Word 97 – Form Fields in Header

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I have a user who wants to insert form fields into her header, but when she protects the document, she can’t get into the header to fill in the fields. Any ideas?

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She should not be able to insert form fields into a header, period. At least that’s how it works in Word 2000.

Here’s what you do.

1. Create a table & put a form field into each cell.
2. Make the table the same size as the header & put it into a frame. Superimpose it on the header on the first page.
3. Copy the identical table, without the form fields, to another part of the first page.
4. For each form field in the duplicate table, substitute a REF field for the corresponding form field.
5. Paste the table into the second page footer. Make sure the document is set for a different first page header (File/Page Setup). Word won’t let you enter or paste form fields into a header (or comments, footers, footnotes, endnotes, or text boxes).

Using this technique, you can set up a template that will have form fields on the first page, which repeat if, & only if, the document exceeds 1 page in length.

For a more detailed explanation, I’ve attached a letter explaining this in more detail. (I actually sent it to several magazines, but none of them published it.)

Hope this helps.

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Wow, Phil. That’s wonderfully detailed information. I will try it myself before I pass it on, but after reading it, it makes perfect sense. Thanks much!!

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Your answer triggered a question I have about using a REF field. I haven’t used those before. This same user wants to insert an account number into a field one time and then have it also inserted in 4 other fields automatically. Would she use a REF field to do that?? I urged her to use a merge, but she doesn’t want to. She wants to fill one form out at a time. Thanks, Phil!

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Hi Melanie:

That’s exactly what a REF field is for. Here’s some tips that I’ve combined for ways that you can have text repeat throughout your document:

Fields: Repeating Text
If you want to type something in Field1 & have it appear in other parts of the document, say Fields 6, 9, & 12. Also, Field 2 should appear in say Fields 3 & 20. Here’s what you do, using the above Field numbers as an example:

Method 1:
1. Insert text field 1.
2. Select & copy it.
3. Put the insertion point at Field 6.
4. Go to Edit/Paste Special & choose paste link.
5. Repeat the last 2 steps for each place you want the field to repeat. Actually, you can select the first field that you pasted, copy it (Ctrl+C), & paste where you want (Ctrl+V). Since it’s already a link, you can paste it directly without going to Edit/Paste Special.

You can use the same method for Field 2, that will repeat in Field 3 & 20. Now when you want to change something, just type in the source fields only (i.e. Field1 & Field2). Select the document (Ctrl+A) & press F9 (or just print if you’ve set the printing options for update fields).

Method 2:
Instead of using paste link, which I find is faster, you can use a REF field instead. It’s a field that refers back to a bookmark. In the above example, the syntax would be: {REF FIELD1} & {REF FIELD2}. You would insert them wherever the paste linked field would have been.

Method 3:
Similar to the above, you can use SET fields to set the text for the source field that each REF field uses.For example, in the beginning of the document, you can have an area with fields as follows:
{SET FIELD1 “type the text you want to be in this field”}
{SET FIELD2 “type the text you want to be in this field”}
What this does is set the text of each of your source fields. Then select the document & press F9.

Note that in all the above methods, you must protect the document for forms before you can type in the form fields, if your source field is a form field.

Method 4:
In your target documents, use INCLUDETEXT or INCLUDEPICTURE fields. They would refer back to a single source document that contained all the text &/or pictures that you would use. When you change the source document, all your target documents would update.

To elaborate on using REF fields:
Repeat Text Elsewhere In A Document (See Fields: Repeating Text)
To replicate the text, enter a field code. The long way is via Insert | Field | Links and References, choose the REF code and follow the Options button to insert the bookmark name. The fast way is to just insert a field code (Ctrl + F9), move the cursor between the curly brackets and type the bookmark name. The REF part is not required. As long as you get the bookmark name exactly right this will work.

If you get lost about your bookmarks, choose Tools | Options | View | Bookmarks. This will display bookmarks with square brackets around them on the screen so you know exactly where to type a new name.

To update a document once you’ve change the clients name bookmark, highlight the whole document and press F9 — this forces all fields to update.

Hope this helps.

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Your user may also want to look into use of ASK or FILLIN fields with REF fields. For more complex situations, look into userforms. You may want to download the following from my download page (http://www.addbalance.com/word/download/) and take a look at them.
AskForm and UserForm (These are both designed as tutorials with the VBA unlocked.)

For more on Forms take a look at the materials listed at Word Web Resources – Forms (http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#Forms).

For more on fields you may want to check out the links at:
Word Web Resources – Fields (http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#Fields).

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