Word has this nice feature which enables insertion of text fields, check boxes, drop-down lists, etc. You can use these elements to create a form in Word.

To insert a text box, switch to the “Insert” tab and click the “Text Box” button. On the drop-down menu, choose the type of the text box you want. Here, we’re going with the “Simple Text Box” option. After insertion, the text box is selected automatically so you can go ahead and type in your text. Add a text box Go to Insert Text Box, and then select one of the pre-formatted text boxes from the list, select More Text Boxes from Office.com, or select Draw Text Box. If you select Draw Text Box, click in the document, and then drag to draw the text box the size that you want. To add text, select inside the box and type or your paste text. Add a UserControl to the project, on the UserControl you can just drag the textbox you need to the panel and set the ScrollBar property to Both, Horizontal, Vertical etc according to your own needs. Then you can add the usercontrol to the ActionPane of the document. I've made a Word Document Project. Here is the code snippet. This option adds the selected text as a “Quick Parts” entry, not an “AutoText” entry. “Quick Parts” and “AutoText” entries are both building blocks. You could add the entry that way, but we’re going to discuss adding it as an AutoText entry. The “Create New Building Block” dialog box displays.

These elements are available under the tab menu Developer in the Word Ribbon. If you are unable to find this tab in the Ribbon, most likely you need to enable this using the Word Options dialog box.

To enable the Developer tab (Word 2007)

1. Click the Office button . A drop-down list appears.

2. Click the Word Options button from the bottom of the list. Word Options dialog box appears.

3. On the dialog box, under the category Popular (see on the left hand side), select the option Developer tab in the Ribbon. Now, you can view the Developer tab in the Ribbon. See below image.

To insert a legacy check box
1. Click the Developer tab.

2. Under the group Controls, click the Legacy Tools button. A drop-down list of icons appears. See below image.

3. Under the section Legacy Form, click the check box icon as shown in the below image. Word creates a check box at the cursor position. By default, the checkbox is in design mode (you can see the Design Mode icon being enabled within the Controls group)

Note: If you wish, you can remove the shading of the check box by clicking the Form Field Shading icon under Legacy Form.

4. By the way, you cannot use the checkbox in design mode. To disable design mode, click the Design Mode icon within the Controls group.

Also, you should enforce protection to the document (or form) before you share it with others to capture information.

This step is applicable to all other controls as well.

To enforce protection
1. Under the Developer tab, within the group Protect, click icon Protect Document. A drop-down list appears.

2. From the drop-down menu, click Restrict Formatting and Editing. Restrict Formattingand Editing task pane appears on the right hand side.

3. From this dialog box, select option Allow only this type of editing in the document option. A drop-down is enabled. Select Filling in forms option from the drop-down list. See below image.

4. Click button Yes, Start Enforcing Protection. The Start Enforcing Protection dialog box appears, which prompts you to enter a password.

5. Enter a password and retype password. Your document is protected and the check box is now clickable.

Important: Remember that you cannot edit a protected document. If you wish to make changes in the document, you have to remove protection by entering the valid password.

To stop protection

1. Under the Developer tab, within the group Protect, click Protect Document. The Restrict Formatting and Editing task pane appears.

2. From the bottom of the dialog box, click the button Stop Protection. Enter valid password to remove protection.

To insert a drop-down list
1. Under the Developer tab, within the group Controls, click the Drop-Down List icon. A drop-down list appears in the document. See below image.

2. You can see the Properties button being enabled within the Controls group. Click Properties. The Content Control Properties dialog box appears.

3. In the dialog box, under section General, enter a Title of the drop-down list.

4. Under section Drop-Down List Properties , click button Add to enter the display name and value for the first list item in the Add Choice dialog box and then click OK. Item is added to the list.

In the similar way, you can keep adding items to the list.

5. Click the Modify/Remove button to edit/delete list items.

6. Finally, click OK to close the Content Control Properties dialog box. You can view the drop-down list displays all the list items. See below image.

7. Enforce protection to the document, so that list values cannot be modified.

To insert an ActiveX Control check box

1. Click the Developer tab.
2. Under the group Controls, click the Legacy Tools button.
3. From category ActiveX Controls, click the check box icon. A check box is created at the insertion point. See below image.

You can notice that the Design Mode icon being enabled within the Controls group. This is important to edit the check box properties.

How To Add A Text Box In Word

4. Right-click the check box. From the right-click menu, click CheckBox Object and then click Edit. The check is in edit mode. You can enter a name of the checkbox.
5. From the right-click menu, click Properties to control properties of the check box.

How To Add A Text Box In Word Developer Form

6. Click Design Mode to disable. The check box is now clickable.

Note:The difference between a legacy and ActiveX control check box is that, ActiveX checkbox provides advanced or extended features, i.e. you can write program for it in visual basic to make the check box behave in different ways.

Insert text fields

1. Click the Developer tab.

How To Add A Text Box In Word 365

2. Under the group Controls, click the icon Rich Text or Text. A text field is created in the document. See below image.

Round Text Box In Word

3. You can change the default text appearing in the text box by enabling the Design Mode button in the Control Group.

Insert a Combobox

  1. Under the Developer tab, within the group Controls, click the Combobox icon . A combobox is created at the cursor position.
  2. Select the combobox and then click Properties (available within the group Controls. The Content Control Properties dialog box appears.
  3. In the dialog box, under the section General, enter a Title of the combobox.
  4. In the dialog box, under the section Drop-down List Properties, click the Add button. Add Choice dialog box appears.
  5. Enter a display name and value for the first list item. Click OK.
  6. Click Add again to enter a second list item. Click OK. You can keep adding as many item as you need.
  7. Finally, click OK.

The combobox list is populated with the list items. Remember, the combobox should not be in Design Mode to view the list of items. You can find the Design Mode icon within the group Controls . See below image.

How To Add A Textbox In Word

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