Add Classic Form Controls to Ribbon

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This Microsoft Word Help & Tips page will show you how you can restore classic protected form controls to a group visible on the Developer tab.

In the Ribbon UI of Word2007, Microsoft software developers buried a few of the classic protected form controls in the "Legacy Tools" gallery.

For whatever reason they left out perhaps the most useful contol. The control to simply lock and unlock the form. Here you will learn how to restore all the controls from the old "Forms" toolbar directly on the Developer tab.

This process involves a few simple steps.

1. If not already installed, download and install the Office 2007 Custom UI Editor application. See my Help & Tips page "Customize the Ribbon - It doesn't take Rocket Science" to find a link where you can review and download this application for no charge.

2. Open Word and open a new file. Save the file as a macro enabled template in your Word Startup directory. I saved my template as "ClassicFormControls.dotm"

3. Close the template and close Word.

4. Open the Office 2007 Custom UI Editor application. Open the template file that you just created and paste the following XML script in the Custom UI window:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<customUI xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/01/customui">
<ribbon>
<tabs>
<tab idMso="TabDeveloper">
<group id="FormGroup" label="Classic Form Controls" insertBeforeMso="GroupXml">
<box id="box1" boxStyle="horizontal">
<button idMso="FormControlEditBox" showLabel="false"/>
<button idMso="FormControlCheckBox" showLabel="false"/>
<button idMso="FormControlComboBox" showLabel="false"/>
</box>
<box id="box2" boxStyle="horizontal">
<button idMso="FormFieldProperties" showLabel="false"/>
<toggleButton idMso="TableDrawTable" showLabel="false"/>
<button idMso="TableInsertDialogWord" showLabel="false"/>
</box>
<box id="box3" boxStyle="horizontal">
<button idMso="FrameInsertHorizontal" showLabel="false"/>
<toggleButton idMso="FieldShading" showLabel="false"/>
<button idMso="FormFieldReset" showLabel="false"/>
</box>
<toggleButton idMso="Lock" showLabel="false" screentip="Lock" supertip="Used to toggle protection on or off" />
</group>
</tab>
</tabs>
</ribbon>
</customUI>

5. Your editor should look like this.

6. Save the editor file by clicking on the save icon on the toolbar or using the File>Save menu command. Close the editor.

7. Open Word and your new Classic Form Controls group is a part of your Developer tab.

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