A Templated Word Document?

[Dinsdale]

Need some suggestions - I'm trying to create a Word document that can
be shared among our staff, for the collection of "content." This Word
document will allow a web designer to paste in this collected text
into a company newsletter in built in HTML.

I'd like this Word document to have some areas or fields that allow
you to type or paste in text ("content goes here"), but it also
contains NON-editable headings, titles, etc, that represent the
sections headings, titles, etc. as seen in the web-based newsletter.

Make sense? How can I create non-editable regions in Word? If I
simply save a Word doc as a .dot, you can still edit the text.

Even if the NON-editable text was grayed out, this would help the end
user.

A form fill of some kind? Can someone suggest how I could go about
doing this? Or maybe forward me a similar document?

Thanks!

 

[John McGhie]

What you want is a Word "Form". Look these up in the Help.

A Word form enables you to save out only the text strings that the user
types, without any formatting.

You do not need a "Template". The concept of a Microsoft Word template is
not quite what you have understood: a template is "a model from which you
create lots of instances of the same kind of document".

In your case, it will be sufficient just to create a document as a Word
form, and enable the users to copy it.

Note: If you are using Word 2008, the description of Forms is not yet in
the Help, you will need to come back here and ask.

Cheers

Need some suggestions - I'm trying to create a Word document that can
be shared among our staff, for the collection of "content." This Word
document will allow a web designer to paste in this collected text
into a company newsletter in built in HTML.

I'd like this Word document to have some areas or fields that allow
you to type or paste in text ("content goes here"), but it also
contains NON-editable headings, titles, etc, that represent the
sections headings, titles, etc. as seen in the web-based newsletter.

Make sense? How can I create non-editable regions in Word? If I
simply save a Word doc as a .dot, you can still edit the text.

Even if the NON-editable text was grayed out, this would help the end
user.

A form fill of some kind? Can someone suggest how I could go about
doing this? Or maybe forward me a similar document?

Thanks!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Dinsdale]

Thanks so much, John. I'll need to brush up on forms in MSFT Word
now!

 

[khbkhb]

"Note: If you are using Word 2008, the description of Forms is not yet in
the Help, you will need to come back here and ask." I am using word2008, and would like to know how to use this undocumented feature. So how do we ask?

 

[khbkhb]

OK, lack of documentation aside, it would seem that "view->toolbars->forms" does the trick. Create a new document, put the text that shouldn't be editable in as normal text, use form fields for the user input, protect the form, and save the result as a template... except that it would seem that anyone can unprotect the form and edit the text that should be immutable. What am I missing?

 

[John McGhie]

When you "Protect Document" you get the option to choose one of three kinds
of protection.

If you choose to protect it for "Forms" it will ask which Sections you wish
to protect. Protect only the sections that contain the form fields.

There is a space to type a password. If you do type a password, Word will
ask you to confirm the password. It IS case-sensitive.

If you confirm the password, only the people with the password will be able
to unprotect the document. The longer the password (up to 15 characters)
the more secure the encryption is.

Personally, I do not bother password-protecting documents I protect only for
Forms. People do want to get in there and make changes from time to time.
Managing and securing the necessary passwords under those circumstances
becomes a chore.

If the user inadvertently unprotect a forms document, the form fields won't
work. To get the fields working again, all they have to do is turn the
protection back on.

Kevin is working as hard as he can to get the Help updated. Make sure you
have allowed the Help System to go online: it will then update each time you
use it.

In the meantime, use the Word 2007 help, which is here:
http://support.microsoft.com/ph/11377

Hope this helps

OK, lack of documentation aside, it would seem that "view->toolbars->forms"
does the trick. Create a new document, put the text that shouldn't be editable
in as normal text, use form fields for the user input, protect the form, and
save the result as a template... except that it would seem that anyone can
unprotect the form and edit the text that should be immutable. What am I
missing?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[khbkhb]

Yes, thank you.