To create a form in Word that others can fill out, start with a template or document and add content controls. Content controls include things like check boxes, text boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. If you’re familiar with databases, these content controls can even be linked to data.
Show the Developer tab
If the developer tab isn’t displayed in the ribbon, see Show the Developer tab.
Open a template or a blank document on which to base the form
To save time, start with a form template or start from scratch with a blank template.
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Go to File > New.
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In Search online templates, type Forms or the type of form you want and press ENTER.
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Choose a form template, and then select Create or Download.
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Go to File > New.
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Select Blank document.
Add content to the form
Go to Developer, and then choose the controls that you want to add to the document or form. To remove a content control, select the control and press Delete. You can set properties on controls once inserted.
Note: You can print a form that was created using content controls, but the boxes around the content controls will not print.
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.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the control.
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Select Developer > Rich Text Content Control or Plain Text Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Set or change properties for content controls.
A picture control is often used for templates, but you can also add a picture control to a form.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the control.
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Select Developer > Picture Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Set or change properties for content controls.
Use building block controls when you want people to choose a specific block of text. For example, building block controls are helpful when 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.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the control.
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Go to DeveloperBuilding Block Gallery Content Control (or Building Block Content Control).
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Select Developer and content controls for the building block.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the control.
To set specific properties on the control, 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.
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Go to Developer > Combo Box Content Control or Drop-Down List Content Control .
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Select the content control, and then select Properties.
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To create a list of choices, select Add under Drop-Down List Properties.
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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.
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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.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the date picker control.
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Select Developer > Date Picker Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, see Set or change properties for content controls.
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Click or tap where you want to insert the check box control.
-
Select Developer > Check Box Content Control .
To set specific properties on the control, 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.
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Click or tap where you want to insert a legacy control.
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Go to Developer > Legacy Forms drop-down.
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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.
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Select the content control that you want to change.
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Go to Developer > Properties.
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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:
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Open the form that you want to lock or protect.
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Select Developer > Restrict Editing.
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After selecting restrictions, select Yes, Start Enforcing Protection.
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.
Show the Developer tab
If the developer tab isn’t displayed in the ribbon, see Show the Developer tab.
Open a template or use a blank document
To create a form in Word that others can fill out, start with a template or document and add content controls. Content controls include things like check boxes, text boxes, and drop-down lists. If you’re familiar with databases, these content controls can even be linked to data.
-
Go to File > New from Template.
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In Search, type form.
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Double-click the template you want to use.
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Select File > Save As, and pick a location to save the form.
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In Save As, type a file name and then select Save.
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Go to File > New Document.
-
Go to File > Save As.
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In Save As, type a file name and then select Save.
Add content to the form
Go to Developer, and then choose the controls that you want to add to the document or form. To remove a content control, select the control and press Delete. You can set Options on controls once inserted. From Options, you can add entry and exit macros to run when users interact with the controls, as well as list items for combo boxes, .
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In the document, click or tap where you want to add a content control.
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On Developer, select Text Box, Check Box, or Combo Box.
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To set specific properties for the control, select Options, and set .
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Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each control that you want to add.
Options let you set common settings, as well as control specific settings. Select a control and then select Options to set up or make changes.
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Set common properties.
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Select Macro to Run on lets you choose a recorded or custom macro to run on Entry or Exit from the field.
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Bookmark Set a unique name or bookmark for each control.
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Calculate on exit This forces Word to run or refresh any calculations, such as total price when the user exits the field.
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Add Help Text Give hints or instructions for each field.
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OK Saves settings and exits the panel.
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Cancel Forgets changes and exits the panel.
-
-
Set specific properties for a Text box
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Type Select form Regular text, Number, Date, Current Date, Current Time, or Calculation.
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Default text sets optional instructional text that’s displayed in the text box before the user types in the field. Set Text box enabled to allow the user to enter text into the field.
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Maximum length sets the length of text that a user can enter. The default is Unlimited.
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Text format can set whether text automatically formats to Uppercase, Lowercase, First capital, or Title case.
