How do I limit the number of characters inside a table?

[David, Diane's Cstrom]

I am trying to lock down a table to only allow a specific number of
alpha-numeric characters to be inserted into the table. It is a one by one
table.

 

[Jezebel]

Word has no direct functionality for this. You could put formfields in the
cells, and set the size for those fields; or run a macro after the event to
check for overflow. Or put a heading at the top "Don't enter more than x
characters in any one cell".

Why does it matter?

 

[Stefan Blom]

If you are creating a simple form, setting a fixed height for the
table row (in Table | Table Properties, Row tab) usually does the job.
People tend to stop typing when they find that the text disappears...

For more control, use a protected form with a text form field set to
allow a maximum number of characters (as Jezebel suggested). You still
need to put the form field inside a fixed-height table cell, since the
form field doesn't prevent users from pressing Enter.

A macro can provide even more control. See:

How to code the ENTER key to move between form fields in a protected
form in Word
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/211219/en-us

See also:

I'm designing a form that needs to have "fill-in-the-blanks" lines.
What is the best way to create them?
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/tblsfldsfms/LinesInForms.htm

This article also has links to a series of articles (by Dian Chapman)
which describes the use of protected forms in detail.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP


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