In Case Your Users Need Help

You can make it easier for your users to fill in the form by adding Help text to each field. You can have Help appear either in the status bar when the user clicks a field, or in a pop-up window when the user presses F1.

To include Help text for a field, click the field, click the Form Field Options button on the Forms toolbar, and then click the Add Help Text button. Decide where you want Help to appear, click either the Status Bar or Help Key (F1) tab, and then type the Help text.

Additional instructions for online users   Make sure you tell users that when they use the form online they can name and save it just as they would any other Word document. Want to test Help?   First protect your document by clicking the Protect Form button on the Forms toolbar. Then click a field and either press F1 or check the status bar to make sure Help appears. When you want to go back to writing or editing the form, click the Protect Form button again to unprotect the form.

Automate Your Form

You can use macros to check information that users type in your form.

For example, if your form includes a field for marital status, you could insert two check box form fields:“Married” and “Single.” Then, for the “Married” field, you could assign an on-exit macro to see if the box is selected. If it is, the macro could activate a “Name of Spouse” field.

After you create a macro for your form, double-click the field you want to assign it to. In the Form Field Options dialog box, select the macro from the list in the Run macro on box, and then select any other options you want.

For more information on macros, see the Microsoft Office 97 Programmer’s Guide (available wherever computer books are sold and directly from Microsoft Press), or look up Getting Results - Online Form in Help.