Form text fields are disappearing during a merge to new document.

[Trevor Drew]

We would like to create a form that has some merged information on it, as
well as check boxes, dropdowns and form text fields. After the merge to a
new document, we would save it as a template and turn on document protection
with a password. The recipient could then fill in the form, using the check
boxes, drop-downs and text fields. However, when I merge the document, the
form text fields disappear, whereas the check boxes and dropsowns don't. How
can I make the form text fields survive the merge? We are at Word 2003 SP1.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

You can't. The two features are not designed to work together.

As an alternative, you could use a macro to create each new document from a
template in which you have formfields in place of the mergefields and
populate the relevant ones with data from the data source.
--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[Charles Kenyon]

As Doug said, the two features are not designed to work together. However,
if you are using merge to fill in data from only one record, there is a
workaround. What, exactly, are you doing?
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Trevor Drew]

We were trying to merge multiple records - about 8 per document - into a
document that would contain a mix of filled in fields (from our data) and
fields that the user would fill in. There must be the capability to write
into text boxes as well as to check boxes. This is being done currently by
printing a form and filling it in the old fashioned way. Even though the
filled in form doesn't need to find its way back into a database, some users
of the form thought it might be nice to have an electronic version. The
users all have wireless laptops, but we didn't have the time to whip up a web
form. The first need for it was this past Saturday. A quick modification of
the existing Word document seemed like the way to go. The fact that
drop-downs and check boses survived the merge gave me hope. I thought there
might be some way to make the text boxes survive as well.

Since then, I have experimented a bit with a macro to insert text form
fields into the merged document in place of some text phrase that could be
put in the master wherever we need a form field. Though a bit of a kludge,
it could work.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

If all of your records appear on one page, you can do my workaround,
otherwise it would require one merge per record.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Trevor Drew]

The merged document is two pages per record. Sounds like a post merge macro
or a return to paper forms is in order. Thanks for your help.

 

[bambicats7]

could you please tell me what the workaround is? I think I may be able to use
it.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

With the data from the required record displayed, run the following macro

Dim afield As Field
For Each afield In ActiveDocument.Fields
If afield.Type = wdFieldMergeField Then
afield.Unlink
End If
Next afield
ActiveDocument.Protect wdAllowOnlyFormFields
Dialogs(wdDialogFileSaveAs).Show

Enter a new filename when the FileSaveAs dialog appears as running this
macro will "destroy" the mergefields in the mailmerge main document.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP