Word form does not open at the top

[Susan L]

I have a protected form that does not open at the top of the document where
there's a title and logo. The first form controls are 3/4 down the page
(therefore that's the first tab stop). The rest of the form is a table with
various controls.

I saw a post about putting a "blank" continuous section break at the top of
the document, then protecting everything beneath that. However, this did not
work for me.

I'd really appreciate any help you can give. This form is going out to major
US corporations and I don't want "egg on my face". Thanks.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

I have a protected form that does not open at the top of the document where
there's a title and logo. The first form controls are 3/4 down the page
(therefore that's the first tab stop). The rest of the form is a table with
various controls.

I saw a post about putting a "blank" continuous section break at the top of
the document, then protecting everything beneath that. However, this did not
work for me.

"This did not work for me." is not helpful for those wishing to help you out.
Please describe the observed behaviour from your document and the exact
procedure you tried to apply.

Did you actually unprotect that first blank section?
Which Word version?

 

[Susan L]

Apologies for the delay in responding.

I did find a workaround, rather inelegant, but it works. I placed a text
control near the top of the document, then formatted it as hidden text.

To answer your questions:
Using Word 2003 and Windows XP and XP Professional (when at the office)
I inserted a continuous section break near the top of the document. Then I
highlighted all the material below the section marker and then applied
protection. (I did notice when I went into Normal view that the section break
was labeled "End of Protected" somthing or other.

Since I posted my question, I have run into some other issues. (Let me know
if I need to start another thread.) My major question is whether there are
any known problems moving templates from one system to another? Here's
background.

I sent the template to my client and helped him install it in the proper
templates folder. When he opened a document based on the template two things
happened:
1) He was unable to edit the form. None of the radio buttons or text boxes
could be used. 2) The Control Toolbox was visible (I had been careful to
close it).

I sent him a form created from the template, which he was able to open from
the e-mail I sent. He then did a Save As to a folder in My Documents. (Saving
to the desktop did not work -- the form was uneditable.)

I also had problems on my laptop (XP Professional + Word 2003 -- same as my
client). Only, Word doesn't recognize that the templates are in the templates
folder when I choose File > New. And double-clicking the actual template to
create a document results in an uneditable document. I guess I will next try
re-creating the template on that machine.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Apologies for the delay in responding.

I did find a workaround, rather inelegant, but it works. I placed a text
control near the top of the document, then formatted it as hidden text.

A continuous section break at the top of the page should work. Of course,
make sure to select all sections excpet section one when applying protection
from the protection task pane (CLick on "Select sections...").

To answer your questions:
Using Word 2003 and Windows XP and XP Professional (when at the office)
I inserted a continuous section break near the top of the document. Then I
highlighted all the material below the section marker and then applied
protection. (I did notice when I went into Normal view that the section break
was labeled "End of Protected" somthing or other.

Since I posted my question, I have run into some other issues. (Let me know
if I need to start another thread.) My major question is whether there are
any known problems moving templates from one system to another? Here's
background.

I sent the template to my client and helped him install it in the proper
templates folder. When he opened a document based on the template two things
happened:
1) He was unable to edit the form. None of the radio buttons or text boxes
could be used. 2) The Control Toolbox was visible (I had been careful to
close it).

Where you using ActiveX and Formfields? What else do you have in the document?
What type of protection did you apply?
Was your client creating a document from the template or just opening an
existing dcument, if so, how did you make sure that the said document was in
fact connected to the appropriate template?

I sent him a form created from the template, which he was able to open from
the e-mail I sent. He then did a Save As to a folder in My Documents. (Saving
to the desktop did not work -- the form was uneditable.)

Makle sure your client dowloads the document from the email browser, and not
just double clicking on them inside the email message he received.

I also had problems on my laptop (XP Professional + Word 2003 -- same as my
client). Only, Word doesn't recognize that the templates are in the templates
folder when I choose File > New. And double-clicking the actual template to
create a document results in an uneditable document. I guess I will next try
re-creating the template on that machine.

And what if you double click on the template itself from the Windows
Explorer window instead of going through File > New? Does that work?

 

[Susan L]

Guy:
A continuous section break at the top of the page should work. Of course,
make sure to select all sections excpet section one when applying protection
from the protection task pane (CLick on "Select sections...").
I didn't see a "Select sections" -- is that supposed to be in the protection
pane?

