Creating Interactive Forms

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If you've ever ordered an item online or used a Web search engine, you've used an interactive form. In Word, you can create online interactive forms in your Web page documents the same way you create standard forms. The main difference between creating standard Word forms and online forms is that you need to configure the properties of your online form's controls to work with your Web server. Because online forms created in Word require additional support files and server support, you should work with your network or Web administrator when planning and creating interactive Web forms.

Tip 

Receive form responses as e-mail messages  In addition to creating a server-side online form (a form that needs to work with a Web server that's configured to handle interactive forms), you can also create a Web form that sends an e-mail message to you each time the form is completed by a user. Whenever a user completes this type of form (often referred to as a client-side form) and then clicks a submit button, you receive an e-mail message containing the user's entries. To create this type of form, your best bet is to turn to a full-fledged HTML editor, such as FrontPage 2003.

When you create Web forms in Word, you can include 11 basic form controls, listed in Table 26-1. Word organizes the Web form controls for you on the Web Tools toolbar (right-click a toolbar, and then choose Web Tools from the shortcut menu, or choose View, Toolbars, Web Tools). Using the Web Tools toolbar, you can create a form by using any combination of these controls.

Cross-Reference 

For an in-depth look at creating forms in Word, see Chapter 31, "Working with Field Codes and Custom Forms."

Table 26-1: Interactive Web Form Components

Web Tools Button	Control Name	Description
	Checkbox	Provides an option that's not mutually exclusive in a group of options or that appears as an independent option.
	Option Button	Provides options that are mutually exclusive in a group of options. Users can select only one item in a group of items.
	Drop-Down Box	Creates a list of options from which users can choose in list format.
	List Box	Inserts a box containing a list of items users can choose from. If the list is longer than the size of the box, users can scroll through the list to access additional options.
	Textbox	Creates a control in which users can enter one line of text.
	Text Area	Creates a control in which users can enter multiple lines of text.
	Submit	Sends the data that a user enters in the Web form. Every online form needs to include a Submit button or a Submit With Image button.
	Submit With Image	Displays a graphic that users can click to submit information.
	Reset	Resets the form to its default settings and removes any information entered by the user.
	Hidden	Inserts a hidden control that's used to pass information to a Web server (such as information about a user's computer operating environment) when the user submits the form.
	Password	Creates a text box that displays an asterisk to mask each character the user types in the text box.

To set a Web form control's properties, select the form control, and then click the Properties button on the Web Tools toolbar. To get information about the properties associated with each Web form control, consult the Word Help files. The Help topic titled "Form Controls You Can Use on a Web Page" provides property information for each of the 11 Web form controls.

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