Word to Form · Your App Cloud

Turn a Word form into an online form

Upload a blank copy of the form. Say what each blank line, box and drop-down asks for, which instructions belong beside a question, and who reads the answers once someone presses Submit.

Plan: Build and preview it on any plan. Putting it live needs Go or Pro. See pricing

From a Word form to answers in one place.

Mark what the page asks, set the rules a printed page can't enforce, then fill in both versions side by side.

Mark labels, blanks and instructions

Upload a blank copy of the form, not one somebody filled in. In the prompt, list the questions in the order they appear, and say which paragraphs are instructions to show beside a question rather than questions of their own.

Set each question's type and rules

A blank line on paper takes anything. Choose a type for each answer, such as a date, an email address, a number or a choice. Mark which answers are required, and paste in the choices hidden inside every drop-down list.

Test against the Word version

Fill in the Word form and the online form with the same made-up answers and compare them question by question. Then press Submit and open the saved response as the person who will process it.

What each part of the Word form becomes.

Read across each row: the part you see on the Word page, the question or field it can become, and how to check it. The labels quoted here are made-up samples.

On the Word form	In the online form	What to check
A label followed by underscores or a tab leader, such as Name: ________	A short-answer question that uses the label as its wording	Several blank lines under a heading such as Describe what happened call for a long answer. Say which blanks expect a paragraph and which expect a few words.
A table used only for layout, with labels in one column and answer cells beside them	Questions in reading order, grouped the way the table rows grouped them	Where one table row holds two questions side by side, such as Start date and End date, confirm both came through and in the order people read them.
Box characters typed as symbols, such as ☐ Full-time ☐ Part-time, or Check Box content controls	A single-choice or a multiple-choice question, whichever you pick	The boxes look the same either way. Say whether one box or several may be checked, then try to check two and confirm the form behaves as you said.
A drop-down list or combo box content control, such as Department	A choice question. A combo box also lets people type their own answer, so it may need an Other option	Word keeps a drop-down's choices in the control's Properties, not on the page. Type every option into the prompt and compare the online list with it.
A date picker content control, or Date: __/__/____	A date question	Say that dates are written month first, as in the US. Enter 03/04 in a test and confirm the saved response reads it as March 4.
Instruction paragraphs, such as Use the date of the incident, not today's date	Help text beside the question it explains	Drop instructions that only apply to paper, like Use black ink or Complete in block capitals. Place the rest next to the right question, not in one block at the top.
An if-yes line, such as If yes, give the date of your last visit, or Now go to Section C	A follow-up question shown only when the answer calls for it, or a section that is skipped	Answer yes, then no. The follow-up should appear only after yes, and a required question inside a skipped section should not block Submit.
A line such as Please attach a copy of your certificate	A file question on the form, which needs File storage	Attach a test file, submit, and confirm it opens from the saved response it belongs to and nowhere else.
A signature line with Date beside it, under a declaration	A typed full name, a box confirming the declaration, and the date the form was submitted	A typed name and a checked box are not a drawn signature. Check that your process accepts them before the paper copy goes.
A For office use only box, such as Received by, Approved and Reference	Fields on each saved response that staff complete, with the access you describe for each collection	Open the form as a respondent and make sure the office box is not on it. Then fill in Received by on one test response as a reviewer.

A Word form is laid out for a printed page.

Much of what makes a Word form work sits in its layout: a line long enough for a name, a box to check, a table that lines labels up. The layout can't make an answer required or hold a date to one format, and it doesn't say who handles the form once it's handed in. Those decisions go in the prompt.

Upload a blank copy

A filled-in form carries someone's personal details, and a sample answer left in a box can read as part of the question. Clear every answer area before you upload, including text typed into content controls.

Accept or reject tracked changes

Switching to No Markup only hides tracked changes, so a question someone deleted can still be in the file. Accept or reject each change, delete comments, then run Document Inspector, which looks for hidden text and personal names in properties.

Open the drop-downs

Show the Developer tab, select each drop-down or combo box and open Properties to copy its choices into the prompt. Forms made for older versions of Word may use legacy form fields instead. List their options the same way.

Retire the old copies

Word forms get revised, and older copies live on in inboxes and shared folders. Note the form number or revision date from the footer, and list the places that link to the download today, so each one can point to the online form.

One place for question changes

An upload is a snapshot, not a link to the file. Make later wording changes in the app. If you keep a Word version for people who need paper, change both on the same day.

An illustrative starting point

An online form in place of the Word file.

Questions from your labels and blanks, instructions as help text, office-use fields for staff, and every submission saved in one place.

Questions from your template

Ask for one question per label and blank, each with a type such as a date, an email address or a choice, in the order the sections run. Mark the required ones, which the printed page could only flag with an asterisk.

Help text where people need it

Ask for the paragraph of instructions at the top of the Word form to be split up, with each line beside the question it explains. Keep each one short enough to read on a phone.

Answers saved in one place

Each submission can become a saved response with a status, such as New, In review or Done, instead of one more returned Word file to open, print and file away. Saved responses need a backend.

The office-use box, off the form

On paper, respondents see the For office use only box and are told to leave it blank. Ask for Received by, Approved and Reference as fields staff complete on each saved response instead, not questions on the form.

A note when a form comes in

A filled-in Word form often comes back as an attachment in one person's inbox. You can ask the app to email that person when a form is submitted, and to send respondents a copy of their answers. Test both messages with addresses you control.

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A little more context

Good questions.

My Word form uses a table for layout. Is that a problem?

Not usually, but check the order. A layout table can hold two questions in one row, or a label in a merged cell above several answers. Compare the online form with the Word page row by row, and say which labels are section headings rather than questions.

Will the drop-down lists in my Word form carry over?

List them rather than count on it. A Word drop-down keeps its choices in the control's Properties, so they don't appear on the page. Copy each list into the prompt, note whether it was a combo box that took typed answers, and compare the online choices with it.

What happens to the signature line?

The online form can ask for a typed full name, a box confirming the declaration and the date of submission. That is not a drawn or certified signature. If your process needs one, as some contracts and consent forms do, check what it accepts before retiring the paper version.

Can people still use the Word version?

Yes, if some people still need paper. Keep one current Word file for them, and have staff type returned paper forms into the online form, with an answer that records it arrived on paper. Every response then sits in one list, however it came in.

Where do submissions go, and who can read them?

Ask for each submission to be saved as a response in the app, rather than sent back as a Word file. That needs a backend. Describe who reads responses, for example the HR coordinator and the two managers who approve leave. Sign in as each of them with a test account and check what they can see and change.

Can the person who keeps the Word template look after the online form?

Partly. Studio has one builder per Exepad account, so changes to the questions go through whoever builds the form. The office manager who updates the Word template today can review submissions in the published app, signing in with the access you describe.

Which plan does an online form need?

Replacing the Word form means keeping every submission, which needs a backend, as do reviewer sign-in, the attachment question and the email note, so the form is an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. Model and service usage is metered separately, and the pricing page has the current plans.

Can I get the responses out of the app?

Yes, you can export your app's data and code. Before you stop accepting the Word version, run an export and check the responses in it, including the office-use fields staff filled in.

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