To create a document that fills itself in, most users position a form at the top of the document. Important information is entered in the form and that information is then used to populate fields within the document.
There are two basic steps to the process: creating a form field, where information can be entered, and inserting a reference to the field in the body of the document. The form field is configured to trigger calculation on exit, which causes other fields in the document to be updated when the form field is filled in.
To create the field where the information will be entered:
- Create a form field.
- Configure the field's properties by right-clicking the field and choosing Properties, or selecting the field and clicking the Form Field Options button.
- It is particularly helpful to replace the field's default bookmark (name) with a more memorable bookmark. Do not use spaces in the bookmark.
- In the field's properties, select Calculate on exit.
To insert a reference to the field into the body of the document, so that the document is updated based on the contents of the field:
- Position the insertion point in the text where you want the reference to appear.
- Press CTRL+F9.
- Type the name of the bookmark.
- Click outside the shaded and bracketed field or press the right arrow twice to move the selection out of the reference field you just created.
You can create as many information fields, and as many references as you require.
