Create forms

that users
complete or
print in Word
You can create a form in Microsoft Word by starting with a
template and adding content controls, including check boxes, text
boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. Other people can use
Word to fill out the form on their computer. In an advanced
scenario, any content controls that you add to a form can also be
linked to data.

You can also create a form by starting with a template. Many

form templates are available on the Office.com Web site.
Note   You can print a form that was created by using content
controls, but the boxes around the content controls will not be
printed.

In this article
Step 1: Show the Developer tab

Step 2: Open a template or a document on which to base

the form

Step 3: Add content to the form

Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls

Step 5: Add instructional text to the form

Step 6: Add protection to a form

Step 1: Show the Developer tab

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Customize Ribbon.
4. Under Customize the Ribbon, click Main Tabs.
5. In the list, select the Developer check box, and then click OK.
Top of Page

Step 2: Open a template or a

document on which to base the
form
To save time, you can start with a form template. Or you can start
with a blank document and save as either a document or
template to re-use in the future.
Start with a form template

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click New.
3. Search for Forms in the Templates search box.
4. Click the form that matches the type you want to create.
5. Click Download if you're using Word 2010 or Create if you're
using Word 2013.
6. Click the File tab again, and then click Save As.
7. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the new template
or document, and then click Save.
Start with a blank document

If you want to create your own template, start with a new

document and save the new document as a template

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Save As.
3. Under Save as type, select Word template from the menu.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type a file name for the new
template, and then click Save.

Top of Page

Step 3: Add content to the form

On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design Mode,
and then insert the controls that you want.
Insert a text control where users can enter text

In a rich text content control, users can format text as bold or

italic, and they can type multiple paragraphs. If you want to limit
what users add, insert the plain text content control.

1. Click where you want to insert the control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Rich Text
Content Control or the Plain Text Content Control .

To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or

change properties for content controls.
Insert a picture control

A picture control is often used for templates, but you can also
add a picture control to a form.

1. Click where you want to insert the control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Picture
Content Control.

To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or

change properties for content controls.
Insert a building block control

You can use building block controls when you want people to
choose a specific block of text. For example, building block
controls are helpful if you’re setting up a contract template, and
you need to add different boilerplate text depending on the
contract’s specific requirements. You can create rich text content
controls for each version of the boilerplate text, and then you can
use a building block control as the container for the rich text
content controls.

You can also use a building block control in a form.

1. Click where you want to insert the control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Building
Block Content Control.

To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or

change properties for content controls.
Insert a combo box or a drop-down list

In a combo box, users can select from a list of choices that you
provide or they can type in their own information. In a drop-
down list, users can only select from the list of choices.
 1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the
Combo Box Content Control or Drop-Down List Content
Control .
2. Select the content control, and then on the Developer tab, in
the Controls group, click Properties.

3. To create a list of choices, click Add under Drop-Down List

Properties.
4. Type a choice in the Display Name box, such as Yes, No, or
Maybe.

Repeat this step until all of the choices are in the drop-down
list.

5. Fill in any other properties that you want.

Note    If you select the Contents cannot be edited check

box, users won’t be able to click a choice.
Insert a date picker

1. Click where you want to insert the date picker control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Date
Picker Content Control.
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or
change properties for content controls.
Insert a check box

1. Click where you want to insert the check box control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Check
Box Content Control.

To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or

change properties for content controls.

Top of Page
Use the legacy form controls

1. Click where you want to insert a legacy control.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the
Legacy Forms drop-down.
3. Select the Legacy Form control or Active X Control that you
want to include.

Top of Page

Step 4: Set or change properties

for content controls
Each content control has properties that you can set or change.
For example, the Date Picker control offers options for the format
you want to use to display the date.

1. Click the content control that you want to change.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click
Properties, and change the properties that you want.

Top of Page

Step 5: Add instructional text to

the form
Instructional text can enhance the usability of the form you create
and distribute. You can change the default instructional text in
content controls.

To customize the default instructional text for your form users, do

the following:

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design

Mode.

2. Click the content control where you want to revise the

placeholder instructional text.
 3. Edit the placeholder text and format it any way you want.
4. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design
Mode to turn off the design feature and save the
instructional text.

Note   Do not select the Contents cannot be edited check box if
you want form users to replace the instructional text with their
own text.

Top of Page

Step 6: Add protection to a form

Tip    If you want, you can test the form prior to distributing it.
Open the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a copy
in a location that you want.

1. Open the form that you want to add protection to.

2. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, and then
click Select All, or press CTRL+A.

3. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Group,

and then click Group again.
Create forms
that users
complete or
print in Word
Keywords    check box; creating forms; drop-down list; dropdown
menu; electronic forms

You can create a form in Microsoft Office Word 2007 by starting

with a template and adding content controls, including text
boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. Other people can use
Office Word 2007 to fill out the form on their computer. In an
advanced scenario, any content controls that you add to a form
can also be linked to data.
You can also create a form by starting with a sample template.
Many are available on the Microsoft Office Online Web site.

Note   You can print a form that was created by using content
controls in Office Word 2007, but the boxes around the content
controls will not be printed.

What do you want to do?