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Text box enabled Lets the user enter text into a field. If there is default text, user text replaces it.
-
-
Set specific properties for a Check box.
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Default Value Choose between Not checked or checked as default.
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Checkbox size Set a size Exactly or Auto to change size as needed.
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Check box enabled Lets the user check or clear the text box.
-
-
Set specific properties for a Combo box
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Drop-down item Type in strings for the list box items. Press + or Enter to add an item to the list.
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Items in drop-down list Shows your current list. Select an item and use the up or down arrows to change the order, Press — to remove a selected item.
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Drop-down enabled Lets the user open the combo box and make selections.
-
-
Go to Developer > Protect Form.
Note: To unprotect the form and continue editing, select Protect Form again.
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Save and close the form.
If you want, you can test the form before you distribute it.
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Protect the form.
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Reopen the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a copy.
Show the Developer tab
-
On the right side of the ribbon, select , and then select Ribbon Preferences.
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Under Customize, select Developer .
Open a template or a document on which to base the form
You can start with a blank document and create your own form. Or, to save time, you can start with a form template.
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Go to File > New from Template.
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In the left pane, expand Online Templates, and then select Forms.
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Double-click the form template that you want to use.
Add content controls to the form
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In the document, click where you want to add the control.
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On the Developer tab, under Form Controls, select Text Box, Check Box, or Combo Box.
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To set specific properties for the control, select Options, and then configure the properties that you want.
Note: To create a list of drop-down items in a combo box, select the combo box placeholder, click Options, and then add the items that you want to appear in the drop-down list.
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Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each control that you want to add.
Add instructional text (optional)
Instructional text (for example, «Type First Name») in a text box can make your form easier to use. By default, no text appears in a text box, but you can add it.
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Select the text box control that you want to add instructional text to.
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On the Developer tab, under Form Controls, select Options.
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In Default Text, type the instructional text.
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Make sure that Fill-in enabled is selected, and then select OK.
Protect the form
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On the Developer tab, under Form Controls, select Protect Form.
Note: To unprotect the form and continue editing, click Protect Form again.
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Save and close the form.
Test the form (optional)
If you want, you can test the form before you distribute it.
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Protect the form.
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Reopen the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a copy.
Creating fillable forms isn’t available in Word for the web.
You can create the form with the desktop version of Word with the instructions in Create a fillable form.
When you save the document and reopen it in Word for the web, you’ll see the changes you made.
If you use forms at work, you’ll love the convenience of interactive or fillable forms in Microsoft Word. Forms that you can fill out make gathering information easy.
With a fillable form, all you’ve got to do is create a form in Word. Then you can use it over and over again. There’s nothing to print, so interactive forms are good for both your budget and the environment.
If you want a fillable form that also looks good, then begin with a template in Word. Form templates for Microsoft Word are available in Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a fillable form in Word, so you can reap all the benefits of an interactive form.
Find Great Form Templates on Elements
Fillable forms in Word have a variety of uses. Human resources use forms to capture employee and consultant information. Organizations use forms to register members, students, or clients. You also use forms to take orders for your products and services. Those are only a few examples of how useful fillable forms are.
Ideally, you want your Microsoft Word forms to be consistent with your branding. Well-designed forms reflect your credibility and professionalism. That’s why you want to avoid generic-looking forms. Want to know how to make a fillable form in Word that’s aligned with your visual brand?
The easiest way is by using templates for Word with pre-built tables or forms. One awesome source for Word templates is Envato Elements. Elements has an irresistible offer: for one low monthly fee, you get unlimited downloads of the millions of creative assets in its library. These include:
- Word templates
- fonts
- graphics
- photos
- and more
Whatever you need to make your forms look as good as possible, you can find in Elements.
If you need to create only one form, then a better source for Word templates is GraphicRiver. It’s got the same massive library of creative assets but on a pay-per-use basis. For the one-off project in Word, GraphicRiver is a terrific and budget-friendly option.
How to Create Fillable Forms in Word
You may be wondering, «How do I make a fillable form in Word?» Let me take you step-by-step through how to create a fillable form in Word.
