How to Create a Template You Can Type & Tab Through

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Forms can be created digitally to tab through easily.

You can create forms on a word processor, such as Microsoft Word, that will allow you to tab through several fields to quickly fill out the information. Many businesses use this function on Word when they need to gather similar data repeatedly. Assigning fillable tab boxes helps make the answers consistent, and tabbing through field boxes help make filling out the form more efficient. Create a template that you can type and tab through in Microsoft Word 2010.

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Step 1

Launch Word and click the "File" menu. Locate the "Options" button in this menu, which will bring you to a list of categories on the left side. Click the "Customize" ribbon. Within this category, you will see a list of checked and unchecked boxes on the right side. Check the "Developer" box. This will prompt the Developer menu to show up on the document, along with regular menus such as "File," "Insert" and "Format." Click "OK."

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Step 2

Create your form on the blank Word document. Leave a space for fields where you want another user to input information, such as "Name," "Address" and "Phone Number." You also can add a space to indicate fields where you will place a drop-down menu to limit the set of options to two or three choices, such as "Gender," "Marital Status" or "Employment Status."

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Step 3

Click the "Developer" menu that you prompted to appear on the Microsoft Word menu panel. This will usually be found right next to the "View" menu. Place your cursor where you want to insert a fillable field box. Click on the icon "Aa" that is shaded in blue. This is the Rich Text control icon that will allow you to add fillable field boxes to your document. Repeat as necessary for places in your document where you don't want to limit the answer.

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Step 4

Add drop-down menus to places in your document where you want to limit the answer to two or three choices by clicking the "Developer" menu again and click the icon that looks like a drop-down menu. This is the Drop-down Control button. You can find this near the Rich Text control icon.

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Step 5

Click the "Developer" menu and locate the "Properties" button just below the button labeled "Design Mode." This will bring up the properties window where you can add answer choices. Within that window, locate the Drop-down List Properties box toward the bottom. Click the "Add" button. The "Add Choice" window will pop up. Enter one choice in the Display Name field and Value field. You may repeat this "Add Choice" step, depending on the number of choices you want to include. Click "OK."

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Step 6

Click "Save As" and, under file type, click "Document Template" to save it as a template. Click "OK." Locate the first field where you added a Rich Text box. If your form is a simple user form, this will probably be the "Name" box. Test the field boxes you've created by inputting your name, then pressing "Tab" on your keyboard to move to the next box. Repeat this until you've filled out the form successfully.

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