On a Macintosh computer circa 1997, Kevan J. Atteberry created the first Microsoft-branded office assistant: Clippy.
No matter how many times I tried to get it right, Clippy was there to tell me I still wasn’t good enough. Popping out of nowhere to offer “help” because my work was sub-par. 😵💫
Fast-forward to today, and the vast library of knowledge via technology and the Internet is at our beck and call. And thankfully, for me, Clippy has retired.
According to some sources, Office 365 is used by over a million companies worldwide , so it’s safe to say knowing how to use Microsoft Office is a resume must-have.
Fillable forms are a resource almost everyone in their career has either created or completed—and they’re not going away! Forms collect data, provide communication paths, and save time in workflows. ✨
By the end of this article, you’ll be able to:
- Use the Microsoft Word Developer Tab controls like a pro
- Create a fillable Word document
- Customize a fillable Word document
- Protect, save, and share a fillable form in Word
Ready when you are!
What Is a Fillable Form?
A fillable form is a digital form for users to fill out and send back. Of course, you can also print a form, but we’re not in 1997 anymore—let’s go paperless! 👩💻
Organizations create forms to collect meaningful data from employees and customers. Along with the sustainable and environmental benefits, it improves accuracy and productivity. (Not to mention a user-friendly experience for users!)
The level of customization depends on how simple or complex you want your fillable form to be.
You might have used a few basic controls to write cover letters to reports. However, when using Microsoft Word to create fillable forms, there are quite a few more controls to learn, so hike up those sleeves.
Developer Tab Controls in Microsoft Word
Before diving into a step-by-step tutorial, let’s unpack this intimidating term—the Developer tab.
OK, it’s not that intimidating once you get the hang of it. To achieve the type of form you want to build, getting acquainted with the controls section will help save time while creating your form.
These form controls (when used correctly) provide an interactive form for users to quickly understand what’s expected of them.
🔶The Developer Tab
Created in Microsoft Word
- Visual Basic: record, create, and edit macros that can automate tasks
. Here are a few reasons:
- There’s a necessary learning curve if you’re not familiar with Microsoft Word
- It takes up a lot of time manually creating and formatting all sections
- It’s not user-friendly to people inexperienced with Word (there’s also a time commitment on their end if the document is formatted poorly)
- Many features of Word forms don’t translate to other apps causing your formatting to break
- You must use MS Office tools or workarounds to extract the data
- Recipient forms are sent back via email, which is unreliable and also a time commitment to sift through
The form responses start coming in. What do you do? 🤔
It’s a complicated process that includes Microsoft Excel to extract the data from MS Word form responses. You built this form to save time, so let’s not work backward!
Related Resources:
- How To Create A Project Timeline In Excel (2022 Guide)
- How to Make a Timeline in Word
- How to Make A Calendar in Word
- How to Make a Timeline in Google Docs
- How to Make a Mind Map in Word
- How to Create a Gantt Chart in Word
- How to Make a Flowchart in Word
- How to Make a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint
The Best Fillable Form in Word Alternative ClickUp Forms are the future. The good news? You can start using them today!
And because ClickUp works across devices, users can easily complete and return a form all from a link—and on the go! 📲🌐
Quickly switch between editing and viewing your ClickUp Form
While various online form building software exists, only ClickUp Forms allow you to turn collected responses into actionable tasks.
Review submissions and make quick decisions in a ClickUp List view
ClickUp Forms are easy to build, customize, protect, and share in ClickUp. Additionally, there’s more than one way you can share a link:
- Expire links: set a time for the link to deactivate (available on the Enterprise Plan
) - Share links: allow this link to be indexed by search engines
- Embed code: embed in any website by pasting the code (into your website builder
or CMS) Try ClickUp Forms!