Note: In the following tutorial, I’m using Microsoft Word for Mac version 16.48. If you’re using a different version, then the steps and interface may be different. But these steps should still be helpful for you.
1. Show the Developer Tab
As a first step, make sure that the Developer tab is showing up for you. This may be hidden by default. If you don’t see the Developer tab, follow these steps:
Go to Word > Preferences.
The Word Preferences menu opens. Click on the Ribbon & Toolbar button.
The Ribbon & Toolbar menu pops up. Under Main Tabs, scroll down and check Developer. Click Save.
The Developer tab should now be visible.
2. Determine the Layout and Structure of the Form
The next step is to determine the layout and structure of the fillable form. This will depend on what information you want to capture. You may want to sketch this on a sheet of paper first.
When you know what the form will look like, create a table in Word. By creating your form as a table in Word, it’ll be easier for you to keep things aligned and organized. The cells of the table are the form fields. Keep this in mind as you create your interactive form. This tutorial shows you the steps for how to make a table in Word:
Another option is to use a Word template with a pre-built table as a form. This way, the form has already been professionally designed. All you’ve got to do is to customize the form in Word according to your needs. Remember that the form template must have been built as a table so that you can make the form interactive in Word.
In the steps that follow, I’m going to create a form from scratch by first creating a table in Word:
Now, it’s time to make this a fillable form in Word.
3. Add Form Fields With Content Controls
You create a fillable form in Word by adding form fields. There are different types of form fields with content controls, depending on the types of responses you’re looking for.
Under the Developer tab, you’ll see buttons for creating a Text Box, Check Box, and Combo Box (or drop-down form field).
Let me show you how to create each type of form field:
How to Add a Word Fillable Form Text Box
Place the cursor where you would like to create a text field. Click on the Developer tab, then the Text Box button.
A text box is created. To change the text box settings, click on Options. The Text Form Field Options menu opens.
Here, choose various settings. For example, you’ve got several Text Types to choose from:
- Regular Text
- Number
- Date
- Current Date
- Current Time
- Calculation
Add a Default Text for the form field to guide respondents in filling out the form. You can also specify the Maximum Length and Text or Number Format.
When you’re happy with the settings, click OK. Repeat for each text box you want to create.
How to Add a Check Box to a Fillable Form in Word
Next, let’s make check boxes. First type the text for the check box items. Then, place your cursor in front of the first item. Go to Developer > Check Box.
A check box appears where your cursor was. Again, change the check box settings by clicking on the Options button.
The Check Box Form Field Options menu opens. Here you can determine whether the Default Value for the check box is Not Checked or Checked. Specify the Check Box Size and other options. When you’re done setting up the check box options, click OK.
Repeat these steps for the other check boxes.
How to Create a Drop-down Field in a Fillable Form in Word
Finally, let’s add a drop-down field in our form. Place the cursor where you want the drop-down menu to be, then go to Developer > Combo Box.
To add the drop-down menu items, click on the Options button. The Drop-Down Form Field Options menu opens.
Type a drop-down item, then click the + sign.
Repeat for each drop-down item you want to include in your fillable form. When you’re done, click OK.
Only the first drop-down item will appear. You’ll see the rest when you test the form.
4. Finalize the Form
Before using the fillable form in Word, it’s a good idea to first test it. To do this, click the Protect Form button on the Developer ribbon.
Now that the form is protected, fill the form fields like your respondents would. You’ll notice that the drop-down menu items appear when you click on the field or the arrow beside it.
When you’re happy with how the fillable form works, finalize the document by formatting the page. Click Protect Form again to un-protect it, so you can edit the document. Now’s the time to change fonts, colors, add logos, and format the form as you wish.
This is what my final fillable form looks like:
You may also decide to remove the shading for each form field. To do so, go to Developer > Shading.
I’m going to keep the Shading on, to make it clear to my respondents where they’re supposed to type in their answers. That’s because I deleted the borders of my table to give my form a cleaner appearance. If you keep the table borders, then it makes sense to switch off the form field Shading.
