it. Is there a way to do that?
Thank you!!!!!
Suzette
September 15th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Suzette:
> How do you put in just one area or a few here and there?
Just insert the form fields as you would normally. They don’t need to be inserted into tables. Using tables just helps provide structure and layout to your form, but if you don’t need that just insert the fields anywhere you’d like.
> Also, I am going to write a lease which I would love to have a chart like you did here that would figure out the total dollar amount owed if you put numeric information in it. Is there a way to do that?
There is, but you will need to use a table for this.
1. Insert a table in your Word document (Table > Insert > Table)
2. Select the number of columns and rows you need.
3. Click OK.
For example, let’s say you want an invoice with 2 columns (Item and Item Cost) and 10 rows (9 rows to enter up to 9 items and their costs, and a 10th row to calculate the total cost). This will give you a 2 x 10 table. Now imagine it’s like an Excel sheet, where each column has a letter, and each row has a number. Your second column (where you will enter individual Item Costs) is column B. So the first Item Cost “cell” is B1, the next is B2, etc. This becomes important later.
3. For the first Item Cost field (i.e., B1 [second column, first row]), insert a Text Form Field (using the Forms toolbar).
4. Right click on the field and choose Properties.
5. Set the properties like so:
- Type: Number
- Number format: $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00) (should be the 5th option)
- Under Field Settings, make sure you check the boxes for “Fill-in enabled” and “Calculate on exit.”
6. Repeat Steps 3-5 for the remaining 8 Item Cost fields (or to make life easier just copy and paste the first one you made)
7. In the second column, 10th row (i.e., B10) – where you want to create a running sum of the Item Costs as they are entered – do this:
a. On Word’s main menu, go to Insert > Field
b. Click the Formula button
c. For the Formula, enter =SUM(B1:B9)
d. For the Number format, enter $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00) (3rd option)
e. Click OK
8. Protect the form (click on the Lock icon on the Forms toolbar)
9. Test it out by entering numbers in the Item Cost fields. The field you entered in B10 should calculate the total automatically.
September 3rd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Kurt,
Thanks for the detailed tutorial. It was basic but not tedious, thorough but not overwhelming. I’ll use the info daily.
September 15th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Thank you Kurt! I’m going to give it a try. I looked all over the Microsoft Office Help for this and found nothing. I never would have figured this out. You’re great. Blessings to you!
Suzette
September 19th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
with your tutotials i have been able to figure out how to make my exisiting document fillable … however i have many fields(50) that need to be filled and it looks somewhat wordy with the verbeage “click here to enter text” … can it be done where the fields have just a line for the user to complete for a more professional look?
thank you!
October 19th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hmm … not sure why your fields say “Click here to enter text.”
> can it be done where the fields have just a line for the user to complete …
I show how to do this in my tutorial (i.e., using tables and hiding/showing cell borders to create the lines). My technique is very similar to the one described here: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/LinesInForms.htm
You can also turn off the gray shading Word creates for your form fields. To do so, on the Form toolbar click the “a” with some shading around it. This will create a more streamlined look. The downside is it removes a handy visual cue for your users who are completing the form on the computer.
October 7th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Great tutorial. I would like to go one step further and add a submit button, that will email this form as a attachemnt at the click of the submit button.
Do you know what the code is to have this action carried out.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:51 am
> add a submit button, that will email this form as a attachment at the click of the submit button.
You have two options, one which uses a Macro and one which uses Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
Option 1 (Macro)
—————-
Add a MacroButton field to your form, and link it to a macro that executes the email procedure: For general info on MacroButton fields, see: http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/UsingMacroButton.htm
Option 2 (VBA)
————–
Add an ActiveX Command Button to your form (View Toolbars > Control Toolbox), and link it to Visual Basic code that executes the email procedure.
Do a Google search with words like ‘Word’ ’submit’ ‘email’ and ‘button’ and you’ll find various examples of implementing both options. This is a popular one: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/InterDev/SendMail.htm.
