How to add instructional placeholder text to a Word 2007 template

Question

I am creating a Word 2007 template for others to use as a starting point for creating Product Requirements documents.

I would like to embed instructional text in the template which will guide users through the process of creating the document.

Ideally, I would like for this to function similarly to the way PowerPoint prompts users to enter text for new slides. For example a new slide displays "Click to add title" and then the user can click on that box to type in the title text and the prompt text goes away.

I've found one method of doing this which uses a MACROBUTTON field like this:

{MACROBUTTON No Macro This is the prompt text}

Unfortunately this method does not allow the prompt text to span multiple lines, so it is rather limiting.

I don't really want to use a fill-in field for this, because I don't want to force the user into filling in the text via a dialog box. Similarly, using a form field does not seem appropriate because the user should not be limited to entering the text into a text box.

Is there some other way to accomplishing this in Word 2007?

Answer 1

Content Controls are made for this exact purpose. You can even set the default text which is grayed out and disappears when the user clicks on it.

In order to insert and work with them you need to enable the Developer tab. They are explained in more detail on the MDSN website.