Create Custom Forms in Word That Actually Work: Here’s How
While Microsoft Word is hardly the first tool you think of for creating surveys and forms, the Office productivity application is bundled with a rich suite of features for making electronic fillable forms. These forms are quite easy to create, customize, and share with others.
Creating A Form in Microsoft Word
Compared to online survey creation tools like Google Forms and even Microsoft Forms, the key advantage of making forms in Microsoft Word is that they can be created, shared, and completed without internet access. Microsoft Word is a worthy Google Forms alternative in its own right.
There are two ways to create a form in Microsoft Word. You can use a form template or design a custom form from scratch.
Create a Form Using Templates
Microsoft provides hundreds of templates for creating forms. To create a form using one of those templates, click on the File tab and select New.
You can use the Search for online templates box to find different templates such as order forms, job applications, surveys, etc. Select the template you prefer and click Create to open it in Word.
Create a Form From Scratch
To design a custom form from scratch in Word, you will need a new document (Ctrl + N) with all the necessary form details added. The Developer tab has the form controls you need to design a fillable form, but it is hidden by default. You can enable it by going to File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Main Tabs and selecting the Developer checkbox.
With the Developer tab active, you can add different elements to the form by selecting them from the Controls group. There are up to ten control options to choose from, described in the table below:
|
Content Control |
Function |
|---|---|
|
Rich Text Content Control |
Allows users to enter multiple paragraphs of formatted text |
|
Plain Text Content Control |
Allows users to type a single paragraph of plain text |
|
Picture Content Control |
Displays a picture or allows the user to insert an image into the document |
|
Check Box Content Control |
Allows you to insert checkboxes that the user can toggle to select |
|
Combo Box Content Control |
Enables users to either select from a provided list of options or type in their information |
|
Drop-Down List Content Control |
Users can select one or more options from a drop-down list |
|
Date Picker Content Control |
Allows users to choose a date from a calendar |
|
Legacy Tools |
These field types are available for compatibility with older versions of Word |
|
Building Block Gallery Content Control |
Used for more complex documents and inserting built-in Equations, Quick Parts, and AutoText |
|
Repeating Section Content Control |
Used to repeat sections of a form and collect different versions of the same data |
All content controls have properties that you can modify. For example, the Date Picker control offers different format options for displaying the date.
Setting Up A Fillable Form From Scratch
Now, let’s take a look at how to create a fillable form in Microsoft Word using the different form controls. To start, you need a document with all the details you need readers to fill in, essentially the skeleton of the form.
As an example, I have created a custom gym registration form for new members interested in joining Big Joe’s Gym. The form fields are nested in a Word table which helps to keep them neatly organized.
With the structure ready, I can start inserting form controls. I can choose from the ten content controls depending on the user input required. For instance, the Name field needs a Plain Text Control as a fillable data field, Gender could do with checkboxes, and Birthday would use a Date Picker. Most of the form entries are going to be populated with plain text and checkbox controls.
Here is what our gym registration form looks like after the content controls have been rightly placed:
I can customize the registration form further and change the default prompt that appears for each content control. To do this, you need to be in Design Mode (Developer > Controls > Design Mode). I can also switch out some of the checkboxes from drop-down lists. After inserting a drop-down list content control, you can add items to the list by going to Properties (Developer > Controls > Properties > Add).
Saving and Sharing Your Custom Form
Before sharing your form, you should lock it down and prevent users from changing form fields and tampering with the integrity of the information you need. With a single command, you can lock down the editing of form content by anyone other than yourself.
To do this, follow the steps below:
- Open the form you want to protect.
- Go to Developer > Restrict Editing (in the Protect group).
- A Restrict Editing pane will be displayed on the right. Toggle the Allow only this type of editing checkbox under Editing restrictions.
- Next, click the dropdown box and choose Filling in forms.
- Click on Yes, Start Enforcing Protection. If this button is grayed out, ensure that you are not in Design Mode.
- You can either enter a password in the popup window or leave it blank. Click OK.
- Now, the document is locked and users can only edit the form fields to enter data.
To make the document editable by anyone again, select Stop Protection and enter the password. If you choose to restrict a form with a password, be careful not to forget it as it cannot be retrieved.
A quicker way to protect form content is to select the entire document (Ctrl + A) or just the form section and use the Group option (Developer > Group > Group) to restrict editing to content controls.
Be sure to test the form before sending it. Open the form, fill it out as a user would, and then save a copy. You can employ general styling practices for Word documents to ensure that your form looks appealing and professional.
There you have it. An electronic, fillable form at its simplest. With some grit and patience, respondents can manually fill out a Microsoft Word form created with underscores, but using proper form controls provides a far smoother experience.