Drop Down
By Richard Rost
10 months ago
Create Drop-Down Combo Boxes in Microsoft Word
In this Microsoft Word tutorial, I will show you how to create drop-down boxes that allow users to select from a list of options within a Word document. We'll cover everything from enabling the Developer tab to inserting and customizing a Combo Box Content Control, commonly referred to as a drop-down. You will also learn how to populate it with a list of items, adjust its appearance, and save your document with the embedded drop-down box. This tutorial will help enhance your Word documents by adding interactive elements without the need for VBA coding.
Members
In the extended cut, we will learn how to pull data from your Access database to fill up a Word document with lists such as customer names and products. This is useful if you have a quote form in Word and want to automatically import information from your Access database. Silver members and up get access to this and all my other extended cut videos.
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Prerequisites
Recommended Courses
Members Video Links
Resources
FREE Word Level 1: https://599cd.com/Word1Free
Word Level 2 for $1.00: https://599cd.com/1Dollar
Word Forum: https://599cd.com/WordForum
Questions?
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Keywords
TechHelp Word, drop-down boxes in Word, Word Developer tab, combo box content control, Word ribbon customization, Word document drop-down, word form controls, Word combo box properties, Word drop-down list example, Word content controls tutorial, highlight Word combo box, Word drop-down without VBA, fill Word drop-down from Access, Access data in Word, beginner Word course, Word instructional video
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Intro In this video, I will show you how to create drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word. You'll learn how to enable the Developer tab, insert a Combo Box Content Control, customize its properties, and add your own list of items, such as customers or products. I'll also show you how to highlight your drop-down to make it stand out and guide you through saving and sharing your document with these interactive features.Transcript Today I'm going to show you how to make drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word, where you can click on a little box, drop it down, and pick from an option. Last week I did a video on drop-down boxes in Microsoft Access, which is most of what I teach. Then I showed how to do them in Excel, so I'd be remiss if I didn't also include Word.
Today we're going to make drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word. Before I lose any of my Access students: quick spoiler in the extended cut, I'm going to show you how to fill that box with data from an Access table. But that'll be later. Now I'm going to call this an expert-level video, which to me means a little bit more than the basics. You should have some good understanding of how to use Microsoft Word under your belt. But you don't need any VBA code or development stuff to do this. I'm going to show you step-by-step how we're going to do this. Ready? Here we go.
First, we'll start with a blank Microsoft Word document. Let's say you want to give your users a document to pick from a list of customers, states, products, or any kind of list of options. Or even for yourself, if you have a document that you constantly use, you want to be able to just pick from a drop-down. That's fine.
So, we're going to type in "Customer:" and then we're going to insert a drop-down box here. Now go to the Developer tab. You might be saying, wait a minute, I don't have a Developer tab on my ribbon. That's okay. Let me show you how to find it. It's off by default, but it's easy to turn on. Right-click on any one of these tabs and go to Customize the Ribbon. It's going to open up your Word Options on the Customize Ribbon box here.
Now on the right-hand side, you're going to see all the different tabs that are available. Developer is usually off. We're just going to check that box on and then hit OK. That'll turn on this Developer Ribbon tab. Now right here in the Controls section is a bunch of different controls you can use. Labels and images, all kinds of stuff. Right there is the one we're looking for. It's called Combo Box Content Control.
Yes, it's called a Combo Box, just like in Microsoft Access, we call them combo boxes because it's a combination of a list box and a text box. But everybody looks for "drop-down" when they're trying to find this, popularly called a drop-down. So that's why I made the videos titled "Drop Down," because that's what people search for.
So click on that and it's going to put a drop-down box, a combo box right here. It says "Choose an item." If you click the little box over here, it just says "Choose an item." So how do we put the list of items in there? Well, with most objects, when you right-click on them, you get a Properties option. But for some reason, Microsoft chose not to put it on here. So what you have to do is come back up to the Developer tab and click on Properties.
That'll bring up the properties for this content control. These are called content controls and you can give it a title, a tag, and a bunch of other stuff. Let's start with a good title. I'm going to call mine "Customer Combo." Now, I'm not going to put a space in there and my VBA developers know why you don't put spaces in your field names or your control names. Tag is optional. You don't have to put that in there. Bounding Box is what we have. There are some other options. We're not going to go over them right now. I always use a Bounding Box.
