Create forms that users complete or print in Word
Step 1: Show the Developer tab
1. Click the File tab, go to Options, > Customize Ribbon.
2. Under Customize the Ribbon, click Main Tabs.
3. In the list, select the Developer check box, and then click OK.
Step 2: Open a template or a document on which to base the form
To save time, you can start with a form template. Or you can start with a blank document and save as
either a document or template to re-use in the future.
Start with a form template
1. Click the File tab.
2. Click New.
3. Search for Forms in the Templates search box.
4. Click the form that matches the type you want to create.
5. Click Download if you're using Word 2010, or Create if you're using Word 2013 or 2016.
6. Click the File tab again, click Save As and pick a location to save the form.
7. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the new template or document, and then click Save.
Start with a blank document
If you want to create your own template, start with a new document and save the new document as a
template.
1. In the form document you've created, click the File tab.
2. Click Save As.
3. Under Save as type, select Word template from the menu.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type a file name for the new template, and then click Save.
Step 3: Add content to the form
On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design Mode, and then insert the controls that you
want.
Do any of the following:
Insert a text control where users can enter text
Insert a picture control
Insert a building block control
Insert a combo box or a drop-down list
Insert a date picker
Insert a check box
Use the legacy form controls
Insert a text control where users can enter text
In a rich text content control, users can format text as bold or italic, and they can type multiple
paragraphs. If you want to limit what users add, insert the plain text content control.
1. Click where you want to insert the control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Rich Text Content Control or Plain
Text Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls.
Insert a picture control
Note: July 11, 2016: If you try to use the picture content control as a template in Office 2016, but you're
unable to, update to Office 2016 build 16.0.6965.2063. To get the update immediately, open any Office
2016 app and click File > Account > Update Options >Update Now. To find out more, go to
our release notes page, and under Channel, click Current.
A picture control is often used for templates, but you can also add a picture control to a form.
1. Click where you want to insert the control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Picture Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls.
Insert a building block control
You can use building block controls when you want people to choose a specific block of text. For
example, building block controls are helpful if you’re setting up a contract template, and you need to
add different boilerplate text depending on the contract’s specific requirements. You can create rich text
content controls for each version of the boilerplate text, and then you can use a building block control
as the container for the rich text content controls.
You can also use a building block control in a form.
1. Click where you want to insert the control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Building Block Content Control (in Word
2016, this is labeled Building Block Gallery Content Control) .
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls.
Insert a combo box or a drop-down list
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. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Combo Box Content Control
or Drop-Down List Content Control .
2. Select the content control, and then on the Developer tab, in the Controls group,
click Properties.
3. To create a list of choices, under Drop-Down List Properties, click Add.
4. Type a choice in the Display Name box, 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.
Insert a date picker
1. Click where you want to insert the date picker control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Date Picker Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls.
Insert a check box
1. Click where you want to insert the check box control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Check Box Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Step 4: Set or change properties for content controls.
Use the legacy form controls
1. Click where you want to insert a legacy control.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click the Legacy Forms drop-down.
3. Select the Legacy Form control or Active X Control that you want to include.
Step 4: 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. Click the content control that you want to change.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Properties, and change the properties that
you want.
Step 5: Add instructional text to the form
Instructional text can enhance the usability of the form you create and distribute. You can change the
default instructional text in content controls.
To customize the default instructional text for your form users, do the following:
1. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design Mode.
2. Click the content control where you want to revise the placeholder instructional text.
3. Edit the placeholder text and format it any way you want.
4. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Design Mode to turn off the design feature
and save the instructional text.
Note: Do not select the Contents cannot be edited check box if you want form users to replace the
instructional text with their own text.
Step 6: Add protection to a form
Protecting a form means it can't be changed; people can fill out a protected form, but they can't change
the controls or control properties.
Tip: Test the form prior to distributing it. Open the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a
copy.
1. Select the content controls to which you want to restrict changes.
Tip: Select multiple controls by holding down the Ctrl key while you click the controls.
2. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Group, and then, if prompted,
click Group again.
3. On the Developer tab, in the Controls group, click Properties.
4. In the Content Control Properties dialog box, under Locking, do any of the following:
Select the Content control cannot be deleted check box, which allows the content of the control
to be edited but the control itself cannot be deleted from the template or a document that is based on
the template.
Select the Contents cannot be edited check box, which allows you to delete the control but does
not allow you to edit the content in the control.
Use this setting when you want to protect text if it is included. For example, if you often include a
disclaimer, you can help ensure that the text stays the same, and you can delete the disclaimer for
documents that don't require it.
