Hi

We have an existing contract with company information, address etc. Due to unforeseen circumstances we have to manually create our contracts instead of being automatically generated out of a database.

What I am wanting to do is create a base (template) contract and have some sort of 'pop up' appear when you open the document then populate the relevant fields with new information.

Is this possible within Word 2003?

Thanks

Yes.

See Create a Userform - A beginner's guide to creating a simple userform for the insertion of data into a Word document.

Thanks for that.

I am very new to this sort thing and the "basic instructions" are well above my head.

I have 13 Docvariences I need to include into a contract, how long will it take an experienced person to complete and approx how much will it cost?

I would charge about $500, but I'm a lawyer not a programmer. It isn't that hard, given that I can do it. You just have to slog through it. Others would probably cost less. You could contact Greg Maxey at his site. There is a link to one of his pages at the end of this post. I suspect that Paul Edstein (macropod) who regularly answers questions here would also tackle it for you. Another person who could do it would be Graham Mayor, who wrote the article on userforms I gave you originally.

Instead, you could use what Word calls an online form. This simply means a fill in the blanks on the computer form. It requires no programming.

Here is an article about creating such forms.
Please Fill Out This Form 1 - Creating a Form by Dian Chapman

Although her example shows something that looks like a form, rather than a contract, you can simply insert text form fields where you want your information typed in. You use the tab key to move from one data entry point to the next.

If you need your information repeated elsewhere in the form you would use a REF field. See Repeating Data.

A couple of notes about online forms: (1) Your form has to be locked (protected) for the form fields to work. This is what the lock button is for. (2) Do not expect that because you lock something that no one can change it. Locking it means that no one can change it unintentionally. It will take work and trying.

Alternative 3

The way I prepare some of my form documents is using Word's Mail Merge capacity. While designed to send the same form letter to multiple people at once, it works fine to fill in a form. You put your variable information into a data file (I use an Excel spreadsheet). Then you select one data set and print your contract using the preview function in mail merge. Or you could perform an actual merge to that one data record to get a final contract. I usually don't bother with the final merge.

you are the best.

I have successfully created my first Word Userform with 13 Variables and it works a treat. Thank you again.

Next query, I now want to share the template with others in my office (12 others). When I try and open the template on another computer for some reason the Userform and code doesnt carry across. Is this normal? and how can I share this document so others can use it?

Thanks again

You need to be having your contract be an actual Word Template not just a model contract. The UserForm and related macros are stored in that template, which is then shared with others.

The default method for using templates is that new documents are created using the template. If you create a document based on the template which contains your userform, that document will not have access to your userform when the document is sent to someone else, unless they also have your template and attach the document to the template. If they have the template, it is easier for them to just create a new document using it. The user who creates the new document will automatically have the document attached to the template.

I am assuming that you are talking about a UserForm as described in the first link I provided, not an "online form." An online form would also be a Word Template but would not necessarily have any macros.

it is a Template with .dot as the extension. When I create the template again from scratch and save it into a shared drive, the userforms dont carry over. ie. I can still use the template on my computer just everyone elses computer doesnt have the userforms in the template when they open it on their computer.

hope that makes sense

PS we are using Word 2003 if that helps.

In the VBA editor you should be able to see your userform and any related macros. What project (template) are they in?

Do the other computers have macros enabled?

the other PCs have Macros enabled.

The Userform is in Project - Normal when you open the VBA editor

Normal is your personal normal.dot template. You need these to be in the project for the template you are distributing.

In the vba Editor you can right click on your form and export it to your desktop. Then right-click on the project for your distribution template and import it in. Create a module for your macros and copy and paste any macros not in your userform needed for the userform into your new module.

Once you know your Userform is working, you can delete these from your normal.dot.

works a treat. Thanks once again, you are a legend