Creating a Drop Down list in MSWord

[srmpatel]

Hello,

I have been trying to create a drop down list in Ms Word on of my
templates which is used by more than 10 people.

I have done some research and implemented the AutoText method. This
works fine but I stumbled upon another issue. The current AutoText
Method is only available on the Machine that it has been created on.
I have 41 items assigned to a certain style and text name.

How can have this drop down available to all the people using the
template?

Thanks
SRP

 

[Jay Freedman]

The AutoText entries are probably stored in your Normal.dot, unless you
specified a different one when you created the entries. The list doesn't
work for others because they don't have the entries in the proper template.

Do not distribute your Normal.dot template to others, because doing so would
include other customizations from your machine while destroying those
belonging to the other users. Instead, use the Organizer (Tools > Templates
& Add-Ins > Organizer > AutoText) to copy the entries from your Normal.dot
to the template that contains the dropdown.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[srmpatel]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for the advice. After reading up on it, I have managed to
restrict the Auto Texts to the relevant template which I have
created. I have another question which I need some help on.

Currently I have about 200 or more documents already created which
dont have the Auto Texts. These need to be updated, Is there a way of
doing this or do I need to manually update each document?

Process on how the template is used at the moment is, say for example,
TemplateA is on each workstation so each user can double click on it
and edit it applying the Auto Texts available by right clicking the
keyword, something similar to a pop up list. How can I make this
available to the other documents already created?

Thanks
SRP

 

[Jay Freedman]

The simplest way is to put a copy of the template containing the
AutoTexts into the user's Startup folder
(http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/WhatTemplatesStore.htm
explains how to find that folder) so it becomes a global template.
Then the AutoTexts will be available in all documents.

The alternative is to open each document, go to Tools > Templates &
Addins, and attach the template to the document.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[srp]

Thanks Jay,

I have managed to do all this and its working fine. However the
development of this template seems to be enhancing more and more. The
task I am trying to work out now is explained below:

The current template does not have any VB or user forms. It's one big
table split up. Within a cell we have RefNo, just written where users
type the reference number manually in a blank cell. The reference
number relates to our products and their locations. The Location is
in another cell within the table.

An example of what the locations would be are e.g. Aisle 21 to Aisle
23

So for example:

Product Name: Structural Bolts
Ref No: B071
Location: Aisle 21 to Aisle 23

There is a list of all the Reference Numbers and Locations in an excel
sheet. Each RefNo has a location. Users refer to this list and input
the information into the template once all relevant data is
collected.

There are approximately 400 reference numbers. I don't expect to have
a drop down / combo list of all 400 reference numbers. What I want
is:

1. Users enter the RefNo.
2. After the RefNo is typed in I want the Location to be
automatically
populated with the relevant location.
3. If in any instance there is no location available I would like the
"Location" cell to be defaulted to N/A

I have tried to use the Auto Text on this but due to the Location and
RefNo being in different cells Word does not allow me to enter it into
the AutoText.


Shreekant