© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Word 2000: Forms, Merges, and Macros

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 1: Mastering Form Basics

Objectives Create basic forms Save forms as templates

About Forms Form – a structured document that contains text, formatting and form fields, and is used to gather information Form field – a placeholder on a form that users fill in to provide data Label – text on a form that identifies a form field You can create printed forms, which users print and fill out on paper, or online forms, which users complete in Word If you use the same form repeatedly or create forms that are similar in structure, you can save the form as a template to preserve the form’s formatting, styles, and any attached macros

Creating Basic Forms Before you create a form: –Target the information you need to gather –Sketch out how you want the form to appear To create a form: –Insert a Word table to serve as the form foundation –Add form elements, such as titles, form fields, labels, and instructions You can also convert existing text to a table to use the existing text as a form’s field labels

Saving Forms as Templates When you save a form as a template, all new documents created from that template will contain the template’s formatting, styles, and any attached macros You can either: –Open a new document as a template, create the form, and then save it, or –If you’ve already created a form, save the form as a template using the Save As dialog box

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 2: Inserting Form Fields

Objectives Insert text form fields Insert check box form fields Insert drop-down form fields

Inserting Text Form Fields Text and check box form fields can be used for hardcopy and online forms; drop-down form fields are designed only for online forms Text form field – specifies an area on a form that can accept text, numbers, dates, or calculations You can use text form fields to create: –Plain text form fields –Date form fields –Number form fields –Calculation form fields

Inserting Text Form Fields (cont’d) Plain text form field – displays alphabetic or alphanumeric text not intended to represent numbers, dates, or calculations Current date form field – automatically displays the current date Date form field – requires manual data entry to display a date Number form field – accepts only numeric entries

Inserting Text Form Fields (cont’d) Calculation form field – contains formulas or functions –Formulas – instructions that perform mathematical operations –Functions – predefined formulas that return a value, such as summing the contents of specified cells You can include mathematical operators such as +, -, *, and / to add, subtract, multiply and divide values

Inserting Check Box Form Fields Check box form field – used to create a check box option that individuals can mark when completing a form You can specify the size of the check box and whether it should be turned on or off by default The default value is Not checked

Inserting Drop-Down Form Fields Drop-down form field – used in online forms to display a list of available options When filling out an online form, a user can display the drop-down list and select an item By default, the first item in a drop-down form field displays in the form; as users make other selections, their choices display in the form

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 3: Modifying Forms

Objectives Format text, rows and columns Enhance tables in forms Protect forms

Formatting Text You can customize form text by changing: –Font –Font size –Bold, italic, or underline attributes –Other attributes (color, alignment, etc.) To quickly format text: –Select the text you want to modify –Use the Formatting toolbar buttons to customize text attributes

Formatting Rows and Columns To quickly change a column width or row height: –Drag the column border to the desired width, or –Drag the row border to the desired height To precisely resize columns and rows: –Use the Column card of the Table Properties dialog box to specify column widths –Use the Row card of the Table Properties dialog box to specify row heights

Enhancing Tables in Forms You can enhance tables by: –Merging cells Merging – combining contiguous cells to expand the data entry area –Aligning text –Aligning form fields –Adding borders –Applying shading –Applying Table AutoFormats

Enhancing Tables in Forms (cont’d) –Displaying gridlines Gridlines – indicate cell boundaries in the absence of table borders Gridlines do not print; if you remove table borders, gridlines indicate where each cell begins and ends

Protecting Forms Protection – activates form fields and restricts users from changing form field labels and design elements To protect a form, click on the Protect Form button in the Forms toolbar When form protection is activated, users can: –Move the insertion point to form fields –Enter data into form fields –Turn on or turn off check boxes –Make selections from drop-down form fields

Protecting Forms (cont’d) To password protect a form: –Click on Tools, Protect Document –Select Forms –Type a password in the Password text box –Click on OK

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 4: Creating Help Messages

Objectives Create status bar help messages Create Help window messages

Creating Status Bar Help Messages Status bar help message – help text that displays in the status bar when you position the insertion point in a form field You create status bar help messages on a field-by- field basis To create status bar help messages, use the Status Bar card of the Form Field Help Text dialog box Status bar help messages display only when a form is protected

Creating Help Window Messages Help window messages – help text that displays in a separate window when you position the insertion point in the attached form field and press F1 You create Help window messages using the Help Key (F1) card of the Form Field Help Text dialog box Help window messages display only when a form is protected and you press F1

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 5: Using Online Forms

Objectives Enter data into online forms Update calculation form fields

Entering Data into Online Forms You can work with an online form by opening a new document based on a form template You complete the form by: –Moving to the data entry fields –Entering text –Turning check boxes on or off –Selecting options from drop-down lists –Saving the form as a document file

Entering Data into Online Forms (cont’d) Keyboard and mouse actions to navigate through an online form: ActionResult Press TAB or DOWNMoves the insertion point to the next form field Press SHIFT+TAB or UPMoves the insertion point to the previous form field Click in a form fieldMoves the insertion point to the specified form field Click in a drop-down field Displays a drop-down list Turn a check box on or off Selects or deselects the form item Press F1Displays user-defined Help text (if available)

Updating Calculated Form Fields as You Print You cannot access calculated form fields while a form is protected However, you can configure a print option to update the calculation fields when you print the form Use the Print card of the Options dialog box to turn on the “Update fields” check box to update calculation fields in the printed and onscreen forms