But in my opinion, none of these options are very reliable. The problem with is that they require that your users a) have their Word’s security setting set to prompt them to “enable or disable macros” and b) actually choose to enable macros when they’re are prompted. (Some will open your Word form, see a macro alert, think it’s a virus, and spend the rest of their day calling the IT help desk.) Word 2007 may have a more graceful solution.
I will often just include with my Word form the following instructions:
“Please email this form as an attachment by going to File > Send To > Mail Recipient (As Attachment) …”
October 9th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hi,
I found this really useful! I’m currently designing a questionnaire and would like to know if there’s a way to use radio buttons instead-of check boxes in Word 2003.
Thanks,
Hira
October 19th, 2009 at 10:33 am
> a way to use radio buttons instead-of check boxes in Word 2003.
Not with the Forms toolbar.
But depending on why you want them, this thread suggests three alternatives:
http://help.wugnet.com/office/Word-Forms-idea-apply-radio-button-check-boxe-ftopict1165998.html
The most common reason people want to use radio buttons is to create a set of mutually exclusive options. You can do this with check boxes and some code, as shown here:
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/ExclusiveFmFldChbxs.htm
October 20th, 2009 at 2:01 am
Hi,
Excellent tutorial about fillable forms in Word. Is it possible that I extract filled information from the form(s) and save them separately?
Thanks,
Noman
October 20th, 2009 at 11:36 am
You can export data from Word forms to Excel, Access, and other formats.
I have a quick tutorial on exporting Word form data to Excel here:
http://www.researchtutorials.com/data-management/export-data-from-a-word-form-to-excel/
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Hi,
I am having an issue with my text boxes. They are coming up white and are not fillable. I don’t know what to do to get them to format correctly. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
October 29th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Fantastic Tutorials … Very easy to learn from
Thanks so much !
November 9th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Kurt, whenever I try to view this tutorial, it gets about 20 seconds in and just stops and resets at the beginning. When I press play again, same thing.
I am using Firefox and have not had other problems viewing online videos on sites like YouTube, CNN, and NetFlix. Any ideas?
Thanks!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Hi Kurt,
Do you happen to have a video for Word 2007 in the making?
I went to the other website you recommended, but it just doesn’t have the same clarity or simplicity as your video on Word 2003. It also doesnt show how to create fillable lines. Any suggestions?
November 17th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I’ll get around to it eventually. I’m avoiding Word 2007 as long as I can, given the substantial changes Microsoft made to the interface.
November 13th, 2009 at 11:25 am
What happened to the video? Goes to 22+ minutes and than it stops. Can you check into it? (I am using explorer
November 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Great video by the way! Is there any simple way a text area can be spell checked? Seems like when I create a form, the text in the form isn’s spell checked. Thanks!
November 17th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Unfortunately, spell checking gets disabled in Word forms. You can do it, but it’s tricky and requires use of a macro. See this thread:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/449473.html
November 18th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Hi Kurt- Thanks for the quick response. That link looks pretty thorough. Am I doing something wrong because it doesn’t work.
I unprotected my forms document, (enable macros first so the macros will work), open macros window, name it, then paste the code. How do I “run” it when in that visual basic window? Do I just click “Run”?
When I go back to my unprotected document, it spellchecks. As soon as I lock my document, the fields where the users type still doesn’t spell check…If anyone can help- thanks!
November 17th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I was just following this video and it was good. My issue is that, i have a newsletter. I put all in a table with boxes for name of person(select their name from the drop down since there are only 5 ppl doing it), year and month drop down and the actual content as text.
When I protect the form, the boxes work as it should be, but i cant use the word styles like bold italics, indents etc on the content. Same thing with specific headings in the boxes where I can’t use styles to bold a few words etc.
the menu bar is all greyed out. Any advice?
November 19th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Great!!
My boss will not sacked me!