Where you using ActiveX and Formfields? What else do you have in the document?
Yes, I am using radio button ActiveX controls and text fields from the Forms
toolbar. The document has an initial page of text with two radio buttons at
the bottom. The rest of the document consists of a 1-page table and a 2-page
table. No other section breaks. The rest of the controls are in those tables.
I applied "Filling in forms" protection.

Was your client creating a document from the template or just opening an
existing dcument, if so, how did you make sure that the said document was in
fact connected to the appropriate template?
I walked him through installing the templates (Documents & Settings, his
folder name, application data, etc.). Then instructed him to choose File >
New with the mouse to create a new document based on the template. When the
resulting document was uneditable, I created a form (in the same manner) from
the template and sent it to him to see if it would function properly. First
he opened it from the Desktop, which resulted in an uneditable document.
Later, he saved it to a folder in My Documents and it did function properly,
although the Control Toolbox appeared when he first opened it. He closed the
toolbox and it did not appear when he re-opened the document. I will make
sure he saves the attachment to a folder rather than "running it through"
Outlook and doing a Save As.

And what if you double click on the template itself from the Windows
Explorer window instead of going through File > New? Does that work?
I tried that, and it results in an uneditable document. However, I just
decided to check again to see if the templates appear in Word on the laptop
-- and lo, they do. And the resulting document is also editable. Last night I
tried closing and reopening Word, but it must have been the shutdown that
cleared out whatever was going on. So that problem is solved. Glad I checked
before posting back. The client keeps saying that he must be doing something
wrong – and perhaps that’s the case. Since we’re not face to face, I can’t
see what’s going on.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

I didn't see a "Select sections" -- is that supposed to be in the protection
pane?

Yes.
In smaller print, looks like a hyperlink, under the Restriction Type dropdown.

Yes, I am using radio button ActiveX controls and text fields from the Forms
toolbar. The document has an initial page of text with two radio buttons at
the bottom. The rest of the document consists of a 1-page table and a 2-page
table. No other section breaks. The rest of the controls are in those tables.
I applied "Filling in forms" protection.

ActiveX may create problems.
If Word decides that they are not trusted, it goes into Design mode, which
means it is not a proper form anymore.
Try not to use ActiveX controls if you are distributing the document.

I walked him through installing the templates (Documents & Settings, his
folder name, application data, etc.). Then instructed him to choose File >
New with the mouse to create a new document based on the template. When the
resulting document was uneditable, I created a form (in the same manner) from
the template and sent it to him to see if it would function properly. First
he opened it from the Desktop, which resulted in an uneditable document.
Later, he saved it to a folder in My Documents and it did function properly,
although the Control Toolbox appeared when he first opened it. He closed the
toolbox and it did not appear when he re-opened the document. I will make
sure he saves the attachment to a folder rather than "running it through"
Outlook and doing a Save As.

The Toobox appearing is an indication that ActiveX controls are creating
problems.
I never use them, unless I can go to the client site and run tests.

I tried that, and it results in an uneditable document. However, I just
decided to check again to see if the templates appear in Word on the laptop
-- and lo, they do. And the resulting document is also editable. Last night I
tried closing and reopening Word, but it must have been the shutdown that
cleared out whatever was going on. So that problem is solved. Glad I checked
before posting back. The client keeps saying that he must be doing something
wrong – and perhaps that’s the case. Since we’re not face to face, I can’t
see what’s going on.

That is never a great situation!
I use Virtual PC and have installed many Windows and Office versions so that
I can at lesat mimic client set ups on my machine. It is better than having
many machines...

 

[Susan L]

Well, mystery solved...the "form" did open in design view -- so the ActiveX
radio buttons were the source of that problem. And these forms will be going
to companies across the US, so no way to control/test in the environment.

So do you have any suggested alternatives for building reliable forms? The
Forms toolbar has such limited tools. The main tool I need is the radio
button or something that enforces a single choice among members of a group.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Well, mystery solved...the "form" did open in design view -- so the ActiveX
radio buttons were the source of that problem. And these forms will be going
to companies across the US, so no way to control/test in the environment.

So do you have any suggested alternatives for building reliable forms? The
Forms toolbar has such limited tools. The main tool I need is the radio
button or something that enforces a single choice among members of a group.

See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/ExclusiveFmFldChbxs.htm

 

[Susan L]

Jean-Guy: Thank you so much. That article was very helpful.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Jean-Guy: Thank you so much. That article was very helpful.

Glad I could be of assistance!