How to link text or images to a drop down list selection in MS Word

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How to create a drop-down menu in Word document

Drop-down menu is also called as a drop-down list, pull-down menu, pull-down list, or drop-down box. It is used to show a list of options that allows you to select one option from the list based on your requirement.

There are the following two methods to create a drop-down menu in Word document -

Method 1: Using Form Field Option

Follow the below easiest steps to create a drop-down menu in Word document using Form Field option -

Step 1: Open the new Word document or existing Word document where you want to create a drop-down menu.

Step 2: Go to the File tab at the top left corner of the document. A list of file options will appear on the screen. Click on the Options tab.

Step 3: A Word options dialog box will appear, click on the Customize Ribbon form the left pane, and select Command Not in the Ribbon form the Choose commands from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Now, in Word Options dialog box follow the below instructions -

1. Click on the Insert Frame.
2. Click on the New Group from the right side pane.
3. Click on the Add button to insert Insert Form Field into the main tab.
4. A new option, Insert From field is added on the right side of the pane.

Step 5: A Form Field is added in the top right corner of the document. Click on the Form Field icon.

Step 6: A small Form Field window pop up. Click on the radio button associated with the Drop-down and click on the OK button.

Step 7: A small box square box appears, double click on it.

Step 8: Once you click on the box, Drop-Down Form Field Options dialog box will appear on the screen, in which do the following -

1. Enter the item in the Drop-down item text box and click on the Add button to insert an item in the Items in the drop-down list.

Note: Using the above steps, you can add more than one item in the drop-down list.

2. Tick on the Drop-Down enabled checkbox.

3. Click on the OK button, as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 9: Once you create the drop-down list, now you need to lock your drop-down list. To enable Lock, go to File ->Options->Customized Ribbon and select Commands Not in the Ribbon form the Choose commands from the drop-down menu.

Step 10: Click on the Lock -> New Group -> Add, a Lock icon will appear in the Main Tabs, as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 11: Now, you can see that the Lock icon will appear at the top right corner of the screen, click on the Lock icon.

Once you click on the Lock, a drop-down icon will appear on the screen. Click on the drop-down arrow. You can see that your inserted items will appear in the drop-down list.

Method 2: Enabling the Developers tab

To create a drop-down list in Word using the Developers tab, follow the below-mentioned steps -

Step 1: Open a new Word document or an existing Word document.

Step 2: Go to the File tab on the Ribbon. A list of File options will appear on the screen, click on the Options.

Step 3: A Word Options dialog box will appear on the screen. Click on the Customize Ribbon and tick on the Developers checkbox in the Main tabs.

Note: In Microsoft Word 2019 and Office 365, the Developers tab will appear on the Ribbon.

Step 4: Now, the Developer tab will appear on the Ribbon. Click on the Developer tab and select Drop-Down List Content Control in the Controls section.

Step 5: A Choose an item box will appear in the current document. To add items in the drop-down list, click on Properties in the Controls section.

Step 6: A Content Control Properties dialog box will appear on the screen in which do the following.

1. Enter the name of the drop-down list in the Title box.
2. Click on the Add button to add items on the list. An Add Choice window appears in which enter the Display Name and Value.
3. Click on the OK button at the bottom of the screen.

The screenshot below shows that a drop-down list is created in the Word document.