Content Control Properties

When you add content controls to a document or form, you can set various properties. Some properties are common across almost all controls. Other properties are specific to only certain controls, such as check boxes or date picker controls. The properties panel will change depending on which control you currently have selected.

  • General   

    • Title    Assign a title that shows up as a label above bounding box or in start/end tags.

      Title on tag example

    • Tag    Set a tag for categorizing or grouping.

    • Show as     Specify how a control is shown on a document or form.

      • Bounding box    Puts an outline around control.

        Bounding box example

      • Start/End Tag    Places tags at the beginning and end of a control.

        Start / End tags example

      • None    No bounding box or tags.

    • Color    Set a color for the bounding box or start/end tags.

    • Use a style to format text typed into the empty control    Set the style for text in a text or repeating control.

    • Style    Choose the style to use form pre-set styles.

    • New style    Create a new style dialog.

    • Remove content control when contents are edited    Removes the control, bounding box, or start/end tags once text is typed.

  • Locking    Choices for locking whether content can be edited or deleted.

    • Content control cannot be deleted    Prevents the user from deleting the control

    • Contents cannot be edited     Prevents the user from making changes to the control.

  • Ok    Saves the settings and exits the properties panel.

  • Cancel    Forgets any changes and exits the properties panel.

Control specific properties.

These properties are only on the listed controls.

  • Check Box properties    Choices you have when a check box is selected.

    • Checked symbol    Change the default X to something else from the symbol collections.

    • Unchecked symbol    Change the default empty checkbox characters to something else from the symbol collections.

    • Change    Displays the Word Symbol chart to choose a checked or unchecked symbol.

  • Drop-Down List properties    Choices for the Combo or List box control.

    • Display Name    The name or title of an item in the list.

    • Value    A value (if different from Display Name) to use with the data store.

    • Add    Shows a panel to add a Display Name and Value.

    • Modify    Shows a panel to add a Display Name and Value.

    • Remove    Removes a select Display Name and Value. This does not prompt for confirmation, it just deletes the selected item.

    • Move Up    Moves the selected item up in the list.

    • Move Down    Moves the selected item down in the list.

  • Date Picker Properties    Choices for the Date Picker control.

    • Display the date like this    Formatting choices for dates, such as 12/2/19, or 2-Dec-19.

    • Locale    Choices for country or regional date formats. These choices depend on the languages you have installed in the operating system.

    • Calendar type    Choices for calendar type, such as Gregorian.

    • Store XML contents in the following format when mapped    Lets you define how dates are defined in XML when mapped. An XML mapping is a link between the text in a content control and an XML element in the custom XML data store for the document.

  • Repeating Section Properties    Choices when using the Repeating Section control.

    • Allow users to add and remove sections    Set whether to allow users to add or remove sections.

    • Section title    Add a name or title to identify repeating sections.

  • Groups    controls offer only the locking property.

  • Legacy    controls have their own format property panel, depending the specific control you have selected.

See also

Content controls in Word.

Working with Content Controls

Create forms that users complete or print in Word.

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