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Questions

This index page last revised: 11 Nov 2024 09:10:31 -0500 .

The Developer Tab in Word 2007 - Word 2021 (365)

Word 2007 Developer Tab (shown above)

Word 2010 Developer Tab (shown above)

Word 2013 (Office 365) Developer Tab (shown above)

Word 2016 Developer Tab (shown above)

Word 2019-2024 Developer Tab (shown above)

Word 2016-2024 (Mac) Developer Tab (shown above)

You may not see the Developer tab on your Microsoft Word screen. In many Word releases, installed out of the box, it is not shown. The Developer Tab is an optional tab that gives access to form controls and other programming-type controls. This page will tell you how to access this tab and what the various controls on it are about.

For instructions on how to view the (somewhat different) Developer Tab on the Mac, see this support page and Neo Wu's response in this thread on the Microsoft Answers forum.

Show in Word 2007 - Show in Word 2010-21 - Code Group - Add-Ins Group - Form Controls Group - XML Group - Templates Group

Word 2007 - turning on the Developer Tab

Click on the Office Button and click on the Word Options button at the bottom.

Then under Popular check the box to "Show Developer tab in the Ribbon."

See Show the Developer Tab at Microsoft Support

Word 2010-2024 (365) - turning on the Developer Tab

Right-Click on the Ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon. On the right side of the dialog box that pops up is a list or Ribbon tabs, Check the box for the Developer tab.

See Show the Developer Tab at Microsoft Support

The procedure for the Macintosh version of Word 2016 is similar. See Neo Wu's response in this thread.

See also Enable Your Developer Tab before building templates by legal office guru Deborah Savadra.

Show in Word 2007 - Show in Word 2010-21 - Code Group - Add-Ins Group - Form Controls Group - XML Group - Templates Group

It really is that simple! Now let's take a look at the control groups on the ribbon.

Code Control Group

This has the same controls in Word 2007 - Word 2021.

and

These controls deal with macros and visual basic for applications (VBA).

	The Visual Basic button on the left opens the Visual Basic Editor.
	The Macros button opens the Macros dialog to give you access to macros.
	Record Macro starts the macro recorder.
	Pause Recording lets you pause your recording.
	Macros Security gives you access to the Trust Center.

Add-Ins Control Group - Word 2010 - 2021

This lets you control Add-In programs and templates. There are two different types, thus two buttons. The first button, with two gears, gives you the same dialog as the Document Template button in the Templates Group. This Group does not appear in Word 2007; in Word 2007 you can reach the same controls through the Word Options Add-Ins panel. In Word 2016 the blue boxes button was added to let you go to the Office Online Store to look for more Add-Ins and control those Add-Ins.

2010-2013 & 2016.........2021

If you are having problems saving changes to the defaults in Word, chances are good that the problem can be traced to a poorly-written Add-In. See Template Basics for more about Add-Ins.

Show in Word 2007 - Show in Word 2010-21 - Code Group - Add-Ins Group - Form Controls Group - XML Group - Templates Group

Form Controls Control Group

These are the form controls and this is slightly different from Word 2007 to Word 2013.

--------2007-----------------------2010-------------------2013-2024

The big difference is that in Word 2010 - 2021 there is a control for a checkbox. All give access to legacy form controls and ActiveX controls under the toolbox with the dropdown (below). Word 2013-2024 also give you the Repeating Section Content Control.

I prefer a different layout designed by Greg Maxey which is available from his web page. It adds a group for easier access to the legacy form controls and is shown below. Note that this includes the Lock / Unlock button from the Word 97-2003 Forms Toolbar missing from the legacy drop-down!

This is available as a free Add-In.

Show in Word 2007 - Show in Word 2010-21 - Code Group - Add-Ins Group - Form Controls Group - XML Group - Templates Group

XML Controls

I haven't used these. They are the same in Word 2007 and 2010, revamped in Word 2013.

---2007 & 2010-----2013-2024(365)

Protect Controls

These are slightly different:

--2007--------2010-21

Word 2010 adds the Block Authors button; this was retained in Word 2013-Word 2021. The Protect Document button in Word 2007 fills the same function as the Restrict Editing Button in Word 2010-21. The Protect Group, with the same controls is also on the Review Tab.

Templates Controls

These are the same in Word 2007-2013. Word 2016 dropped the document panel button. The Document Template button remains and gives the same dialog as the Word Add-Ins dialog.

The first button calls up the Templates and Add-Ins dialog. This button serves the same purpose as the Add-Ins or Word Add-Ins button in Word 2010-2024. See Template Basics for more about Add-Ins.

The first tab "Templates" tells you about the Attached Template and template Add-Ins or global templates. It lets you modify these. Changing the attached template stays with the document. Changing the global templates lasts for the current Word session.

The checkbox to Automatically update document styles should normally be unchecked.

The Organizer... button gives access to the Organizer dialog which lets you copy styles and macro modules from one document/template to another. It is one of three methods of accessing the Organizer, the other two are on the Macros dialog and the Manage Styles dialog.

The second button in this group "Document Panel" calls up the dialog below. I've not used it much so I'm not sure of the purpose. The checkbox will display a Document Properties Window upon open or initial save which may be helpful. It is shown below and takes up a fair amount of screen real estate. This button was dropped from the Developer Tab in Word 2016.

Word 2016 - 2021 (365) Macintosh

This is really closer to the old Forms toolbar. It contains the Code group and the Add-Ins group. Instead of the rest, though, it has only the legacy form controls. These are useful. Word 2016-2024 on the Mac can use most of the Content Controls, but the document/template must be prepared in the Windows version. The controls to manipulate them are not yet there. For more, see Neo Wu's response in this thread.

John Korchok has developed a free Add-In that gives Mac users control over the Content Controls. See Content Controls for macOS by John Korchok.

Screenshot from John Korchok's Add-In

Word 2016-2024 (365) Mac - Turning on the Developer Tab

Word > Preferences > View

Under Ribbon, check Show developer tab

Mac images from John Wu

See also Show the Developer Tab

As you can tell, this is a work in progress. As I learn more, I'll share it here.

Charles Kenyon October 25, 2023.

Show in Word 2007 - Show in Word 2010-21 - Code Group - Add-Ins Group - Form Controls Group - XML Group - Templates Group

Changes / suggestions / ideas can be sent to Charles Kenyon.

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