Converting Forms to Regular Documents

Summary: Word allows you to protect documents that are intended to be used as forms. If you want to convert the form responses back to regular text, you need to follow a couple of steps that will stop the data from being changed, as described in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

As you are working with forms in Word, there may be times when you want to convert the responses to your form back to regular text. (There are many times when regular text is much easier to work with than answers in forms.) To do the conversion, follow these steps:

Unprotect the form. (The way you unprotect a form varies by version of Word and has been covered in other WordTips.)
Select the whole document either by pressing Ctrl+A or by choosing Select All from the Edit menu.
Press Ctrl+Shift+F9.

Now all the fields in the document have been changed to unlinked, regular text. You can now edit the document as you normally would.

The caveat here, of course, is that all of your fields are changed to regular text. Thus, if you had other fields in the document (such as fields for dates or sequential numbers), these are also changed to regular text by this process.

Tip #1338 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Take Control! Master the real power behind Word! Successfully master the secrets of powerful formatting and create documents that stand out from the rest. Best of all, you can create documents that are easy to maintain and quick to change.

Check out WordTips: Styles and Templates today!

Helpful Links

Newest Tips

Subscribe

RSS Feeds

Converting Forms to Regular Documents