I am sorry to report that the file you sent back to me opened in design mode. This makes me wonder whether my W2000 is up-to-date. I know that my XP is. This is very distressing.



I also do not understand what you mean by "a normal code module". I do not know how to do that or where such a module would be located. My experience using MS Word for anything but writing documents (that do not need the formatting control afforded by MS Publisher) began yesterday. I have no experience with Visual Basic, though my programming background, which took place primarily between 1963 and 1969, during which time I did extensive programming is many languages including Algol and Pl/I, permitted me to follow the code that you wrote.

I really appreciate your help here, but I am beginning to wonder whether I should have attempted to use Word in this manner without considerably more knowledge about it and experience with it. This Survey Form is the simplest of three forms associated with my high-school 50th reunion (of which I am co-chair); all of them have to be ready to distribute via email by January 23. They are also being distributed on paper. The idea of using digital forms is to minimize the effort that will subsequently be required to analyze the Survey and to publish the 50th Reunion Book, which will incorporate biographies of all class members who submit them and for which I am personally responsible. Obviously, having the information arrive in digital form would save me and my committee considerable effort. I also have the option of distributing a Word file with none of these special text boxes, check boxes, etc., and just extract what my classmates insert into such a file, which is what we did for our 40th reunion. I thought that using Word Design Mode would be a more elegant and powerful solution, but I am beginning to feel that it isn't in the cards.

Dan Diamond

Hi Dan,

You might try starting Word without loading any existing documents. If it starts in design mode, try switchin it off & re-starting Word. Beyond that, it's time to start trouble-shooting. For some tips on that front, see:
http://lounge.windowssecrets.com/ind...owtopic=197827
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/...artingWord.htm and
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921541

Re:
That's what you get when you open the vba (Alt-F11) and use Insert|Module.

One of the things you've probably observed with your document is that, even without any vba code in it, you get a macro-enable prompt when you open the document. That's because you've used ActiveX fields to gather the data. If you'd used formfields, you wouldn't get the prompt. Plus, with formfields, the Enter key works as normal (you use the tab key to move between fields) and you can specify a maximum number of characters, numeric data only, and so on. Plus, if you put the formfield in a table cell of fixed dimensions, that constrains the amount of visible data that can be input into the formfield whilst at the same time maintaining a consistent appearance for the document's layout (eg page breaks stay put).

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

I encountered the same problem with design mode in another context. Every time I opened a document (that contains an AutoOpen procedure), I was told that code could not be executed in design mode.

The following solution worked. Place this procedure in normal.dotm:

Private Sub AutoOpen()

Dim Index As Byte

With ActiveDocument.VBProject

For Index = 1 To .VBComponents.count

With .VBComponents(Index)
If .HasOpenDesigner Then .DesignerWindow.Close
End With

Next

End With

End Sub

"Private" to ensure that there will be no conflict with other "AutoOpen" procedures.

I found this code somewhere on the net. My only contribution is placing it universally functioning in Normal.dotm (and using "Byte" in stead of "Long").

The funny thing is that after having closed and opened Word one or two times I could remove this piece of code from Normal.dotm - and the problem was gone.

Best wishes
HansJ