You could change the color if you want to, give it a light blue background or whatever. I like to put some shading over the box out here, which I'll show you in a minute. There are some other options down here, which aren't very important right now. The next thing we're going to do is click on this Add button over here to add a list of items. Alright, so let's say we want to add customers.
We've got "Kirk, James." Enter, and then if you press enter again, it hits the Add button for you again. Oh, and I messed this one up. Look, I didn't type in James. It typed in "James." So just double-click on it or hit Modify. James. Hit OK. Hit Add. And let's say we've got "McCoy." Alright, "Bones." Enter. And we've got "Picard, Jean-Luc." Add as many as you want. You can move them up and down. All that stuff. Hit OK. And now there you go. There's your list of customers to pick from.
Now when you click off of that box, you kind of lose all the formatting and you can't really see this here. So what I like to do is I like to select it and put a little highlight background on it. That way it visually tells you, and your users if you're sending this to other people, that hey, there's something there, they click on it and see the box there. And if you are going to send it to other people, you can drop this down and leave the default "Choose an item."
Now save your document and Control-S. I'll call it "Customer Combo.docx" or whatever. Now you can send it to other people and they can pick from the list. Pretty simple, pretty straightforward.
Having that list in the Word document is OK. But wouldn't it be nice if you're an Access person to be able to pull data from your Access database to fill that document up? Let's say you've got a quote form that you have in Word. Every time you want to fill out the quote, you want to pull in your customer list, you want to pull in your products, all that stuff. I'm going to show how to do that in the extended cut for the members.
Silver members and up get access to all of my extended cut videos. There's lots of them. And of course, Gold members can download all the documents and the databases that I make in my extended cuts. Everyone gets some free training. If you're interested, click on the Join button down below.
But that is going to do it for your TechHelp video for today. I hope you learned something. Live long and prosper my friends. I'll see you next time. If you'd like to see me release more Microsoft Word videos, be sure to like this video, subscribe to my channel, and post a comment below saying you'd like more Word videos. Right now, about 90% of the videos that I make are for Microsoft Access Database Design.
But I love Word, and I'm totally willing to make more Word videos, but I need to hear from you. The more people that comment, the more Word videos I'll make. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about Microsoft Word, come to my website at wordlearningzone.com. You can watch my full Microsoft Word beginner level one class absolutely free. It's over an hour long and it covers all the basics. If you like level one, you can get level two, which is another full hour-long course for just one dollar.
Again, visit my website at wordlearningzone.com. Or you can click on the links down below the video. How do you become a member? Click on the Join button below the video. Silver members and up get access to all of my extended cut TechHelp videos, live video and chat sessions, and lots of other perks. After you click the Join button, you'll see a list of all the different membership levels that are available and the perks associated with each one.
Don't worry, these TechHelp videos will keep coming. As long as you keep watching them, I'll keep making them, and they'll always be free. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to give me a like and share. Make sure you click on the Subscribe button and choose All to get notified whenever I post any new videos.
Make sure you click the Show More button down below the video, below the description. You'll see lots of additional links and resources down there. If you have not yet tried my free Word Level One course, visit my website now. There's the link. Sign up. It's a free hour-long course on all the basics of Microsoft Word, and it's absolutely free. If you like level one, you can sign up for level two for just one dollar. That's another complete hour-long video for just a dollar. If you would like to see your question answered in a video just like this one, visit my TechHelp page, and you can post your question there.
TOPICS:
Creating drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word
Enabling the Developer tab in Word
Inserting a Combo Box Content Control
Customizing content control properties
Adding items to a drop-down list
Highlighting a drop-down box for visibility
Saving and sharing a Word document with drop-downs
COMMERCIAL:
In today's video, we're going to learn how to create drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word. I'll guide you through enabling the Developer tab, inserting drop-down boxes, and customizing them with a list of your choice. Whether it's a list of customers or products, you'll have the tools to make your Word documents interactive. And for those Access enthusiasts, in the extended cut, we'll explore filling those drop-downs with data from Access tables. You'll find the complete video on my YouTube channel and on my website at the link shown. Live long and prosper, my friends.Quiz Q1. To insert a drop-down box in Microsoft Word, which tab must be enabled on the ribbon?
A. Insert
B. Developer
C. Home
D. Review
Q2. What is the Microsoft Word control called that acts as a drop-down box?
