Chapter 31: Working with Field Codes and Custom Forms

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Overview

If you haven't used Word's data fields feature before now, Word 2003 gives you great reasons to give it a try. First, Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 and the stand-alone version of Word 2003 include full support for Extensible Markup Language (XML), which means that you can easily incorporate data from other documents and programs into your Word reports, letters, directories, and more. Second, Word developers now can create what are known as smart documents, which give users prompts, links, and resources as they work on common documents. By knowing how to insert, work with, and update field codes in your Word documents, you can take advantage of the new high-end features of Word 2003 that make your data management and processing tasks more efficient than ever.

The flexibility of Word 2003 gives you the means to create documents of all sorts—from simple letters to complex reports to documents that include indexes, footnotes and endnotes, diagrams, and more. But you aren't limited to creating documents that you simply print and distribute or post on the Web; you can use Word's field capabilities to insert variable information on the fly, or to give users the choice of entering certain data items automatically. You also can create forms that prompt users for information they enter, either by making field selections or typing the requested data.

In this chapter, you'll learn to use Word's tools to work with fields and create forms. Along the way, you'll discover what makes a fast, effective form, as well as find out how to make the most of Word's interactive data capabilities.

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