Please add to the discussion using the comment box at the end of the page.) (These comments are from a previous commenting system. To protect a form in Word 2007, on the Developer tab, click Protect Document in Word 2010, click Restrict Editing. If you use Legacy form fields, you have to protect your form for filling in form fields, otherwise the form will not work. To configure a Legacy form field, right-click it and select Properties. The gray shading in the form field is now gone

Click Design Mode again to toggle it off.

In the Controls group, click Legacy Tools.

The gray shading in the legacy form field

On the Developer tab, click Design Mode.

Removing form field shading from legacy fieldsįollow these steps to remove the form field shading from your custom Microsoft Word form: A rich text content control allows the user to format the text, such as adding bold or changing the font color. For text form fields, you can select from either plain text or rich text formats. For example, you can attach a macro to a Legacy form field, but you cannot attach macros to one of the new content controls.Ĭontent controls are new for Word 2007. Legacy form fields have more configuration options available than Word 2007/2010 content controls, which is why they are still used. If the form is saved as a Word 97 – 2003 (.doc) document, you must use legacy form fields to create your form. There are three types available: text, checkbox, and drop-down list.

Legacy form fields are a carry over from Word 2003 and earlier versions. Types of Microsoft Word form fieldsįirst, for the benefit of users who are new to using Microsoft Word forms, let me give a brief explanation of the two types of text form fields available in Word 2007 and Word 2010: legacy and content controls. Note: To create or edit form fields in Word 2007/2010/2013, you must first Show the Developer tab in the Ribbon.

Form text boxes for word docs