A. List Box Content Control
B. Combo Box Content Control
C. Text Box Content Control
D. Drop List Content Control
Q3. What is the first step to take if the Developer tab is not visible on the Microsoft Word ribbon?
A. Restart Microsoft Word
B. Check for updates
C. Customize the ribbon and enable the Developer tab
D. Use a different version of Word
Q4. How is a combo box in Microsoft Word similar to a component in Microsoft Access?
A. It allows for complex equations
B. It combines a list box and a text box
C. It is used for database management
D. It is an Excel feature adapted into Word
Q5. What should you do after adding items to the combo box in Microsoft Word?
A. Click the Layout tab to adjust its position
B. Re-open the document to see changes
C. Highlight the box for visual indication
D. Share the document immediately
Q6. What additional feature was mentioned that advanced users might be interested in?
A. Exporting data to PowerPoint
B. Filling the box with data from an Access table
C. Importing emails from Outlook
D. Integrating with Excel charts
Q7. What is the purpose of the "Add" button in the combo box properties dialog?
A. To remove all items
B. To change the combo box color
C. To add items to the list
D. To save the document
Q8. Why might users want to shade or highlight the combo box in their Word document?
A. To hide it from other users
B. To make the document formal
C. To visually indicate that it is interactive
D. To make it active for editing
Answers: 1-B; 2-B; 3-C; 4-B; 5-C; 6-B; 7-C; 8-C
DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.Summary Today's TechHelp tutorial from Word Learning Zone focuses on creating drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word. We'll go through the process of setting them up, allowing users to select options from a list. Although my primary focus is usually on Microsoft Access, I've covered how to make drop-down boxes in Access and Excel recently, so today it's Word's turn.
We'll be working with drop-down boxes in Word and, for those who might be wondering, the extended cut will cover how to populate these boxes with data from an Access table. This tutorial is intended for those who have a fundamental understanding of Microsoft Word. No need for any VBA or advanced development skills here - just a straightforward step-by-step guide.
To get started, open a blank Word document. Suppose you need a document where users can choose from options like customers, states, or products. Type in something like "Customer:" to indicate where the list belongs. Next, we'll insert a drop-down to make selection easy.
If you don't see the Developer tab in your toolbar, you'll need to enable it first. Right-click on the toolbar, choose Customize the Ribbon, and check the box for Developer to add it to your options. In this Developer tab, you'll find different controls, including the Combo Box Content Control which we're focusing on today.
The Combo Box, also known as a drop-down box, allows users to pick from a list while also having the flexibility of a text box, similar to combo boxes in Microsoft Access. Even though the technical term is "Combo Box," the feature is often colloquially referred to as a drop-down, which is why the video is titled as such.
Insert the Combo Box and click on Properties in the Developer tab to begin customizing it. You'll be able to set a title, such as "Customer Combo," and adjust various other settings if needed. To populate the box, click on the Add button and input the list of items, such as customer names. You can modify items, rearrange them, or add as many as necessary.
Once you've set up your list, apply some highlighting to the field to make it visible, especially when sharing the document with others. Save your document under a suitable name, like "Customer Combo.docx."
While having a list directly in Word is useful, integrating data from an Access database could streamline work for those regularly using both applications. In the extended cut available to members, I'll explain how to dynamically pull data from Access to populate these fields.
If you're interested in even more detailed guides, consider joining as a Silver Member or higher to access extended cuts. Gold Members also get access to downloadable content such as documents and databases used in tutorials. While all TechHelp videos are available for free, becoming a member provides extra perks and access to more in-depth content.
For those who enjoy Word tutorials and want more, please express your interest by liking and commenting. While my focus is largely on Microsoft Access, I'm open to producing more Word content if the demand exists. You can find more of my Microsoft Word resources, including a free beginner course, on my website, wordlearningzone.com. There, you'll find links to various courses and can also become a member to enjoy additional benefits.
Thank you for joining today's tutorial, and remember - as long as you're interested, I'll keep creating more content. Live long and prosper, my friends. For a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions, visit my website at the link below.Topic List Creating drop-down boxes in Microsoft Word
Enabling the Developer tab in Word
Inserting a Combo Box Content Control
Customizing content control properties
Adding items to a drop-down list
Highlighting a drop-down box for visibility
Saving and sharing a Word document with drop-downs |
