Legacy Form Fields Formatting Bug

Question

This "bug" applies to Microsoft Word 2010. We did not have this version with 2007, and I don't have access to 2013 to see if it's still a problem. Our documents are primarily saved as .doc with Compatability Mode enabled.

We have many fillable forms using the Legacy Tools. Some of the fields have formatting on them, usually numerical but sometimes date fields as well. Sometimes, a user will open the document and all of the formatting of the fields will be stripped out. On the number fields, this has the effect of rounding all entries up to whole numbers, which is really inconvenient because cents are important. I have yet to determine exactly what causes this bug, as it seems to happen randomly to some users, on some documents, some times. I can open a document that has been working for months and suddenly one day it doesn't work for me. But it'll work fine for a co-worker. I can open it the next day and it'll be working again.

Searching the internet has come up with the lone solution of adding in a macro to format the fields, which is not a great solution. Some of these forms are ones that we pass off to clients/customers/vendors, and requiring them to allow and use a macro-enabled document isn't very user-friendly.

The work-arounds we have come up with so far are trying a different computer, saving the document as a slightly different file type (which only works occasionally), opening the document another day, and downloading the document again. None of these are particularly reliable or helpful, as sometimes using another computer or waiting a day isn't an option.

I tried using Content Controls, as they are newer, but they seem to have fewer formatting options, and in order to do calculations on the controls, I have to add in a macro, so that doesn't get me any farther than I am right now.

I'm looking for validation of this bug (though since it's quite difficult to predict when and where it will happen, I'm not sure how to get that validation), and any solutions that don't involve macros.

Answer 1

I do finally have a working version of the document, I think. I'm still waiting for user testing, but it is working for me, even after uploading to our SharePoint site and then downloading it again.

Here is what I did:

I started a new blank document, and re-typed everything. (Note: I could do this because it was a simple one-page document with 9 total FormFields, 3 of which were straight text. I wouldn't want to do this for a longer document.)

I added in the form fields, and added the formatting to the two fields that are $ and the one that is 0.00. I left the calculating fields blank. I saved as a .doc and a .docx. (Note: I have experienced this bug on both .doc and .docx files - this time the .doc version worked for me, for no discernible reason.)

I closed and re-opened both versions. The .doc version's formatting was still in place. The .docx version's formatting was gone. I proceeded to work from the .doc version. I added more formatting (naming the form fields, setting them to calculate on exit, adding in the calculations, then formatting the calculating fields), protecting the form, saving, and closing between each edit. I did this because I wanted to see if I could isolate when the issue occurred. I had a theory that it might be related to the calculated fields, either because it was two different number formats ($ and 0.00) or for some other reason.

In the end, however, the issue did not re-occur. I'm happy, because I have a working document (this one time), but I still have not isolated the issue nor have I come to an acceptable solution. Re-creating documents from scratch when this bug occurs is hardly ideal for an organization with hundreds of documents like this.

I am still unable to predict when the issue will occur, which document(s) might be affected, which user(s) might be affected, and short of completely re-creating the document, a workable solution.

Answer 2

Yes, the same thing happens. I just tried it several times, removing all of the form fields and putting them back in with the correct formatting. Everything works fine, before and after saving, but upon re-opening, the formatting is stripped.

Answer 3

Does the same thing happen if you insert a new FormField?

Answer 4

Before closing, the FormField properties will be filled in as appropriate. Upon re-opening, the properties are blank. It will be set to Number, for instance, but nothing else.

Answer 5

If you access the FormField Properties dialog for a FormField that is not displaying its formatting, what do you see in the Format section of the dialog?