Word 2013 - Input Fields Sharing Data within a Form

Question

I am trying to create a form in Word with input fields for text.  I would like to put the input data into form fields that could be shared with other areas in the same document - e.g. use some of these form fields to also pre-fill-out in another part of the form.

In example: if I put data into field A, B, and C - I would like to data to also show up in fields D, E, and F in another part of the document. An example would be entering your address as a residence, then having it pre-fill the mailing address in another area. 

(I know this could be done easily in Excel, however there are other limitations that prevent using Excel).

I have used "ask" fields, which do work well in some instances, however in this case, I would like the form to open as a template and have the users data entered where it can be spell-checked and edited easily.

Does anyone know how to do this?  I am new to forms in Word, so any instructions or a tutorial link would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Read http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/word_tip_pages/repeating_data.html, specifically part 2, "On-line forms".

The short version is: Insert a legacy form field, open its Properties dialog, give it a name, and check the "Calculate on exit" box. Where you want to repeat its value, insert a REF field containing the name of the form field. Repeat for other form field/REF field combinations. Protect the document for "filling in forms".

Answer 2

Thank you for your response.

It seems I still have much to learn about forms in Word.  I ran out of time trying to figure it out and had to resort to Excel - which is easier to manipulate date between places.  It does not produce a nicely formatted document like Word, but it gets the job done.

It would be so nice if it was possible to import some features from Word or Excel into the other program.  Something like a Word document interface for an Excel report.

Any way, thank you again for your help.

Answer 3

It's certainly possible, but it involves a big risk: It's far too easy to forget that you need to use the Save As command to save the new information without permanently overwriting the older form. If you're in the habit of pressing Ctrl+S, that will save the data with the same file name as the old form without asking you to confirm. (Of course, if you don't need the old data, then go right ahead.)

An alternative that avoids that risk is this: Instead of opening the previously filled form itself, open a copy of the old form and work on that. In Word's Open dialog, you can click on the old form, click the down arrow on the Open button, and click Open as Copy.

Or if you use the File tab's Open page, you can right-click the previous document in the Recent Documents list and click "Open a copy". Either way, you'll get a new document containing the old data, which you can then edit.

Answer 4

Thank you for your response.

Is there a way to create the form where data is input and then repeated without creating a new document each time?

As an example, I would create a report, where the last report file was used to update the new report.  Just go back and change some data.  This would mean that the files would be simply docx or docm files.

Is this possible in Word?