Hi all-



I'm currently working on a solution for our company. We use a standard Word letter that contains basic info such as name, address, subject line, etc...and then halfway through contains a list of numbered items. The same letter is used frequently, simply replacing the information specific to each project. As you know, someone that isn't very familiar with formatting in Word would have difficulty with the numbered items always staying lined up, or following the appropriate sentence structure so that it works correctly. Therein lies the problem. I spend HOURS formatting these numbered sentences for people. I just feel like there is a quick fix somewhere for the "not-so-tech-savvy" people to use.

Is there a way that, like in Excel, you can create a "data entry form" that will automatically place the typed information into the appropriate spaces, or is that an Excel only feature? I'm proficient in Excel, and fair in Word, but in my head I can't tell if it would be possible, even in VBA?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

If you use Styles correctly in Word, creating numbered lists in a consistent format (and maintaining a consistent format for an entire document) is a snap. The problem in the typical corporate environment is that few users know about (and probably care even less) about Styles and instead resort to crassly overriding any and every Style-based format with formats of their own. That approach simply makes it harder to maintain a given document, increases file sizes and makes the documents more prone to corruption.

You might try using Word's editing restrictions, so users can only employ a set of pre-defined Styles, but that's not going to prevent anyone from 'creatively' reformatting the content.

A better approach might be to limit the creation of important documents to those who have been trained to use the relevant Styles correctly.

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