Checkboxes that are revealed, conditionally in MS Word

Question

Hi everyone,

I tried to follow an old thread, but it was very complicated for someone unfamiliar with code.

Trying to create checkboxes that pop out a selection of answers for example.

Question: What is your favorite color?

[check1] Blue

[check2] Red

If Blue is checked, it should open up:

[check3] Navy Blue

[check4] Skye Blue

My understanding of the flow is:

• Create checkboxes
• Change name in Developer > Properties
• Put some sort of code in VBA

I tried those steps using AI, but something was going wrong. I'm hoping someone here can help simplify and clarify the process, if possible.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Gracia,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, I understand that you would like to create a question where, when a user selects Blue, additional choices such as Navy Blue or Sky Blue are displayed.

In this case, if you are not required to use Word, I would recommend using Microsoft Forms, as it makes it much easier to set up conditional questions.

You can do the following in Microsoft Forms:

Step 1: Go to forms.cloud.microsoft.

Step 2: Select New Form.

Step 3: For the first question, choose Choice, then enter Red and Blue as the two options.

Step 4: Click Add new question to create a second question. Choose Choice again and enter Navy Blue and Sky Blue as the available options.

Step 5: Return to the first question, click the ... menu, and select Add branching.

Step 6: For the Blue option, select Go to question 2.

Step 7: For the Red option, select End the form.

I hope this information is helpful.

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to let me know. I will be happy to help.

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Answer 2

You could create separate dropdown Content Controls and also put them into a Building Blocks Content Control.

The checkboxes are not true checkboxes. When one is clicked on, it gives a dropdown with the desired choices. Content Controls can be set to disappear when edited so that when a choice is made, the choice remains but not the dropdown.

Here is a temporary link to a template with the content controls and building blocks shown above.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3qn13g5i4hta1cxwx5gz5/Building-Blocks-Content-Control-Checkbox.dotx?rlkey=7nh65sfbxb9ibiwyn1q8kxzct&dl=0

References:

• AutoText and Building Blocks by Greg Maxey https://gregmaxey.com/word_tip_pages/building_blocks_autotext.html
• Building Blocks Gallery Content Control: https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/autotextautocorrect.htm#BBGalleryContentControl

These do not require any macros, but setting them up may seem complex.

Answer 3

Hi Gracia,

Based on my testing, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the Check Box Content Controls.

Step 2: Name the checkboxes as follows: Blue, Red, Navy Blue, and Sky Blue.

At the same time, for each Check Box Content Control, click Properties and configure the corresponding Title and Tag values.

For example, as shown in the image below:

Step 3: After creating all the Check Box Content Controls, select Navy Blue and Sky Blue, then go to Insert > Bookmark and name the bookmark BlueOptions.

Step 4: Next, press Alt + F11. Under ThisDocument, paste the following VBA code:

Private Sub Document_ContentControlOnExit( _
    ByVal ContentControl As ContentControl, _
    Cancel As Boolean)

    If ContentControl.Tag = "Blue" Then

        If ContentControl.Checked Then

            ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("BlueOptions") _
            .Range.Font.Hidden = False

        Else

            ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("BlueOptions") _
            .Range.Font.Hidden = True

        End If

    End If

End Sub

Step 5: After completing the above steps, press F5 to run the code and save the macro with your preferred name.

Step 6: Go to Developer > Macros, then select the macro you just created.

The result should look like this after completion.

 

.

Additionally, for the macro to run properly, you will need to configure the Trust Center settings to allow Word to run macros. Please follow these steps:

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings > Enable VBA Macros

After enabling this setting, save the document as a Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm) and reopen it if necessary. The macro should then run as expected.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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