Applies ToWord for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2019 for Mac Word 2016

In Word, you can create a form that others can fill out and save or print.  To do this, you will start with baseline content in a document, potentially via a form template.  Then you can add content controls for elements such as check boxes, text boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. Optionally, these content controls can be linked to database information.  Following are the recommended action steps in sequence.  

Show the Developer tab

In Word, be sure you have the Developer tab displayed in the ribbon.  (See how here: Show the developer tab.)

Open a template or a blank document on which to base the form

You can start with a template or just start from scratch with a blank document.

  1. Go to File > New.

  2. In the Search for online templates field, type Forms or the kind of form you want. Then press Enter.

  3. In the displayed results, right-click any item, then select Create. 

  1. Go to File > New.

  2. Select Blank document.

Add content to the form

Go to the Developer tab Controls section where you can choose controls to add to your document or form. Hover over any icon therein to see what control type it represents. The various control types are described below. You can set properties on a control once it has been inserted.

To delete a content control, right-click it, then select Remove content control in the pop-up menu. 

Note: You can print a form that was created via content controls. However, the boxes around the content controls will not print.

The rich text content control enables users to format text (e.g., bold, italic) and type multiple paragraphs. To limit these capabilities, use the plain text content control

  1. Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

  2. Select Developer > Rich Text Content Control Rich text control button or Plain Text Content Control Plain text control button.

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls.

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

  1. Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

  2. Select Developer > Picture Content Control Picture control button.

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls.

Use a building block control when you want users to choose a specific block of text. These are helpful when you need to add different boilerplate text depending on the document's specific purpose. You can create rich text content controls for each version of the boilerplate text, and then use a building block control as the container for the rich text content controls.

  1. Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

  2. Go to Building Block Gallery Content Control building block gallery control

  3. Select Developer and content controls for the building block.

    Developer tab showing content controls

  1. Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls.

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. Go to Developer > Combo Box Content Control combo box button or Drop-Down List Content Control List box button.

  2. Select the content control, and then select Properties.

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

  4. Type a choice in Display Name, 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.

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

  2. Select Developer > Date Picker Content Control Date picker button .

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls.

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

  2. Select Developer > Check Box Content Control Check box button.

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls.

Legacy form controls are for compatibility with older versions of Word and consist of legacy form and Active X controls.

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

  2. Go to Developer > Legacy Forms Legacy control button drop-down.

  3. Select the Legacy Form control or Active X Control that you want to include.

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. Select the content control that you want to change.

  2. Go to Developer > Properties.

    Controls Properties  button

  3. Change the properties that you want.

Add protection to a form

If you want to limit how much others can edit or format a form, use the Restrict Editing command:

  1. Open the form that you want to lock or protect.

  2. Select Developer > Restrict Editing.

    Restrict editing button

  3. After selecting restrictions, select Yes, Start Enforcing Protection.

    Restrict editing panel 

Advanced Tip:

If you want to protect only parts of the document, separate the document into sections and only protect the sections you want.

To do this, choose Select Sections in the Restrict Editing panel. For more info on sections, see Insert a section break.

Sections selector on Resrict sections panel

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