You don’t have to make a long, fillable form in Microsoft Word to take advantage of form controls. You may only have one or two points where you want to add something like a drop down list. This allows you or your reader to select an item from the options that you provide. It can help eliminate errors with data entry and spelling.
Next, we will show you how to add a simple drop down list to a word document.
Add Dropdown Form Control
To work with form controls in Word, you must use the tab Developer.
- Place your cursor in the document where you want to add the drop-down list.
- Go to the tab Developer and click the button Drop-down list content control.
- You will see that the control appears in your document as a box with “Choose an item.” You can then proceed to configure the list.
How to Create a Dropdown List in Word
You will then add the items to the list, give the control a name, and adjust some other options according to your preferences. Select control, go back to tab Developer and click Properties in the Controls section of the ribbon.
The Content Control Properties window will open, ready for your list details.
Title and Label: Enter the Title and optionally a Label that you want to use for the list.
Show as: By default, it is configured as Bounding Box. If you prefer, you can change it to display with start / end tags.
Color and style: If you want to give your control a particular color or style, you can select it below.
Decontrol: Optionally, you can remove the control when the content is edited by checking the following box.
To block: You will see two lock options for control. Thus, you can restrict its removal and the editing of its content by checking one or both options.
Add items from the list
Finally, you will add your list of items. You will notice that “Choose an item” is an option from the list. You can keep it, edit it by clicking Modify, or delete it by clicking Remove.
Then click Add to insert an item from the list. The value will be entered automatically as you type the screen name. Click on To accept when I finish. Then continue inserting the other items in the list in the same way.
Once you have all the options listed, you can reorder them using the buttons Move up and Move down right.
When you are satisfied with your list settings, click To accept to apply the properties.
And that’s it. To use the drop-down list, click on it and choose an option with the arrow.
Limit data entry options by using a drop-down list in Word
A drop-down list is a very useful form control in Word, either for simplicity or to avoid data entry problems. You can ensure that only specific items are available for you or others to select.
