This "bug" applies to Microsoft Word 2010. We did not have this version with 2007, and I don't have access to 2013 to see if it's still a problem. Our documents are primarily saved as .doc with Compatability Mode enabled.
We have many fillable forms using the Legacy Tools. Some of the fields have formatting on them, usually numerical but sometimes date fields as well. Sometimes, a user will open the document and all of the formatting of the fields will be stripped out. On the number fields, this has the effect of rounding all entries up to whole numbers, which is really inconvenient because cents are important. I have yet to determine exactly what causes this bug, as it seems to happen randomly to some users, on some documents, some times. I can open a document that has been working for months and suddenly one day it doesn't work for me. But it'll work fine for a co-worker. I can open it the next day and it'll be working again.
Searching the internet has come up with the lone solution of adding in a macro to format the fields, which is not a great solution. Some of these forms are ones that we pass off to clients/customers/vendors, and requiring them to allow and use a macro-enabled document isn't very user-friendly.
The work-arounds we have come up with so far are trying a different computer, saving the document as a slightly different file type (which only works occasionally), opening the document another day, and downloading the document again. None of these are particularly reliable or helpful, as sometimes using another computer or waiting a day isn't an option.
I tried using Content Controls, as they are newer, but they seem to have fewer formatting options, and in order to do calculations on the controls, I have to add in a macro, so that doesn't get me any farther than I am right now.
I'm looking for validation of this bug (though since it's quite difficult to predict when and where it will happen, I'm not sure how to get that validation), and any solutions that don't involve macros.