Updating Calculated Form Fields as You Enter Data You can set up calculation form fields to update automatically during data entry Calculation fields will update whenever the insertion point enters and exits the field for which you have turned on this option Use the Text Form Field Options dialog box to turn on the “Calculate on exit” check box to update calculation fields automatically

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 6: Sorting Information

Objectives Sort paragraphs Sort information in columns Sort information in tables

Sorting Paragraphs You can sort multiple paragraphs by each paragraph’s beginning text If multiple paragraphs begin with the same first letter, Word evaluates subsequent letters to determine the sort order You can sort in ascending or descending order You can specify primary, secondary, and tertiary sort orders (sorts within sorts)

Sorting Information in Columns and Tables Because columns are generally created from paragraphs, sorting columns is similar to sorting paragraphs You can sort an entire table or selected columns and rows within tables You can exclude table header rows from the sort Word will recognize a header row automatically and exclude it from the sort if you have formatted the header row differently from the table text

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 7: Creating Data Sources and Main Documents

Objectives Create data sources Create main documents

Examining Mail Merge Components Mail merge – combines information from a data source with text and formatting in a main document Data source – contains information stored as data records Main document – contains merge fields and the text and graphics that will appear in every merged document Merged document – contains the result of a mail merge Merge field – a placeholder in a main document into which information from the data source is inserted Data record – a table row that contains all the data fields for one entry in a data source Data field – a category of information within a data record

Creating Data Sources Use the Mail Merge Helper to create and assign a data source to a main document Use the Mail Merge Helper to: –Specify the type of main document to use –Specify a data source and remove any default field names you want to exclude –Add field names (if necessary) –Determine the order in which field names display in the header row Header row – a table row in a data source that contains the field names for each data record –Enter data records

Creating Main Documents You create main documents by entering graphics and text and inserting merge fields You can use the Mail Merge toolbar to assist in creating a main document The Mail Merge toolbar contains buttons you can use to: –Insert merge fields –Insert Word fields (such as a current date field) –Run the mail merge and place the results in a new document –Run the mail merge and send the results to the printer

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 8: Creating Form Letters

Objectives View merged data records in a main document Sort and merge records to create form letters Merge ranges of data records

Viewing Merged Data Records in a Main Document After you create a main document and a data source, you are ready to merge the data into the main document Click on the View Merged Data button in the Mail Merge toolbar to view the data records in the main document with executing a mail merge Viewing the mail merge document without executing the mail merge allows you to ensure that the records will be merged properly and to correct any errors before creating documents

Sorting and Merging Records to Create Form Letters You can sort data records in a data source to specify the order in which merged documents are created and printed You use Query options to filter and sort data records –Query options – the criteria by which records are sorted and the selection rules by which records are filtered for a mail merge It is not mandatory to sort or filter data records when executing a merge

Merging Ranges of Data Records You can confine a merge to a consecutive range of data records –For example, you can specify to merge records 3 through 6 Use the Merge dialog box to specify the range of record numbers before you execute a merge

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 9: Creating Mailing Labels and Using Alternative Data Sources

Objectives Create mailing labels Sort and merge mailing labels Use alternative data sources

Creating Mailing Labels Word provides a number of preset labels, but you can also specify custom label specifications Use the Label Options dialog box to specify printer information and label style Use the Create Labels dialog box to insert merge fields into the mailing labels

Sorting and Merging Mailing Labels When you create mailing labels to use with merged form letters, use the same sort criteria you used to sort the form letters If the sort criteria do not match, you will have to match the mailing labels to the form letters manually You use query options to sort mailing labels, in the same manner you used query options to sort merged form letters

Using Alternative Data Sources You can conduct a mail merge operation using alternative data sources: –Word tables –Outlook contact lists –Excel worksheets –Access databases –Text files Ideally, the alternative data source should include a header row with the appropriate data listed beneath each column header

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 10: Using Macros

Objectives Create macros Run macros Edit macros Copy, rename and delete macros

Creating Macros Macro – a sequence of commands and keystrokes that you record as a group and then execute as a single command To create a macro: –Assign a macro name –Choose whether the macro is assigned to a toolbar button or a keyboard shortcut –Start the macro recorder –Record the commands and keystrokes you want the macro to perform

Creating Macros (cont’d) Use the Record Macro dialog box to name the macro and assign it to a button or shortcut While a macro is being recorded, all keystrokes and mouse actions are recorded Use the Macro toolbar to pause, restart, and stop macro recording By default, macros are stored in the Normal template so that they are available for use in every Word document

Running Macros You run a macro to replay all the commands and keystrokes recorded in the macro You can run a macro from the Macros dialog box or by using the assigned keyboard shortcut or toolbar button To run a macro from the Macros dialog box, double-click the macro name To run a macro using the keyboard or the assigned button, press the keyboard key combination or click on the button

Editing Macros You can edit macros to make changes or corrections rather than re-recording commands and keystrokes Use the Microsoft Visual Basic – Normal window to edit macros To edit a macro, you edit the Visual Basic instructions in the editing window

Copying, Renaming and Deleting Macros You can copy macros to attach them to other templates or documents You can also rename and delete macros Use the Macro Project Items card of the Organizer dialog box to copy, rename and delete macros When you create macros, they are stored in a group attached to the Normal template When you copy macros to other templates, the entire group is copied When you delete macros, the empty macro group must be deleted separately