How do you create fillable forms in word

As a business owner, there are occasions when you might want to create fillable forms for employees or customers to fill out. The most common way to do this is to create a fillable PDF. However, to do that you need to be able to insert text field in Word 2016. Understandably, this isn’t something everyone knows how to do right off the bat, so there might be the need to explain how it works. As it turns out, it isn’t a very complicated experience and, once you get the hang of it, you should be able to create such a form in a few minutes tops.

Microsoft Word allows you to create business forms that you can get people to complete in an electronic format and then return them to you. This feature is pretty useful and will enable you to create many different forms ranging from feedback forms to sales invoices to job application forms to customer surveys. You can protect the forms from editing using a password and also limit that editing to the areas where you want to allow the recipient to fill in their details or other information.

1. Launch Word

2. Start by launching Microsoft Word. You can do this by opening your Windows tab on the bottom left of your desktop and opening the Microsoft Office folder. There you will find Microsoft Word as one of the applications. Once you’ve opened the application, click on the “Office” button, then select “Options” and “Customize Ribbon.” You should then select “Main tabs” and make sure the “Developer” checkbox is ticked. Once you’re done, you can click “OK.”

3. Type Questions

4. The next step is to begin typing out the questions you want on your form. These can include the questions plus any other text you would like the reader to see but not be able to edit.

5. Select Fillable Sections

6. Once you’re done, go to the “Developer” tab on the ribbon and click on it. You should now take your mouse and position the cursor at the very first spot where you want a space for filling to be displayed. Choose the option you want from the Control section of the ribbon from there. These include drop-down menus and other types of menus, checkboxes and plain text boxes. Pick whichever is most appropriate for you. Once you’re done you can continue repeating the process until you have populated the form with all the necessary fillable spaces.

7. Fillable Forms Protection

8. Head on to the "Protect" section on the ribbon and click the button labeled “Protect Document.” You should then click the button named “Restrict Formatting and Editing.” On the options that appear, select the one that says “Allow only this type of editing in the document” and pick “Filling in forms.” Once you’re done, click the button that says “Yes, Start Enforcing Protection.” It is found under the header labeled “Start Enforcement.”

9. Password Protection

10. Now you need to protect your form with a password. A box labeled “Enter new password” will appear on your screen. Type a password into it. You really don’t have to type a password but please note that if you don’t, just about anyone will be able to edit your protected document.

11. Finally, you can save the file you have created. Name your file so you can easily locate it again later.

If you have a Microsoft Word document that you would like to turn into a digitally fillable form, you have a number of options available. You can create a fillable form in Word itself, so that other people can fill out the form without editing the underlying document. You can also use Adobe Acrobat and other PDF tools to convert a Word document to an editable form that anyone with PDF-compatible software can fill out. Online tools for collecting document responses and signatures can also generate fillable forms for things like contracts that you can then distribute.

Understanding Fillable Form Technology

Ordinarily if you create a form for something like a survey or a contract as a Word document and send it to someone, you run the risk that they will accidentally or intentionally alter the document before filling it out and sending it back. This can be an issue if people haven't signed and completed the forms that you expect.

An alternative is to send an image or uneditable PDF of a form, or even a paper copy. You can then ask people to fill it out by hand and mail it back, fax it to you or scan it and email back the completed form. This can be unwieldy, though, and requires your recipient to either have a printer and scanner or for you to wait for postal mail delivery.

An alternative is to use digital tools to create a form that someone can fill out on a computer and smart phone and send back to you digitally. If you're going to be using the form to collect signatures or agreements, make sure you're legally compliant with whatever requirements are in place in your area for legally binding digital signatures. If the form collects any kind of sensitive information, make sure you're collecting and storing it in a way that preserves people's privacy and complies with the law. You may not be able to use email to collect some sensitive information for this reason.

Creating a Fillable PDF

Use Adobe Acrobat or other PDF editing software to create a fillable PDF. Create a Word document and save it in Word, then open Acrobat. Click the "Tools" menu and click "Prepare Form." Select the Word file to import. Acrobat will detect potential form fields and add them automatically, but you can use the tools in the right editing pane to adjust them, delete them or add new form fields. When you're done, you can save the form and send it to other people to fill out.

You can also use Acrobat to distribute the form, emailing it to people and collecting their responses in your inbox or through a system such as Microsoft SharePoint. Click the "Distribute" button, select how you want to receive the responses and click "Continue." Enter the recipient addresses or select them from your address book. Select "Collect Name & Email from Recipients To Provide Optimal Tracking," if you want information about who's received and filed out the form, or leave it blank to keep things anonymous.

Create Form in Word

You can also create a fillable form in Word itself that other people can fill out using Word. You must have the "Developer" tab visible in Word. To show it, click the "File" tab, then click "Options" and "Customize Ribbon." Under "Main tabs," select "Developer" and click "OK."

Then, create a new document. If you want to use an existing Word form template, you can use the "Search online templates" option in the Word New Document menu to find one that fits your needs.

Once the document is created, use the options on the Developer tab to add form fields in Word. For example, you can insert a "Rich Text Content Control" for people to enter text or create drop-down menus and check boxes. Add text to the form as well to tell people what to enter where.

After the form is created as you want, protect it from other people editing it by selecting all the form elements and text, clicking "Restrict Editing" in the Developer tab. Then click "Yes, Start Enforcing Restrictions." Email or otherwise distribute the form to its recipients to fill out, and then have them send it back to you.

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