How to code the ENTER key to move between form fields in a protected form in Word

First Macro: Moving the Insertion Point to the Next Form Field

This macro moves the insertion point to the next form field. If the current form field is the last one in the document, it moves the insertion point to the first form field.

This macro uses the Bookmarks collection to retrieve the name of the current form field. The name of each form field is also the name of a bookmark inserted for the form field. If you have any other bookmarks in your document, you may have to add more code here to handle potential errors. The macro also assumes that all form fields in the documents allow user input. If this is not the case in your document, you need to add additional code in your macro.

The macro checks to see whether the current section is protected or unprotected and then either moves to the next form field (in a protected section) or inserts a paragraph mark (in an unprotected section). This functionality is necessary for documents that contain both sections that are protected for form input and unprotected sections.

Sub EnterKeyMacro()
' Check whether the document is protected for forms
' and whether the protection is active.
   If ActiveDocument.ProtectionType = wdAllowOnlyFormFields And _
   Selection.Sections(1).ProtectedForForms = True Then
      ' Retrieve the bookmark of the current selection.
      ' This is equivalent to the name of the form field.
      myformfield = Selection.Bookmarks(1).Name
      ' Go to the next form field if the current form field
      ' is not the last one in the document.
      If ActiveDocument.FormFields(myformfield).Name <> _
      ActiveDocument.FormFields(ActiveDocument.FormFields.Count) _
      .Name Then
         ActiveDocument.FormFields(myformfield).Next.Select
      Else
         ' If the current form field is the last one,
         ' go to the first form field in the document.
         ActiveDocument.FormFields(1).Select
      End If
   Else
   ' If the document is not protected for forms,
   ' insert a tab stop character.
      Selection.TypeText Chr(13)
   End If
End Sub

Second Macro: Assigning the EnterkeyMacro Macro to the ENTER Key

This macro attaches the EnterKeyMacro macro to the ENTER key, thereby reprogramming the function of the key when it is used in protected document form fields. When you use this macro in a custom template, name it AutoNew. This changes the functionality of the ENTER key in all new form documents based on the template.

Sub AutoNew()
 ' Do Not protect the template containing these macros.
   CustomizationContext = ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate
   ' Bind the ENTER key to the EnterKeyMacro.
   KeyBindings.Add KeyCode:=BuildKeyCode(wdKeyReturn), _
   KeyCategory:=wdKeyCategoryMacro, Command:="EnterKeyMacro"
   ' Reprotect the document with Forms protection.
   ActiveDocument.Protect Type:=wdAllowOnlyFormFields, NoReset:=True
End Sub

Third Macro: Assigning the AutoOpen Macro to the ENTER Key

Add an AutoOpen macro with the following code. This ensures that the key functionality continues when you open a document based on the form template in the future.

Sub AutoOpen()
' This macro will reassign the ENTER key when you open an existing
' Word form fields document.
   CustomizationContext = ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate
   ' Bind the Enter key to the EnterKeyMacro.
   KeyBindings.Add KeyCode:=BuildKeyCode(wdKeyReturn), _
   KeyCategory:=wdKeyCategoryMacro, Command:="EnterKeyMacro"
End Sub

NOTE: Running these macros may disable some features, such as AutoCorrect and AutoText, and may affect other features that depend on the ENTER key for proper operation. You need to run the fourth macro to restore the default functionality of the ENTER key, or restart Microsoft Word.

Fourth Macro: Removing the Command Assigned to the ENTER Key

This macro restores the default functionality of the ENTER key. When you use this macro in a custom template, name it AutoClose.

Sub AutoClose()
   CustomizationContext = ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate
   FindKey(KeyCode:=BuildKeyCode(wdKeyReturn)).Disable
   ' Disables prompt to save template changes.
   Templates(1).Save
End Sub

NOTE: The CustomizationContext property sets the location where the keyboard customization is to be saved, in this case the template attached to the active document.