Saving Form Data for a Database

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 7, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word allows you to create forms into which users can enter data. Exactly how you create forms has been covered in other issues of WordTips. When users are done filling in the form, they typically save the form as a regular Word document.

If you want to later use the form data in a database, you may find this tip helpful. Follow these steps:

Open the form document saved by a user.
Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Make sure the Save tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Save tab of the Options dialog box.

Make sure the Save Data Only for Forms check box is selected.
Click on OK to dismiss the dialog box.

Now, when you go to save the document, Word presents you with the Save As dialog box, and the TXT file format is selected. Once you supply a file name and click on OK, Word extracts the form data the user typed in the document and saves it, in a comma-delimited format, in the TXT file. You can then use that TXT file to import the form values to a database program.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (600) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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