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Creating Fillable Blanks in Word

Anonymous
2020-09-22T14:54:59+00:00

I'm a teacher trying to create fillable blanks in a Word document. I'd like the blanks to be in-line with the text and in some kind of box that students can fill in with a pen or type their answer if the document is online.

I've tried form fields and creating a blank with Quick Parts. These options don't work when students try to type in their answers in Teams assignments or in Word Online. Students couldn't type into the blank.

I'm working with tables right now, but positioning is a struggle.

Any ideas?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-10-10T10:18:54+00:00

    Hi Kerry,

    Thank you for posting back and spending time sharing your test result with us.

    From all the information provided, you want to create fillable blanks in Word document so that the students can edit them in Word online and Microsoft Teams.

    I have tried content control as well from my side, unfortunately it's not available to use content control in Word online.

    Given the situation, I recommend you share your valuable feedback to Word UserVoice, this would be the best way to let the developers know your requirements and suggestions, UserVoice is a platform which is actively monitored by the related team, many features have been implemented from customers feedback. Your voice is always very important to us.

    Thanks for your understanding. Have a nice day and stay safe😊.

    Best Regards,

    Tina

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  2. Stefan Blom 338.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-09-22T17:27:21+00:00

    If students should fill out these forms in Word Online, using tables would be the easiest solution after all. As you have noticed, positioning won't be as flexible in the online version of Word as in the full, locally installed version, but tables can still be used. See http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/LinesInForms.htm#TableBorder.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-09-23T15:05:30+00:00

    Use Content Controls where you want the students to insert data

    See the following page of Greg Maxey's website to see how to print the form without the placeholder text

    https://gregmaxey.com/word\_tip\_pages/content\_controls\_do\_not\_print\_pht.html

    I checked the link and its way too much work to tackle - I'm a busy teacher and just don't have that much time to tinker. Isn't this something that Microsoft could easily remedy? I need some kind of inline box with borders that flows with text. My latest solution has been to use text boxes and adjusting the settings so text is close to the box. It is still a pain to position each text box to make sure that the text displays properly.  One of those cases where Microsoft's business-oriented software needs to be adapted to the world of education.

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  4. Stefan Blom 338.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-09-22T22:08:51+00:00

    Yes, table cells wouldn't look very good in a Word Online document. :-(

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-09-22T20:19:25+00:00

    I’ve tried tables. The problem is that they are very difficult to position inline with text.

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