#  Other Applications & Softwares  > Word Formatting & General >  >  Adding fillable form fields to an existing document

## Sionos

Hi,

I wonder if you would be able to point me in the right direction. I have been able to create a document with fillable form fields (text, calendar etc.) with ease and also set restrictions for user access. However, I am having difficulty with entering several text fields into an existing documnent.

In order, this is what is happening:

I have opened a document created by someone else, sent to me by email with a request to add some fillable text fields and to protect the document so that people can only fill in those particular fields.

I have added the developer tab already and once I open the document, I notice that the control options (rich text, plain text etc.) are greyed out and I am only able to select the legacy tools. I have added an Active X text box control (is the the right way to do this?) into the document and started to enforce the protection however once this protection is enforced I am unable to enter any data into the newly created text field.  Can anyone shed any light on this?

Kind regards in advance.

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## macropod

That will be because the document is in the .doc format. The use of content controls required the docx or docm formats. If the document you're working with needs maximum compatibility (so it can be used by people who don't have Word 2007 or later) and not rely on macros, it's best to restrict your development to the use of the legacy formfields (not the ActiveX controls). Allied with formula fields, these can achieve quite a lot without needing macros, including repeating data, performing complex calculations and conditionally displaying/hiding text and graphics.

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## Sionos

Ok, So I choose the legacy text box for people to input. Is there any way to increase the size of the text box or restrict the amount of characters able to be inserted in the box itself therefore preventing anyone being able to add a carriage return in a protected document?

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## macropod

Text formfields have a 'maximum length' property and you can set the default with by adding some default text and/or padding them with spaces. Without a macro (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/211219) you can't prevent someone pressing Enter in one. You could, however, put one into a table cell with a fixed row height and/or column width to restrict the amount of visible input.

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## Sionos

Ok, 

That looks helpful (I think). Now, this is where you will have to excuse my absolute lack of knowledge where it comes to actually applying (that the right word??) a macro to the document in question. I am also assuming that the macro (in this case the enter key macro) would need to be added to any document that required that kind of function?

So, do I press the Macro button on the ribbon at the top and simply cut and paste, and then, what happens immediately after pasting the macro? Does it need to be saved etc. for it to work? Sorry for my ignorance......

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## macropod

The Enter Key macros need to be available to all documents in which you want them to apply. If you add them to a template, they'll be available to any document used by someone on whose system the template is installed; otherwise they'd need to be installed in the documents concerned.

For installation & usage instructions, see: http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm

Personally, however, I'd rather avoid such macros - aside from the fact they'd prevent the Enter key's usage in formfields where its use might be appropriate (and could have other deleterious effects as noted in the article), users shouldn't need to be told more than once to not use the Enter key in the applicable formfields - whose size there are other ways of limiting as indicated above.

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