5. Use and Distribute Fillable Forms in Word
Once the fillable form in Word is completed, share it with your users or respondents. Do this by sharing the fillable form as an email attachment.
First, make sure that the form is protected. This ensures that other users won’t be able to edit the form when you share it with them.
Next, click on Share > Share a Copy.
In the menu that opens, click Email as Attachment.
This launches your default email application with the fillable form attached.
3 Top Form Templates for Word (Unlimited Downloads from Elements)
If you want a form with an impressive design, it’s best to start with a form template for Word. Templates with built-in forms are designed by professional graphic designers. This means the biggest—and hardest—design decisions have already been made for you. By customizing the colors and fonts and adding your logo, you can make the template truly your own.
Below are a few form templates for Word that look great:
1. Clean Business Registration Form Template
The Clean Business Registration Form template for Word allows you to gather basic personal information and contact details. It’s useful for registering employees, clients, members, vendors, and more. This form template comes in A4 size. You’ve got the option of customizing it with your branding colors. The template comes in Microsoft Word files, as well as files for InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop.
2. Order Form
Receive orders for your products or services with this Order Form for Word. This A4-sized template uses paragraph styles, making it easy to edit in Microsoft Word. It also comes in Adobe InDesign files, if you’re more comfortable editing in that application. A file guide is included to help you customize this template.
3. Client Questionnaire
Impress your clients with this Client Questionnaire template that looks anything but generic. Editable in both Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, this form template comes in A4 size. A 34-page guide walks you through how to edit and use the template files.
More of the Best Word Templates for Your Business or Organization
Now you know how to create a fillable Word document. But aside from fillable forms, your business or organization needs other types of documents. Using templates for MS Word helps you create professional-looking documents quickly. Premium Word templates are designed to be easy to customize, so you end up with materials that are coherent with your brand.
Here are more Word templates you can customize to easily create impressive documents for your business or organization:
Learn More About Using Microsoft Word for Your Business and Personal Needs
Whether for personal or business use, MS Word lets you create various kinds of documents. But with power comes complexity, so it can take time to learn how to use its robust features.
The best place to start is with our ultimate guide, Learn How to Use Microsoft Word (Beginner Tutorial Guide). It takes you from the basics of opening and creating Word files, to more advanced skills like comparing and merging two Word documents.
These Word tutorials will also help:
Enhance Your Workflow With Fillable Forms in Word
You’ve seen how convenient it is to use an interactive, fillable form. And now, you know how to create your own fillable form in Word.
Take it up a notch by starting with a Word template, such as those from Elements or GraphicRiver. These professionally-designed templates for Word are sure to impress your clients, employees, or members.
For unlimited downloads of Word templates, take your pick of the vast options in Envato Elements. For one small monthly subscription, you get unlimited downloads of anything you want in its massive library. These include photos, fonts, graphics, as well as sound effects, music, and stock video. If you create many marketing and communication materials, Elements gives you massive value.
For one-off projects, GraphicRiver is another massive library of Word templates and other creative elements. But with GraphicRiver, you pay only for each single use of each item. It’s an affordable way of getting the same professional results.
Did you know that you can create forms in Word that people can fill out? When you hear about fillable forms, it is almost always related to Adobe and PDF documents because that’s the most popular format.
However, Word is also quite a powerful tool and you can use it to quickly create forms that you can either print or send via email, etc. If you need to create a survey that will go out to many people and you want all the responses tallied for your automatically, it might be best to use Google Docs to create the survey.
In this article, I’ll show you how to create a form with text boxes, check boxes, a date picker and a list box. You can also make your forms a lot better looking if you use tables to organize everything.
Enable Developer Tab
By default, you can’t create forms in Word unless you enable the Developer tab in the ribbon. Since it’s not used by a lot of people, Microsoft disabled it by default. To enable the tab, click on File and then Options.
On the left-hand side, click on Customize Ribbon and then check the Developer box in the right-hand list box.
Click OK and click on the tab in the ribbon. The section we are most interested in is Controls.
Creating a Form in Word
The Controls section has about eight different controls that can be added to your Word document: Rich Text, Plain-Text, Picture, Building Block Gallery, Checkbox, Combo Box, Drop-Down List, and Date Picker.
To insert a control, just click on it and it will appear wherever your cursor was located. In my example below, I created a table and added two plain-text boxes for first name and last name.
By default, each control has its own filler text. For a plain text control, it is Click or tap here to enter text. You can edit this text for any control by clicking on the Design Mode button that is to the right of the control icons.
You’ll see some blue placeholders appear on the left and right of any controls you have added to your document. Select the text and change it to whatever you like. Click on the Design Mode button again to exit the mode.
Next, click on your newly added control so that it is highlighted and then click on Properties, which is directly below the Design Mode button. Each control will have a standard set of options with custom options at the bottom based on what type of control it is.
Here you can give the control a title, change the color, style the text and specify whether or not the control can be edited or deleted. At the very bottom are the control specific options, which for the case of a plain text control, is whether you want to allow multiple lines or not. That last option is useful if you need someone to type in a paragraph of text.
So what’s the difference between a plain-text control and a rich text control? Well, not much. In a rich text control, you can change the font/color settings for each word individually, whereas the plain-text control will apply the formatting to all the text. You would think the plain-text control would not allow bold, font changes or color changes, but it does.
Next, I went ahead and added a drop down list control to my form. You’ll see it says Choose an item and that’s it. In order to add items to the list, you have to click on Properties.
Click the Add button and then type in a name for your choice. By default, the Display Name and Value will be the same, but you can change it if you like. There really is no reason to change the value unless you are writing Word macros and refer to the controls in code.
Once you have added all your choices, go ahead and click OK and you’ll now be able to select the options from the drop-down list.
The only difference between the dropdown list control and the combo box control is that the latter allows the user to enter their own value if they please. In the dropdown list, you have to choose from one of choices in the list. In the combo box, you can either choose from the list or type in your own value.
The date picker control works just like any date picker you have probably used on airline booking sites, etc. When you click on it, a calendar appears and you can simply click on the date to select it.
If you click on the Properties button, you’ll see that there are quite a few options for the date picker control.
You can choose a different format to display the date and choose a different calendar type. The picture control is another nice option that will allow users to insert a picture easily.
When the user clicks on the image, a dialog will appear where they can choose a picture from their computer, from Bing image search or from OneDrive. They also have options for Facebook and Flickr.
Now let’s add a few checkboxes to our document. Note that when you add a checkbox and try to type text into it, it will tell you that the selection is locked. I believe this is by design. You have to click next to the checkbox and then type in your text.
Lastly, you can insert a building block control, which lets you pick content from Quick Parts and AutoText. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out my post on how to use AutoText and Quick Parts in Word. In my example, I added some quotes to a custom AutoText and then linked the control to it via the Properties dialog.
Once you have all the controls in your document the way you want, it might be a good idea to protect the document so that user can only fill out the form fields and that’s it. To do this, click on Restrict Editing on the Developer tab.
In the pane that shows up on the right, click on the dropdown under Editing restrictions and choose Filling in forms. Make sure to check the Allow only this type of editing in the document box.
Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection and then enter a password if you like. Now only the form fields will be editable and everything else locked/protected. The user can easily use the TAB key to move between the different form fields.
Overall, Word isn’t the greatest tool for making forms, but it’s decent and probably more than enough for most people. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
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How to Create a Fillable Form In Word for Windows
Use Word to make custom interactive forms
Updated on January 3, 2021
What to Know
- To add a fillable object, place the cursor where you want it and go to Developer tab > control type > click on page.
- To add the Developer tab, go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Main Tab > Developer > OK.
This article explains how to create a fillable form document in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010.
How to Add the Developer Tab in Microsoft Word
The form data you create can include the option to choose a date, mark a checkbox, select Yes or No, and more. Before you can configure these controls, you must add the Developer tab to Microsoft Word as they are called. You can create and configure any form data using this tab.
-
Select File from the top menu.
-
Then, choose Options.
-
Select Customize Ribbon.
-
In the right pane of the dialog of Customize Ribbon part, choose Main Tabs.
-
Check the box for Developer.
-
Press OK.
How to Create a Fillable Form in Word with a Checkbox
There are several types of fillable form options in Word. These are called “Controls”. The options are in the Controls group on the Ribbon. You can include a checkbox, date selection box, a combo box with choices you create, drop-down lists, and more. These controls are on the Developer tab.
To create a basic fillable form in Word by providing a checkbox:
-
Type the text to apply the checkbox. Examples include:
- “Opt into promotional emails”.
- “I agree to the terms stated in this document”.
- “I have completed all tasks”.
-
Select the Developer tab.
-
Place your cursor at the beginning of the sentence you’ve written.
-
Select the Check Box Content Control that adds a check mark. (It has a blue checkmark on it.)
-
Choose somewhere else in the document to apply it.
To remove any fillable entry, right-click it and choose Remove Content Control. Then use the Delete key on the keyboard to delete anything remains. In some instances simply clicking Delete will suffice.
How to Make a Form in Word with a Date Control
You add a Date Control from the Developer tab to enable users to select a date from a pop-up calendar that appears when they click the control.
To add a Date Control fillable form entry:
-
Place your cursor in the document where you’d like to add the Date Control.
-
Select the Developer tab.
-
Choose the Date Picker Content Control entry for inserting a date control.
-
Select somewhere outside the new entry to apply it.
How to Make a Form in Word for a Combo Box
If you want to have users choose something from a list that you provide, you use a Combo Box. After you create the box using the Developer tab options, you then access the Properties options for it to enter the available choices. In this example you will create a drop-down list for a party invitation, with options including Yes, No, Maybe.
To create a Combo Box to Make a Form in Word:
-
Write a sentence that will precede the options you’ll provide. Examples include:
- “Will you attend the party?”
- “Will you be bringing a dish to the party”
-
Select the Developer tab.
-
Place the cursor in the document where you want the options to appear.
-
Select the Combo Box Content Control icon. (It’s generally located to the right of the blue checkbox icon.)
-
On the Developer tab, in the Controls section, choose Properties.
-
Press Add.
-
Type Yes, and press OK.
-
Press Add.
-
Type No, and press OK.
-
Press Add again.
-
Type Maybe, and press OK.
-
Make any other changes (if desired).
-
Press OK.
-
Select somewhere outside the box to apply it; select inside the box to see how it works.
There are other types of form options you can create in Word. When experimenting with these, you’ll generally work in this order:
-
Type an introductory sentence or paragraph.
-
Place the cursor where you want the new control to go.
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Choose the control from the Controls group on the Developer tab (hover your mouse over any control to see its name).
-
If applicable, select Properties.
-
Configure properties as necessary for the control you’ve selected.
-
Press OK.
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On a Macintosh computer circa 1997, Kevan J. Atteberry created the first Microsoft-branded office assistant: Clippy.
No matter how many times I tried to get it right, Clippy was there to tell me I still wasn’t good enough. Popping out of nowhere to offer “help” because my work was sub-par. 😵💫
Fast-forward to today, and the vast library of knowledge via technology and the Internet is at our beck and call. And thankfully, for me, Clippy has retired.
According to some sources, Office 365 is used by over a million companies worldwide, so it’s safe to say knowing how to use Microsoft Office is a resume must-have.
Fillable forms are a resource almost everyone in their career has either created or completed—and they’re not going away! Forms collect data, provide communication paths, and save time in workflows. ✨
By the end of this article, you’ll be able to:
- Use the Microsoft Word Developer Tab controls like a pro
- Create a fillable Word document
- Customize a fillable Word document
- Protect, save, and share a fillable form in Word
Ready when you are!
What Is a Fillable Form?
A fillable form is a digital form for users to fill out and send back. Of course, you can also print a form, but we’re not in 1997 anymore—let’s go paperless! 👩💻
Organizations create forms to collect meaningful data from employees and customers. Along with the sustainable and environmental benefits, it improves accuracy and productivity. (Not to mention a user-friendly experience for users!)
The level of customization depends on how simple or complex you want your fillable form to be.
You might have used a few basic controls to write cover letters to reports. However, when using Microsoft Word to create fillable forms, there are quite a few more controls to learn, so hike up those sleeves.
Developer Tab Controls in Microsoft Word
Before diving into a step-by-step tutorial, let’s unpack this intimidating term—the Developer tab.
OK, it’s not that intimidating once you get the hang of it. To achieve the type of form you want to build, getting acquainted with the controls section will help save time while creating your form.
These form controls (when used correctly) provide an interactive form for users to quickly understand what’s expected of them.
🔶The Developer Tab
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- Visual Basic: record, create, and edit macros that can automate tasks in Office applications
- Macros: a series of actions grouped as a single command to accomplish a task automatically
- Record Macros: small programs that record your keystrokes as you perform a task
- Pause Recording: pauses the macro recording
- Add-ins: custom commands or features for extra functionality
- Word Add-ins: a program that can be attached to Word to give it additional functionality
- Text Box: an object to place and type text anywhere in the document
- Check Box: an object to place and click to check anywhere in the document
- Combo Box: a text box with a list box attached
- Options: editing Text Box, Check Box, and Combo Box customization
- Frame: acontainer for text and objects
- Shading: a background colorthat updates when switching to a different document theme
- Protect Form: prevents others from modifying the form
🔷Form Field Options
🖋 Plain Text Content Control
Text Boxes are most useful for a wide range of possible responses. These fields can be used to capture names, email addresses—just about anything! If you need a date field, use the date picker content control and customize it.
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- Type: Regular Text, Number, Date, Current Date, Current Time, Calculation options
- Default Text: instructions for users
- Maximum length: total character count allotted
- Text format: Uppercase, Lowercase, First capital, Title case options
✔️ Check Box Content Control
Check Boxes are suitable for yes-no questions or to select one or more options from a set of choices.
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- Default Value: boxes can be pre-checked if desired
- Check Box Size: increase or decrease options
📦 Combo Box Content Control
With the Combo Box, users can only select one option from a set of choices.
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- Drop-down item: type the list and click the + to add or – to delete
- Items in drop-down list: add, delete, and re-order list items
Looking for more information on form building tools? Check out our Jotform alternatives guide! ⭐️
How to Create a Fillable Form in Word
In this tutorial, I am using Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.54. The steps and features may look different if you’re on a different platform or version. However, the end game is the same, so these tips can be applied with what you have!
Step 1: Building the Fillable Form
1️⃣ Create a new document
- Launch Microsoft Word
- Select Blank Document > Create
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2️⃣ Add the Developer Tab to the Ribbon
On the Word menu, select Preferences > Ribbon & Toolbar > check Developer > click Save.
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3️⃣ Organize the content into sections
If you take only one thing away from here, it should be this: organize your content before you start formatting.
You’ll save time and frustration if all your content is written and organized. I am so humbled today because of the hours I wasted starting over again because I didn’t know what I needed.
Let’s put this into practice. I want to create a museum volunteer form. Here’s my content planned out:
- Title: Museum Volunteer Form
- Section 1: Contact Information
- Section 2: Availability (Days and times)
- Section 3: Survey (How did you hear about us?)
Not a bad start, but we can do better:
Version 2:
Section | Content | Fill Type |
---|---|---|
Contact Information | Full Name Email address Phone Number Date |
Text Box |
Availability | Saturday morning Saturday afternoon Saturday night Sunday morning Sunday afternoon Sunday night |
Check Box |
Survey | How did you hear about us? Word of mouth Social media Company website Search engine |
Combo Box |
Can you spot the difference?
In version 2, I know exactly:
- The number of fields I need for each section (Full Name, Email address, Phone Number, and Date equals four)
- The fill type to help visualize the form as I build
The hard part is over. Now let’s format!
