I use Word forms quite a bit for work. I am an attorney, and use them often for contracts that I start with a basic template for.

However, after I finish filling out one of these forms, I then need to send it to opposing counsel, who are often not tech savvy, and they screw up the forms with their edits (deleting a form field that is referenced lower down, for example).

I know that I can lock sections of the form--that's not what I want to do.

What I want to do, if possible, is 'finalize' the form, having the form fields disappear, and whatever is in them become part of the document permanently, just like if it was typed.

In other words, I fill the form out, then save it and it looks like a standard word document, and any edits to referenced fields will no longer affect other parts of the document. That way, I can send it to the other guy for edits without the fear that the document will get all screwed up.

I hope that made sense--it's a bit difficult to explain what I am trying to do. Anyone have any advice?

Thank you!