Fill in and Reference Fields (Word 2003)

[cabratt]

I am trying to create a template for a law office. They want a pleading set up with boiler plate language. The only changes will be the names of the Defendants and Plaintiffs, case numbers and genders. They want it set up with fill in fields so that when the template is opened it requests the difference names, etc. They also want the plaintiff and defendant names to be populated throughout the document. Can anyone tell me how to accomplish this? I know how to insert fill in fields but do not know how to have other references to the names fall into place throughout the document. <img src=/S/butterfly.gif border=0 alt=butterfly width=15 height=15>

[HansV]

An Ask field is more suitable here than a Fill-in field, for an Ask field is associated with a bookmark, and you can refer to bookmarks elsewhere in the document using REF fields (cross references). You'll have to update all fields or print (preview) the document to update the cross references.

Another possibility would be to make the document protected for forms, with form text fields for the names to be filled in. A form field is also associated with a bookmark, so you can refer to it elsewhere in the document. If you set the form fields to calculate on exit, the cross references will be updated automatically.

Yet another possibility is to create a userform to prompt the user for the names, and to store them in custom document properties or in document variables. You can refer to them in the document using DocProperty or DocVariable fields. See the example attached to <post:=259,183>post 259,183</post:>.

[jscher2000]

<P ID="edit" class=small>(Edited by jscher2000 on 29-Nov-05 14:53. )</P>I suggest a userform. Court formats can be rather touchy, and Word text boxes or other form fields probably would detract from your control over the layout. You can create Custom Document Properties to stash the information in, if they want to be able to recall the dialog and see the information they put in before. In fact, you can use the DOCPROPERTY field to reference that information directly from the Custom Document Properties (rather than, say, another place in the document), if the entries are short.

[macropod]

Yet another possibility, if you've already set the document up with your FILLIN fields, is to give each of them a unique bookmark, then use the REF fields (or Insert|Cross-reference) to replicate the information.

Cheers