My customer sent me some Excel sheets that I'm meant to convert into forms.
These are simple forms to facilitate user input (for service technicians to
fill in checklists and create service estimates to be signed by customers)
and will not be tied to any databases.

I'm having trouble figuring out how to do this. I'd want checkboxes and
radio buttons for the checklist items, and a textbox for the typed
information. Simple enough, right? But, it isn't.

The Control toolbar does have all the field types I need and it's easy to
create the fields on the Excel sheet... but I cannot see how to set a tab
order for them.

So I next looked at just using the Excel cells instead of form fields,
because I found a macro that creates a tab order... but we really do need the
checkboxes and radio buttons, so this wouldn't work.

I've spent hours trying to weed through information in Google searches and
tutorials and Help files and discussion groups, but I cannot find this bit of
information. All I can find are instructions on creating an Excel form tied
to a database or how to create dialog forms.

We also need to try to use as little VBA as possible, because the form
owners won't be able to support it if anything changes or if problems arise.
These forms need to be as up-front WYSIWYG as possible, just fill, print,
sign and date.

Could someone point me in the right direction? Is it possible to do this
simply? Have I just been looking in all the wrong places for the right
information?

Also, just to note, we are not considering PDF forms; they need to be in
Excel. The Adobe Reader EULA limits each PDF form to 500 uses (not 500 per
user---500 total) before it's necessary to invest in Adobe's very expensive
server-based forms software. We have too many users for PDF forms to be
practical. (Adobe does not monitor form uses or number of distributions; it's
an honor system. But regardless of what others are doing or how undetectable
our usage might be, I cannot consciously put our company in an indefensible
position.)

Cheers!
--
FoxCole

"Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing."

Robert Benchley (about his response to someone who said at a dinner party,
"Say something funny, Mr. Benchley.")

There must be something I'm overlooking to set tab order on form fields from
the Control toolset. I still can't find any information, and am so
frustrated!!

I can't believe the Excel 2003 help doesn't have any documentation on the
Control toolbox items---but if it does, I sure can't find it. Where in this
"All Topics" list would *you* look for it?

* Activation and Registration
* Add-ins
* Backup
* Charts
* Configuration
* Conversion
* Corrupted or Damaged File
* Creating Workbooks
* Data Queries
* E-mail
* Error Messages
* Find and Replace
* Format
* Formulas
* Functions
* Graphics
* Headers and Footers
* Import/Export
* Links in Workbooks
* Menus and Toolbars
* Microsoft Map
* Opening and Saving Workbooks
* Organization Chart
* Performance
* Permissions and Passwords
* PivotTable
* Printing
* Programming
* Security and Privacy
* Setup
* Shared Workbooks
* Software Updates
* Speech and Handwriting
* Subtotals
* Templates
* Terminal Server
* Upgrade Your Installation
* Using XML in Excel
* Web Queries
* Worksheet Errors

I've just spent two more hours trying to find anything online, not just in
the help files but through all kinds of search engines and resources. It's
hopeless!

Or maybe I am.

I've spent a ridiculous number of hours on this, and am so frustrated at
this point I'm about driven to violence.

Somebody please either tell me that what I'm trying to do is not possible,
or show me where the answers are. *Please!*

--
FoxCole


"foxcole" wrote:

The Control toolbar does have all the field types I need and it's easy to
create the fields on the Excel sheet... but I cannot see how to set a tab
order for them.