I need to create a form in Word and would like to add that little gray
box that you can insert in a field and tab from field to another.
Also, this box expands the the size needed. I have a form that has
this box and can send you a copy of the form if need be. Any help is
appreciated.

thanks
Eddie


--
eddie57

Those grey boxes that you are talking about are called "form fields" (or
as one word "FormFields" in VBA -- for writing macros). To get them,
first open the "forms" toolbar: Tools |-- Customize... then click on
the Toolbars tab and check the Forms box (You can move this toolbar
around or dock it to some edge in the Word window; I like having it at
the bottom of the window, next to the Drawing toolbar, which I also
find useful but not used as often as the toolbars on top).

In the Forms toolbar, you have several buttons: "Text box", "Check
box", and "Drop-down box" in the first section are the most important;
you just click the appropriate button and a form field will be made
where your cursor is on the document!

The next button's -function- (Form field properties) is important, but
I usually get to it by double-clicking on the form field. Accessing the
form field properties will pop-up a separate window that contains, well,
the poperties of the form. Here you can specify what type of data you
plan to receive (either by listing the options in the top fields for
text boxes or by adding/removing items for the drop-down list). You can
also assign macros that you want to run, either as the user is
"entering" the field or after (s)he has put in his/her data and are
"exiting" the field (just select the macro you want to run in the
appropriate drop-down box in the center section). In the bottom
section, you can rename the field (bookmark at the bottom) to refer to
is easier in macros you might write. Also you can make your own "help"
text by pushing the bottom button.

The other buttons might be useful for some users, but I hardly ever
touch them... that is except for the lock which protects the form. When
the form is protected, the user can only access the unprotected form
fields. Furthermore, any time you double-click on a field, you select
the content in the field instead of opening up the field's options.
Also protected forms will cause the drop-down boxes to act like
drop-down boxes where you can click the box to drop-down the list and
select the option you want (you can also use the keyboard to access the
list: Alt+[Down Arrow] will open list, arrow keys to move through the
list, and [Enter] to make the selection). An easy way to think of this
is that the unprotected document is "design" mode and the protected
document is "form" mode.

Have fun making these forms! (and if you have other questions (ie @
using macros with form fields) just post again.)


--
Pyth007

Pyth007 Wrote:
Those grey boxes that you are talking about are called "form fields" (or
as one word "FormFields" in VBA -- for writing macros). To get them,
first open the "forms" toolbar: Tools |-- Customize... then click on
the Toolbars tab and check the Forms box (You can move this toolbar
around or dock it to some edge in the Word window; I like having it at
the bottom of the window, next to the Drawing toolbar, which I also
find useful but not used as often as the toolbars on top).

In the Forms toolbar, you have several buttons: "Text box", "Check
box", and "Drop-down box" in the first section are the most important;
you just click the appropriate button and a form field will be made
where your cursor is on the document!

The next button's -function- (Form field properties) is important, but
I usually get to it by double-clicking on the form field. Accessing the
form field properties will pop-up a separate window that contains, well,
the poperties of the form. Here you can specify what type of data you
plan to receive (either by listing the options in the top fields for
text boxes or by adding/removing items for the drop-down list). You can
also assign macros that you want to run, either as the user is
"entering" the field or after (s)he has put in his/her data and are
"exiting" the field (just select the macro you want to run in the
appropriate drop-down box in the center section). In the bottom
section, you can rename the field (bookmark at the bottom) to refer to
is easier in macros you might write. Also you can make your own "help"
text by pushing the bottom button.

The other buttons might be useful for some users, but I hardly ever
touch them... that is except for the lock which protects the form. When
the form is protected, the user can only access the unprotected form
fields. Furthermore, any time you double-click on a field, you select
the content in the field instead of opening up the field's options.
Also protected forms will cause the drop-down boxes to act like
drop-down boxes where you can click the box to drop-down the list and
select the option you want (you can also use the keyboard to access the
list: Alt+[Down Arrow] will open list, arrow keys to move through the
list, and [Enter] to make the selection). An easy way to think of this
is that the unprotected document is "design" mode and the protected
document is "form" mode.

Have fun making these forms! (and if you have other questions (ie @
using macros with form fields) just post again.)


THANKS for taking the time to give a detailed response. I appreiciate
it.
Ciao!


--
eddie57

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...nTheBlanks.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://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"eddie57" wrote in message
...

I need to create a form in Word and would like to add that little gray
box that you can insert in a field and tab from field to another.
Also, this box expands the the size needed. I have a form that has
this box and can send you a copy of the form if need be. Any help is
appreciated.

thanks
Eddie


--
eddie57

What you are talking about is what Word calls an "online form." Check this
in help. For more about online forms, follow the links at
http://addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#Forms or
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...nTheBlanks.htm especially Dian
Chapman's series of articles. You may also want to look at
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFl...nesInForms.htm.

Hope this helps,
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
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from my ignorance and your wisdom.
"eddie57" wrote in message
...

I need to create a form in Word and would like to add that little gray
box that you can insert in a field and tab from field to another.
Also, this box expands the the size needed. I have a form that has
this box and can send you a copy of the form if need be. Any help is
appreciated.

thanks
Eddie


--
eddie57