Hello,

I am having a difficult time getting a document set up the way I want it. I want to set up a template that different users can edit to create information summaries.



I've built a table with six sections: Who, What, Where, When, How and More. I don't want users to be able to do anything other than enter text into the first four, so I put a plain text content control in those boxes. The remaining two, I want users to be able to use basic text formatting -- bold, underline, italics, etc., so I put a rich text content control in those boxes. I then selected the whole document, did a Developer>Group>Group, as other posts in the forum have suggested, then turned edit restrictions on and saved it.

When I try to create a new document from the template, I am able to enter text in all fields, but am unable to format text in the How and More fields. I have tried to save the template without turning on the edit restrictions, and when making a new doc from the template, users can format all text, even in the plain text fields.

I have attached a version of the document for any and all to play with and maybe diagnose. I'm sure it's something completely stupid that I'm just missing, but I've been working on this for two days and am getting incredibly frustrated.

Thank you for any help.

Attached Files

test_template.dotx (18.7 KB, 9 views)

First a general comment, you should be doing your formatting using Styles. I don't mean the checkbox in the content control properties, I mean in general. You are using direct formatting for your font. Understanding Styles in Microsoft Word
Not using styles will make your template and documents produced from it harder to edit.

As to your problem: Try using the protection method intended for content controls: Restrict Editing: No Changes (with exceptions). See attached.

Attached Files

test_template 2.dotx (22.7 KB, 11 views)

Thank you, Charles. I've spent almost three hours trying to replicate your work and simply cannot. No matter what I do, it either allows formatting on all cells or none. (And when I tried to edit your document to add some proprietary stuff to make it work for my purposes, it stripped out everything you did and once again formatted either all or none.)

I am defeated. Thank you for your effort. Despite my inability to grasp the concept, I am appreciative.