Allowing and Saving Data in Form Fields

  • Thread starter PrivateInvestmentBanker
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PrivateInvestmentBanker

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel I have created a Word document with form fields that is password protected. When I saved the document, I selected "Track Forms". However, my recipient is unable to save the data they input into the form field. How do I allow this?
 
J

John McGhie

I am not quite sure what you are doing, because your terminology does not
exactly match what I see in Word.

I suspect the issue is that the document must be protected for forms to
enable the form fields. If the document is not protected for forms, the
user cannot save the content of the form fields. If the document IS
protected for forms, the user cannot edit anything outside the form fields.

We resolve that by surrounding the form fields you want to work as form
fields with section breaks. Then when you protect the document for Forms,
you nominate for protection only the sections that contain the form fields.

Note: Form documents cannot change file format: if the other user attempts
to save in a different format, the save will fail (or the document will
corrupt, or the form fields won't work). If you start in .doc format, you
must stay in .doc. If you start in .docx you must not save as .doc.

That makes the form fields work, while enabling the user to edit and save
text in other parts of the document outside the protected sections.

Sadly, there is no help for Forms in Mac Word 2008. That is partly because
only a narrow range of Form tools survive in Word 2008, due to the loss of
VBA.

There is an article here written for Word 2003:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HP052302701033.aspx

That's pretty close: but in Mac Word you can use ONLY the controls on the
Forms toolbar, and there is NO macro support.

Dian Chapman has a useful series of articles here:
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/customization/FillinTheBlanks.htm

Most of what she teaches will work in Word 2008, right up until she starts
discussing code and VBA.

Hope this helps

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel I
have created a Word document with form fields that is password protected.
When I saved the document, I selected "Track Forms". However, my recipient is
unable to save the data they input into the form field. How do I allow this?

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
 

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