How to Add Radio Buttons to MS Word 2007 Documents

Radio buttons, or option buttons as Microsoft now refers to them, are used in online questionnaires, and forms that require users to make a selection.

This tutorial demonstrates how to insert radio buttons into a document in Microsoft Word 2007, using a PC with Windows XP or Vista. The tutorial consists of two tasks:

• Adding the Developer tab to the ribbon
• Inserting option buttons into an MS Word document

For the remainder of this tutorial, the term "option button" will be used instead of "radio button."

To add the Developer tab to the ribbon:

1. Open Microsoft Word 2007.

2. In the upper left corner, click the Microsoft Office Button.






3. Click the Word Options button.







4. In the Word Options dialog box that appears, select Popular.

Note: Popular is the default selection.

5. Click the check box next to Show Developer tab in the Ribbon.

Note: you want the check box enabled, i.e., with a check mark.

6. Click OK.






The Developer tab now appears in the Microsoft Windows 2007 ribbon.

To insert option buttons into an MS Word document:

1. Click the Developer tab.





2. In the Controls group, click the Design Mode button.

Note: you want the Design Mode button enabled. When it is enabled, it is highlighted in orange.

3. In the Controls group, click the Legacy Tools button.

Tip: When you click the Legacy Tools button, if you have not already clicked the Design Mode button, the Design Mode button will now be enabled.

4. Under Active X Controls, click Option Button.

Result: An option button now appears in the MS Word document.

5. Hover your cursor inside the option button, right click, and point to OptionButton Object, and click Edit.

Result: the colour of the option button changes, which indicates that you can now edit the text.

6. Use the left arrow backspace key on your keyboard to delete the default text, and change the text to suit your preference.

Tip: if the text you want to add exceeds the default size of the option button text box, click on the black square on the right side of the box so that a double sided arrow appears, and drag to the right.

7. Click outside the option button.

8. Click the Design Mode button so that it is disabled.

The radio button is now active—i.e., you can click it and a dark circle will appear inside, indicating that it is the option that you have selected. Add as many more option boxes as you like, and preface the series of options with a question, statement, or instructions.