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#1
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Word crashing upon re-use of a template
We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions
needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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#2
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You should not be using a form document as a "template." Instead create a
real template (*.dot file) and create new documents based on that instead. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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#3
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Terminology misunderstanding, perhaps. The template I am using is a *.dot
file, but it makes extenisve use of Form Fields -- Text Form Fields, Drop-Down Form Fields, and (primarily) Check Box Form Fields. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: You should not be using a form document as a "template." Instead create a real template (*.dot file) and create new documents based on that instead. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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#4
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I misunderstood your description of reopening the completed file to edit it.
Perhaps it would be better to unlink all the fields before saving the files, then just edit text manually when updates are necessary? -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... Terminology misunderstanding, perhaps. The template I am using is a *.dot file, but it makes extenisve use of Form Fields -- Text Form Fields, Drop-Down Form Fields, and (primarily) Check Box Form Fields. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: You should not be using a form document as a "template." Instead create a real template (*.dot file) and create new documents based on that instead. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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#5
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Dear Suzanne:
Semantics. I don't speak "hairdresser," either;-) Just to clarify, the *.dot template in question is not unstable in and of itself. It is when the user opens a previously created and saved document that was based on the the *.dot template that the program crashes. For example: On Aug. 1 user created a document based on the *.dot template in question (by using File, New and selecting the *.dot template.) User fills out all the form fields and saves the resulting document. On Aug 24 the client's clinical status changes slightly. Most of the info from the Aug. 1 saved document is still applicable, but we have to keep the Aug 1 document intact for tracking purposes, so the user opens the Aug. 1 document, does a "Save As" and changes the date (which is part of the filename) to Aug 24. She then begins to change the few fields that are appropriate, checking some boxes and unchecking others. THAT is when the program crashes. It does NOT crash upon the initial use of the *.dot template on Aug. 1. With the above scenario in mind, do you still advise me to "unlink all the fields before saving the files, then just edit text manually when updates are necessary." in order to avoid a Word crash? Please understand that I did not knowingly link the form fields in the *.dot template in question, unless they are automatically linked upon creation -- in which case I do not know how to unlink them. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: I misunderstood your description of reopening the completed file to edit it. Perhaps it would be better to unlink all the fields before saving the files, then just edit text manually when updates are necessary? -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... Terminology misunderstanding, perhaps. The template I am using is a *.dot file, but it makes extenisve use of Form Fields -- Text Form Fields, Drop-Down Form Fields, and (primarily) Check Box Form Fields. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: You should not be using a form document as a "template." Instead create a real template (*.dot file) and create new documents based on that instead. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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#6
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Okay, let's go back to the beginning. When you create a protected form
template, it contains form fields. When you create a document based on that template, it still contains form fields. When you type data into those form fields, they're still fields. They're not really "linked" to anything; they're just fields. When we speak of "unlinking" fields, we mean that we are making them inactive, converting them to plain text so that they don't function as fields any more. If you unlink these fields (using Ctrl+Shift+F9), then they will be converted to plain text. In order to edit the document, you would also have to unprotect it, and then you would just type over the existing information to change it or add new text by insertion as you would in any ordinary Word document. I agree that all this sounds very unsatisfactory and unnecessary, but I also don't understand why you would be having trouble opening a protected form document and trying to change the values of some of the form fields. Perhaps someone else will have some more ideas. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... Dear Suzanne: Semantics. I don't speak "hairdresser," either;-) Just to clarify, the *.dot template in question is not unstable in and of itself. It is when the user opens a previously created and saved document that was based on the the *.dot template that the program crashes. For example: On Aug. 1 user created a document based on the *.dot template in question (by using File, New and selecting the *.dot template.) User fills out all the form fields and saves the resulting document. On Aug 24 the client's clinical status changes slightly. Most of the info from the Aug. 1 saved document is still applicable, but we have to keep the Aug 1 document intact for tracking purposes, so the user opens the Aug. 1 document, does a "Save As" and changes the date (which is part of the filename) to Aug 24. She then begins to change the few fields that are appropriate, checking some boxes and unchecking others. THAT is when the program crashes. It does NOT crash upon the initial use of the *.dot template on Aug. 1. With the above scenario in mind, do you still advise me to "unlink all the fields before saving the files, then just edit text manually when updates are necessary." in order to avoid a Word crash? Please understand that I did not knowingly link the form fields in the *.dot template in question, unless they are automatically linked upon creation -- in which case I do not know how to unlink them. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: I misunderstood your description of reopening the completed file to edit it. Perhaps it would be better to unlink all the fields before saving the files, then just edit text manually when updates are necessary? -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... Terminology misunderstanding, perhaps. The template I am using is a *.dot file, but it makes extenisve use of Form Fields -- Text Form Fields, Drop-Down Form Fields, and (primarily) Check Box Form Fields. -- JenWren "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: You should not be using a form document as a "template." Instead create a real template (*.dot file) and create new documents based on that instead. -- 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. "jenwren" wrote in message ... We use a template form developed in Word 2000 to indicate nursing actions needed for a given client. The template contains over 200 Form Fields. Some are Text or Drop-Down Form Fields, but most are Check Box Form Fields which run a macro on exit that turns the Xes red. Form Fields are embedded within a series of tables set side-by-side in a two-column format for most of the form so that the user can fill out the left-hand side of the page before moving onto the right-hand side. Once the template is filled out, the finished document is saved under the clients name. The template works great the first time it is used. However, when the clinical information needs to be updated the previously-saved form for that client is opened, renamed with Save As and the changes made. Within less than a minute, the screen flickers momentarily, and then the entire Word program crashes, losing all data changed to that point. Using a brand new template for each update is an option, but it means having to re-enter all the duplicate information name, address, phone, diagnosis, allergies, etc., rather than just changing the date and moving on to the clinical data. Id appreciate any ideas as to why this is happening and how it might be prevented. JenWren |
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