Hello Kimberly, thanks for your reply. Yes I think I might have been more concise about what I want to achieve. Here it is:
I need to set up a template after which to create document (a letter) that has: 1. a fixed position background image as large as the entire page, and 2. fixed position text fields to type in static text. I don't care if this is achieved with form elements or how else.
(The link you provide—thanks for that one, too—does unfortunately not help with office:mac. The described elements (starting with one Microsoft Office Button) don't exist here.
Searching Word's Help returns results such as 'Restore a picture" (1.), and 'Create an Index) (2.). Bizarre, but true. So, I didn't really know how to search.)
Now, after long searches, I came to see that an image that allows for form fields (as opposed to text fields) on top of it*, in Word is entitled a watermark.
Two problems remain with this. First: Despite Form Field Shading turned off when creating the form field, the print shows a border. I don’t see why, and how to get rid of it. (Searching this forum or the net doesn't return applicable results; I attach the dotx)
The second one is related to the second section in the initial question: how do I get the main form field in page one link to the one on page two so that when field 1 is full, text flows into field 2? It equals this one:
https://www.msofficeforums.com/userf...-question.html . With text fields, this is possible.
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* to whom it may concern: My image is available in two formats: a .pdf created out of InDesign, and a .png (which is the format of Word’s Clip Art files) made from that pdf in Illustrator.
In Print Layout View, I try Insert / Picture / From File. Inserts the image into the default text field, and what shows is only a blank surface of the same proportions as the image (but smaller).
Putting the same file in the cliparts folder (in the application directory) and insert it as Clip Art: same result.
Changing to Publishing Layout View allows the insertion of both the pdf and the png. Now, I have to insert some kind of text fields. Publishing Layout mode does present the possibility to create text boxes, but I don’t see how their position can be fixed. Tools / Protect Document is active, but it only offers to protect Track Changes and Comments. Doing that effectively doesn’t hinder moving the text boxes.
Creating form fields in Publishing Layout seems impossible: the form palette is unavailable. I change to Print Layout, and try to change these text fields into form fields. But when selecting / clicking into one of them, the form palette no longer offers any tools but those to create tables. Deselecting everything and creating a form field the way I earlier created a text field moves the background image to a second page that Word creates to that end.