Drop-down list lock

Question

Is there any way at all that I can have a drop-down list without having to lock my form? I have several letters that are merged with data through a program and the form cannot be locked. If it is, the merge fails.

Answer 1

Word has several kinds of dropdown lists. Only the "legacy forms" dropdown form field (and the other legacy form fields) needs the form to be locked. If you use a dropdown content control instead, then the form doesn't have to be locked, so that should solve your problem.

If you want the same effect as locking the form to prevent editing outside the dropdown, here's how:

• In the merge main document, select a continuous area of text, which may or may not contain a content control but doesn't contain a merge field.
• On the Developer tab, click Group and then click Group in the menu.
• Repeat for each other area that doesn't contain a merge field, until everything in the document is grouped except the merge fields.

To be able to use the Preview Results or Finish & Merge buttons, you have to click in either a content control or a merge field.

Answer 2

Sorry, that's correct. Word 2003, even with the Compatibility Pack, can't use content controls. When the document is opened in Word 2003, some types of content controls are converted to plain text and others to pictures, but none of them function.

Answer 3

I'm guessing it doesn't work with Word 2003?