using form form fields causes different style behavior

[Cooz]

Hi everyone,

I have this template in which users are not allowed to make numbered lists.
A couple of numbered lists in the template exist; users are to fill in their
own text after each number, but they should not alter the numbering in any
way. I have made up the following:

Since the lists are predefined, I typed the numbers as plain text, followed
by a tab - which in turn is to be followed by whatever text the user wishes.
The paragraph style of each number is called "Number", which is "Normal +
Indent: Left: 0 cm, Hanging: 0,5 cm, Tabs: 0,5 cm, Left". The template also
contains the style "Indented": "Normal + Indent: Left: 0,5 cm". "Indented" is
the style for the following paragraph with Number.

When I type some text after the tab and give an Enter, my new style on the
line below is indeed "Indented" and the text, indented, lines out nicely with
my previous text.

When I insert a form field after the tab, protect the document (for form
fields of course), type some text in the field and hit Enter, the style of my
new alinea is "Number". The text is not indented.

Can I have my styles in the protected document work in the same way as in an
unprotected document? How? If not: is there another way to achieve the
desired 0,5 cm indent on the next line when using form fields?

Thank you,
Cooz

 

[Stefan Blom]

The "Style for following paragraph" setting is ignored in a protected form
(as you have noticed). There is no way in the user interface to change that
behavior. It is possible that a macro can be used, but you may have to ask
in a programming newsgroup such as microsoft.public.word.vba.general for
further assistance.

 

[Cooz]

Hi Stefan,

I was afraid there couldn't be done much about it, which, alas, proves to be
the case. Sad but true.

"It is possible that a macro can be used" you write. Well... writing a macro
that sets the style for a paragraph is not too difficult. I can do that
myself. But this macro should fire whenever the user presses Enter, and
that's where things get tricky. I don't want the users of the template to
have to click some button in order to get the layout right - that is an extra
action on their part which is sure to be forgotten every now and then.

I think I'll stick with a user instruction to use Shift-Enter instead of
Enter. I'm not too happy about that either - a user should be free to make as
many new paragraphs as she wants. But at least it doesn't mess up the
document layout.

Thank you for your time, effort and reply,

Cooz

 

[Stefan Blom]

Hi Stefan,

I was afraid there couldn't be done much about it, which, alas, proves to
be
the case. Sad but true.

"It is possible that a macro can be used" you write. Well... writing a
macro
that sets the style for a paragraph is not too difficult. I can do that
myself. But this macro should fire whenever the user presses Enter, and
that's where things get tricky.

I'm aware of the difficulties here, which is why I didn't try offer to write
the macro myself.

But I'm sure a skilled VBA programmer could assist you with this, if you'll
find it worth the effort.

I don't want the users of the template to
have to click some button in order to get the layout right - that is an
extra
action on their part which is sure to be forgotten every now and then.

Good policy, I think.

I think I'll stick with a user instruction to use Shift-Enter instead of
Enter. I'm not too happy about that either - a user should be free to make
as
many new paragraphs as she wants. But at least it doesn't mess up the
document layout.

This is probably the simplest solution that can be done (without programming
that is). It should work just fine.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP