How do I leave parts of a WORD doc. unprotected?

[columbiano]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to create a document (in a form/type of contract) so the user cannot change any of the words in the contract (after they open the file) but within the contract there are several fields where the user has to type in their details, ie: Name, Date, Company Name etc.
I also don't want them to be able to cut out the text that I have in the contract, and paste it somewhere else either.
So, basically, "read only", "make no changes to existing text", "no cutting of my original text", "fill out the fields and send it back to me".

Here's what I've tried already:

1) I have heard in Adobe 6 (not the reader) that you can create a PDF with fields that can be typed into. But, would the user need to have the Adobe 6 program to re-save their changes - ie. to save their personal fields they have to fill out? Also, can the user still "save as text" (from the file menu) like in the Adobe Reader?

2) MS WORD: I only know how to password protect the whole document. If they open it as "read-only" they can still cut text and paste it somewhere else... isn't that right?

3) Excel: so far, this is the best bet... I put the text of the contract into 'locked' cells, leave the fields that the user has to fill out in 'unlocked' cells, then I password-protect the worksheet. Only trouble is the formatting of text etc in Excel is not the easiest thing, or the nicest to present...

I would really like to do this on WORD if possible. Any ideas?
Thank you very much!

[bunyip]

As long as use 'form' fields for the user fields, you can then use the 'Protect document for Forms' option in WORD. This will protect the document exactly as you have requested.

[columbiano]

Thank You!

That is EXACTLY what I was looking for... Perfect

I really appreciate your time.