How to Use Office Word to Create Editable Forms Contracts

1. Type and style the headings, labels and boilerplate text that you want to appear on your form or contract. These are the fixed components of your document, around which you will insert the fill-in portions of your form. Save the document.
2. Click on the 'Developer' tab on the Ribbon. If 'Developer' is not visible, it must be added to the menu. Right-click on an empty portion of the Ribbon and select 'Customize the Ribbon' from the context menu. In the right-hand selection box, check the 'Developer' option under 'Main Tabs'. Click 'OK' to save and apply this change.
3. Click 'Design Mode' to enable the placement of controls onto your form document. Insert the appropriate controls at each location that you want the form-user to enter text, values or select from different options. For example, to allow the form user to enter their name on a form, add a Text control. Place the Insertion Point at the proper location within the text, and click on the 'Plain Text Content Control' icon in the 'Controls' section. If you want to see how the control is going to appear to the user, click on the 'Design Mode' again to turn it off. The user sees a grey box with the words 'Click to Enter Text' instructing them how to enter text at the location.
4. Protect the form to limit what the user can modify in the final document. There are varying levels of protection that you can select, depending on the intended use of the document. For example, if you have created a contract with fill-in sections, you will not want the legal wording modified by the user.
5. Click 'Restrict Editing' to limit access to the fill-in fields only in the 'Protect' section of the Ribbon. In the panel that appears to the right of the document, check 'Allow only this type of editing in the document' and select 'Filling In Forms' from the drop-down menu. Click 'Yes, Start Enforcing Protection' to turn on the protection feature. Adding a password to the edit enforcement keeps savvy users from turning off the document protect. Save the document.