I am trying to create a fillable form that includes their name. I want to be able to have that name repeated on the second page so I have used the legacy field and inserted on the second page the Ref field name. However this does not seem to be working even after enforcing protection. I am wondering if it is because the field is in a table?



Any suggestions?

Thanks!

In the REF field, are you using the bookmark name for the text form field (you'll see the name in the Text Form Field Options dialog box)?

Also, have you remembered to set the "Calculate on exit" option for the field? Then REF fields will update as you exit a form field with the Tab key.

Note that it is also possible to update the REF field(s) by switching to Print Preview (Ctrl+F2) and then exiting Print Preview (ESC).

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Yes and yes. Hmmm.. any other ideas?

Things should now be working, assuming that you activated "Filling in forms" protection, of course.

As an alternative (which shouldn't be necessary, though), you can apply a unique paragraph style to the paragraph containing the text form field, and then insert { STYLEREF "style_name_here" } in place of the REF field.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

In my experience, the StyleRef Field is much more responsive than is the REF field. Note that if you do not tab out of the key formfield, the REF field will not update. That is, if you simply click in the next formfield, that does not trigger updating.

Thank you however from what i can tell a StyleRef is to be used in a Header or Footer. what if I want to repeat someones name within a fillable form?

A styleref field can be used anywhere in the document.
A ref field referring to a legacy form field will not update automatically on exit from the field if it is in the header/footer or in a text box. A table shouldn't be an issue.

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Graham Mayor - MS MVP (Word) (2002-2019)
Visit my web site for more programming tips and ready made processes www.gmayor.com

Hmmm... in this support article:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/o...7-d18ed2dfebc0

It states: "The STYLEREF field cannot "see" text in text boxes, for example."

is it possible to send me a sample of it working for you? Please?

That is true, but this thread is not about Word's text boxes; instead, it deals with legacy text form fields. These are used in conjunction with "Filling in forms" document protection.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

As stated by Stefan, a text form field is not a text box. A text box is the graphical element you get in a document when you use Insert > Text Box.

The StyleRef field works fine in the body of a document, including in the protected area of a document protected for forms. Try it.

Again, the field itself must be formatted with a unique style. (The style may have the same appearance as the surrounding text.)