Basic Template Question

[Steve]

To quote a friend, "I'm as lost as last years Easter eggs." I simply want
to create "form" documents that my assistant can use to create finished
contracts based on information my clients (or I) give to her. I go to the
template toolbar after I have the basic agreement opened, hoping to create a
"form" that requires certain portions to be completed. I can put in little
shaded areas or check boxes or whatever. But so what? How do I enter, for
example, information she should choose from (macros?). If I put in check
boxes they can't be checked. The dropdown choices don't drop down. The
"Help" files are no help. Would someone please direct me to some basic
reading on this? Or maybe I need to purchase another program to do what I
want to do. Thanks. Steve

 

[Jezebel]

By the sounds of it, the bit of information you're missing is the idea of
protecting and unprotecting the form -- the little padlock on the forms
toolbar. When the form is unprotected you're working on the template: moving
the checkboxes, setting the options, etc. When the form is protected you're
using the form itself: filling in the textboxes, using the drop-downs, etc.

The basic sequence of events is:

1. Create the form as a template. Put in the fields and prompts, drop-down
lists, etc.
2. Protect and save the template.
3. Create a new document from the template: it will open as a protected
form, with all the fields operational.


You set the options for the fields by unprotecting, then right-click the
field and select properties.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

For more on the subject of forms, see
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/FillinTheBlanks.htm and
especially the forms tutorials by Dian Chapman that this article links to.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Steve]

Thank you both. Very helpful.