Word form that does not work on tablet

Question

Hi,

I prepared a form with Word with drop-down lists, checkboxes, dates, etc. On the computer eveything works just fine but this has to be filled on a tablet. And on the tablet, checkboxes are working and also places to enter some text, but the drop-down lists and dates are not working.

Can you help me with that?

Thanks,

[Moderator note: personal info removed]

Answer 1

Hi @Plomberie St-Pie X Inc. F.A. Gicleurs de l’Est, 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience regarding filling out the Word form on your tablet. I appreciate your patience and the details you provided. 

A - What’s happening and why 

The form you received uses some of Word’s Developer features (such as drop‑down lists and date pickers) that work on the desktop version of Word, but these specific controls aren’t fully supported in the Word apps on tablets yet.  

As a result, checkboxes and free‑text fields still work, but the drop‑downs and date selectors don’t respond on Android. This is a platform limitation rather than an issue with your file. 

B - Workarounds you can use 

Here are my recommended workarounds, which I hope will be helpful to you. 

Please follow the steps below: 

1/ Complete the form on a computer (Windows or Mac) where those controls are fully supported, then send the completed file back. 

2/ If you need to complete it on a tablet, you can replace the drop‑downs and date pickers in the document with plain text fields (with guidance like “Type date as DD/MM/YYYY”) so everything remains fillable on mobile. 

3/ For the smoothest mobile experience going forward, I recommend converting this Word form to Microsoft Forms (a web form optimized for phones and tablets). You can open it from a link, pick answers and dates easily, and the results can be exported to Excel.  

More info here: Create a form with Microsoft Forms - Microsoft Support 

C - Submit feedback to Microsoft 

As a forum moderator, I hope you understand that I don’t have the ability to modify or escalate product issues directly. However, I strongly recommend submitting your feedback through the Word · Community. This is the most effective way to ensure your voice reaches the product team and can be considered for future improvements.   

Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’ll be happy to upvote it to help bring more visibility.    

If you are unable to submit feedback from your side, please let me know and I will be happy to submit it on your behalf.    

Additionally, since many other users have expressed similar concerns but may not know where to submit feedback, if my response has helped you better understand the situation and guided you toward a possible next step, please mark it as the "Accepted Answer". Your action will help pin this post to the top, making it easier for others in the community who are experiencing the same issue to find your feedback and support it.      

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.    

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern.      

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Answer 2

On tablets and in Word for the web, advanced desktop-only form features such as content controls (drop-down lists, date pickers, rich/plain text content controls) are not fully supported. As a result, those controls may display but cannot be interacted with, which matches the behavior described: check boxes and plain text fields work, but drop-down lists and date pickers do not.

To have a form that works reliably on tablets:

1. Design and configure the form in the desktop version of Word (Windows or Mac) using content controls.
2. Be aware that when the document is opened in Word for the web or on mobile/tablet apps, interactive behavior for some controls (especially drop-down lists and date pickers) may be limited or unavailable.
3. If full interactivity on tablets is required, consider:
   • Replacing unsupported controls with simpler text fields or check boxes that are known to work on mobile, or
   • Using another form solution designed for mobile (for example, Microsoft Forms) and linking to it instead of relying on Word content controls.

Creating fully fillable forms with all control types is supported in the desktop Word apps; when those documents are opened on the web or mobile, the layout is preserved but not all controls are interactive.

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References:

• Create a form in Word that users can complete or print