4️⃣ Add tables
Section 1: Contact Information
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Insert tab, select Table
- Hover over a 2×2 table and click to populate
- Enter text
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Section 2: Availability
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Insert tab, select Table
- Hover over a 2×6 table and click to populate
- Enter text
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Sections 3: Survey
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Insert tab, select Table
- Hover over a 2×1 table and click to populate
- Enter text (we will add the options later when we add Content Controls!)
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5️⃣ Set Content Controls: Text Box
Text Box with Regular Text
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Developer Tab, select Text Box
- Double click the Text Box to review format > click OK
Tip: copy the Text Box and paste it into other text fields for a faster build
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Text Box with Current Date
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Developer Tab, select Text Box
- Double click the Text Box
- Change Type to Current date
- Change Date format to M/d/yy > click OK
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6️⃣ Set Content Controls: Check Box
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Developer Tab, select Check Box
- Double click the Check Box to review format > click OK
Tip: copy the Check Box and paste it into other checkbox fields for a faster build
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7️⃣ Set Content Controls: Combo Box
- Place your cursor at the desired location
- On the Developer Tab, select Combo Box
- Double click the Combo Box
- Add text to Drop-down item > click OK
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Here’s a preview of the Combo Boxes after your form is protected. ⬇️
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Step 2: Customizing the Fillable Form
Have fun with this section! Change the font, add page borders, apply MS Word themes—whatever your heart desires!
Here are recommendations to make your form user-friendly:
1️⃣ Change the line height
- Highlight the entire table
- On the Layout tab, click the up arrow to increase line-height
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2️⃣ Align text inside the table
- Highlight the entire table
- On the Layout tab, select the left-center option
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3️⃣ Format tables
- Click and drag the column line left to move the checkboxes
- Highlight the entire table
- Under Table Design tab, select No border
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Step 3: Protecting the Fillable Form
- Under the Developer tab, select Protect Form
- From the Review tab, select Protect > Protect Document
- Select Protect document for > Forms > click OK
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Step 4: Saving the Fillable Form as a Form Template
- Under File menu, select Save as Template
- Name your form template > click Save
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Step 5: Sharing the Fillable Form
Now that you have a saved template sending a form to users will prompt them to save their completed form under a new name and as a .docx.
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Success! You now know how to create a fillable form in Word! Great job! 🥳
Limitations of Fillable Forms in MS Word
While you can now add Microsoft Word fillable forms to your resume, it’s not the best software to create and send forms and you might need an MS Word alternative. Here are a few reasons:
- There’s a necessary learning curve if you’re not familiar with Microsoft Word
- It takes up a lot of time manually creating and formatting all sections
- It’s not user-friendly to people inexperienced with Word (there’s also a time commitment on their end if the document is formatted poorly)
- Many features of Word forms don’t translate to other apps causing your formatting to break
- You must use MS Office tools or workarounds to extract the data
- Recipient forms are sent back via email, which is unreliable and also a time commitment to sift through
The form responses start coming in. What do you do? 🤔
It’s a complicated process that includes Microsoft Excel to extract the data from MS Word form responses. You built this form to save time, so let’s not work backward!
Related Resources:
- How To Create A Project Timeline In Excel (2022 Guide)
- How to Make a Timeline in Word
- How to Make A Calendar in Word
- How to Make a Timeline in Google Docs
- How to Make a Mind Map in Word
- How to Create a Gantt Chart in Word
- How to Make a Flowchart in Word
- How to Make a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint
The Best Fillable Form in Word Alternative
ClickUp Forms are the future. The good news? You can start using them today!
And because ClickUp works across devices, users can easily complete and return a form all from a link—and on the go! 📲🌐
Quickly switch between editing and viewing your ClickUp Form
While various online form building software exists, only ClickUp Forms allow you to turn collected responses into actionable tasks.
Review submissions and make quick decisions in a ClickUp List view
ClickUp Forms are easy to build, customize, protect, and share in ClickUp. Additionally, there’s more than one way you can share a link:
- Expire links: set a time for the link to deactivate (available on the Enterprise Plan)
- Share links: allow this link to be indexed by search engines
- Embed code: embed in any website by pasting the code (into your website builder or CMS)