Create a form

Add protection to a form and prepare it for distribution

See it in action

Create a form
Step 1: Set up Word for creating forms

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word

Options.

2. Click Popular.

3. Select the Show Developer tab in the Ribbon check box, and
then click OK.

Note   The Ribbon is a component of the Microsoft Office

Fluent user interface.
Step 2: Open a template or a document on which to base the form
 1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click New.

2. Under Templates, click My templates.

3. Double-click Normal, and then click Template or Document

under Create New.

4. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Save As.

5. In the Save As dialog box, give the new template or

document a file name, and then click Save.
Step 3: Add content controls to the form

Design the form by sketching a layout first, or use an existing

form as a guide. In your form, you can add content controls,
tables, and other graphics elements.

On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design Mode,

and then click where you want to insert a control.

Do any of the following:

Insert a text control where users can enter text

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Rich

Text control or the Text control .
Insert a text fill-in field

Important   Spell Check will not flag any errors that are typed in
the text form field. If you want to run Spell Check, use the Rich
Text control or the Text control.

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Legacy

Tools.

2. Click Text Form Field.

3. In the Controls group, click Design Mode, and then do any

of the following:

o To add a line under the field, select the field, and then
click Underline in the Font group on the Home tab.

o To limit the amount of information a person can type in

the field, set a maximum width by selecting the field,
clicking Properties in the Controls group, and entering
a value under Maximum length.

o To make the field look as long as its maximum length,

add instructional text by clicking Properties in the
Controls group, and typing text, such as Type your first
name here, under Default text.
Insert a drop-down list that restricts available choices to those you specify

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Drop-

Down List control .
 2. Select the content control, and then on the Developer tab, in
the Controls group, click Properties.

3. To create a list of choices, under Drop-Down List Properties,

click Add.

4. Type a choice in the Display Name box, such as Yes, No, or

Maybe.

Repeat this step until all of the choices are in the drop-down
list.
Insert a check box

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Legacy

Tools.

2. Click Check Box Form Field.

3. Type a space, and then type a label for the check box.

4. To remove the shading from the check box, click Legacy

Tools, and then click Shading.

Note   You won't be able to select or clear the check box until
you protect the form.
Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls
Each content control has properties that you can set or change.
For example, the Date Picker control offers options for the format
you want to use to display the date.

1. Right-click the content control that you want to change.

2. Click Properties, and change the properties that you want.

Step 5: Add instructional text to the form

Instructional text can enhance the usability of the form you create
and distribute. You can change the default instructional text in
content controls.

To customize the default instructional text for your form users, do

the following:

1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design

Mode.

2. Click the content control where you want to revise the

placeholder instructional text.

3. Edit the placeholder text and format it any way you want.

4. If you want the content control to disappear when someone

types in their own content to replace your instructions in a
Rich Text control or a Text control, click Properties in the
 Controls group, and then select the Remove content control
when contents are edited check box.

5. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design

Mode to turn off the design feature and save the
instructional text.

Note   Do not select the Contents cannot be edited check box if
you want form users to replace the instructional text with their
own text.

Top of Page

Add protection to a form and

prepare it for distribution
You can protect individual content controls in a form template to
help prevent someone from deleting or editing a particular
content control or group of controls, or you can prepare a form
to be distributed and filled out by locking it. You can help protect
all of the form template content with a password.

Tip   If you want, you can test the form prior to distributing it.
Open the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a copy
in a location that you want.
Protect parts of a form

1. Open the form that you want to protect.

 2. Select the content control or the group of controls to which
you want to restrict changes.

To group several controls, select the controls by pressing

SHIFT and clicking each control that you want to group. On
the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Group, and
then click Group.

3. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click

Properties.

4. In the Content Control Properties dialog box, under Locking,

do either of the following:

o Select the Content control cannot be deleted check

box, which allows the content of the control to be
edited but the control itself cannot be deleted from the
template or a document that is based on the template.

o Select the Contents cannot be edited check box, which

allows you to delete the control but does not allow you
to edit the content in the control.

Note   This option is not available for all controls.

Prepare a form to be filled out
1. Open the form that you want to lock so that it can be filled
out.

2. On the Developer tab, in the Protect group, click Protect

Document, and then click Restrict Formatting and Editing.

3. In the Protect Document task pane, under Editing

restrictions, select the Allow only this type of editing in the
document check box.

4. In the list of editing restrictions, select Filling in forms.

5. Under Start enforcement, click Yes, Start Enforcing

Protection.

6. To assign a password to the document so that only

reviewers who know the password can remove the
protection, type a password in the Enter new password
(optional) box, and then confirm the password.

Important   If you choose not to use a password, anyone can

change your editing restrictions.

Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and

lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords
don't mix these elements. Strong password: Y6dh!et5. Weak
password: House27. Passwords should be 8 or more
 characters in length. A pass phrase that uses 14 or more
characters is better. For more information, see Help protect
your personal information with strong passwords.

It is critical that you remember your password. If you forget

your password, Microsoft cannot retrieve it. Store the
passwords that you write down in a secure place away from
the information that they help protect.

Top of Page
See Also

Create forms that users complete or print in Word 2010 or Word

2013