Many years ago, I created a form in Word97 that had text form fields & drop-down form fields. I'm a small remodeling/building contractor & used the form to notify my vendors/subcontractors of projects I am bidding on & Inviting them to Bid their specialty to me. The type of projects I worked on changed many years ago & I stopped using the form & actually forgot that I had created it.
Recently, a need came up for the form again. I currently have a Win10 machine & running Word2019. Found the file & noticed that it was saved using compatibility mode. When I opened the document, the form fields weren't operating properly & I couldn't figure out how to open them & "debug". I decided that I should make a new form in 2019 with a couple additional fields I want to add & have probably spent 16 hours & been unable to get it to operate properly. i hope there is an expert at this forum that can help me.
My skill level with Microsoft products is beginner/basic & I get frustrated with multiple google searches for solutions that can sometimes be confusing. During my initial attempts, I couldn't find a Form Fields command. Google searches told me to add the Developer tab (which I did) & I noticed there were various Content Controls like text & drop-down list. Have these replaced the form fields? I tried making some test templates & test documents but couldn't get them to work properly. I also noticed that even though I used the Restrict Editing command before saving it, when I opened the document again, a yellow ribbon across the top would appear with a box asking if we want to allow editing. No - I don't. Is there a way to prevent that ribbon from appearing?
If anyone can help me, here's what I'm thinking:
*The form should start as a Word Template that will be located in a general folder in File Explorer.
*When a project comes up to bid, I open the template & save it as a document in a specific folder that I have set up for that particular project.
*I then open the document; fill in all the text;drop-down; & date picker boxes & save it in a "protected mode" that can not be changed & that I don't get the yellow ribbon across the top when it's opened.
*From there, I will attach it to an email that I will be sending to the affected vendors/subcontractors.
Is what I'm thinking possible? What I need are the following form fields; etc.
1. Insert my logo at the top of the page. this seems easy enough using the Insert tab, then Picture. Or do I use the Picture Content Control under the developer tab?
2. A text box or form field for the "Project Name". The project names size varies so I would think a maximum of 50 characters would work.
3. A date picker box or form field for the "Bid Date & Time". I.E. May 9,2022 5:00pm.
4. A drop-down list or form field for the "Project Type". The two choices are (1) NON-PREVAILING Wage, & (2) PREVAILING Wage.
5. A text box or form field for "Bid Documents are Available HERE". This needs to be large enough to insert a link to a website where the PDF of the drawings is located. Again, the size varies depending on the link, but I would think a full page width would be enough.
Thank You in advance for any help that is given.
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