How can I autopopulate text throughout a document??

[The Novice in the Office]

I am a novice. Step-by-step, how do I create fields and bookmarks and macros
that allow me to type text into one spot and have it autopopulate in other
predesignated spots throughout my Word 2003 document? Every post I have
found assumes I know everything but macros. I do not. I need an explanation
from the beginning. Do I start with a blank doc or should I have my doc
finished to add these things to it?

 

[Stefan Blom]

See http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Repeating_Data.htm.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP



"The Novice in the Office" <The Novice in the
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[The Novice in the Office]

Thanks this has been helpful but generated another question. I used the "On
Line Form" solution and it is pretty much what I need and it's simple.
However, when it populates the REF fields it changes their font and font size
to match the form field. How do I specify different formatting while still
autopopulating the REF fields? In other words I want the form field to be
Arial 28pt font but the REF field to be Times New Roman 12 pt.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Include either the \*Charformat or the \*Mergeformat switch in the REF fields.
Read the Help topic on "Format (\*) field switch" to see how they work.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

 

[The Novice in the Office]

Thank you. That fixes the font formatting issue. And just when I thought my
simple problem was fixed....

This is becoming more convoluted and ridiculous by the minute. So I can
easily create the Forms and Fields needed to do this simple task, BUT I can't
really use them because once the "Protect Form" button is on I can't type
text ANYWHERE in the document except the Form.

I'm merely trying to create a document that others can simply type in their
information to create standard documents. I want to build the document with
text boxes set up with no text in them, simple. I then want to be able to
have the front page have a space where I can type in the title and have it
auto-populate throughout the document. THAT'S IT! I can't believe that MS
Word has been around as long as it has and still has no simple user friendly
functionality.

I've gone from Novice in the Office to Frustrated in the Office.

Is there a way to do this without needing to record complex macros or learn
programming language?

 

[Jay Freedman]

In Word 2003, you can insert a section break between the area that contains the
form fields and the rest of the document. When you go into the Protect Document
task pane and set the protection type to "Filling in forms", click the "Select
sections" link below it and uncheck the section that doesn't contain form
fields.

While I know this won't help you, Word 2007 does have a non-field mechanism for
inserting and repeating data without protecting the document. Unfortunately, it
works only in Word 2007 and not in any earlier version.

 

[The Novice in the Office]

Thank you so much for your helpful knowledge. I have not yet had time to try
this but am quickly recognizing why so many people sing the praises of this
site and the incredibly friendly and helpful people that post to it.

Seeing as I do not currently have Word 2007, you are correct. However,
seeing as I will not be able to avoid upgrading at some point it is still
good information to have. Here's a question generated by that knowledge.
When I make the upgrade to 2007 will the document I have developed in 2003
upgrade easily as it is imported OR will I need to rework it?

 

[Jay Freedman]

It will work as is. And although you may upgrade to 2007, you'll still need to
keep the 2003 format for forms and other documents that you share with others.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If all you want to propagate is the title, just type it in, apply the Title
style, and then use a StyleRef field to repeat it anywhere in the document.
See http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/StyleRef.htm. You could equally well
bookmark it and use a REF field, but the StyleRef field has the advantage
that (a) it updates automatically, and (b) while bookmarks can all too
easily be overwritten, if you provide a placemarker in the Title style, it
will be overwritten, but the style will remain.

As a placemarker, I would suggest a MacroButton NoMacro field, as described
at http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/UsingMacroButton.htm

 

[The Novice in the Office]

I hate to keep showing my complete inability with this software but, what
type of Section break do I want to use? Also, I can't seem to find any
Protect Document "task pane?" The Forms toolbar has a button for "Protect
Form" but I can't get any pane to open for it.

 

[The Novice in the Office]

Hi again Jay,

I have also been told that it's fairly easy to create macros to do all of
this without the headaches. Supposedly, I can create macros that allow me to
build my initial document with all of the text boxes, clip art, etc. in place
and then hand it to someone who can type their info into the appropriate
boxes and as they do so it will auto-populate text to other areas and build a
TOC as they go. I've even been told macros can be used to create a secondary
document automatically based on what you type in the initial document. For
example, if I wanted to make a teachers guide for a class that the teacher
can fill in content for any subject that will auto-populate the way I have
described and also with with the click of a button create a student guide to
go along with it.

While all of this sounds groovy I have yet to find a good step-by-step "for
dummies" style breakdown of how to create macros. And every time someone
says "oh, that's easy, just do this..." they then follow up with a lot of
technobabble and completely leave out major steps that they assume everyone
knows.

Is there a good source for this type of simple, hold-my-hand style breakdown
or is there somewhere I can go to get this done by someone?

 

[Jay Freedman]

Any of the section break types will do (continuous, next page, even page, or odd
page, depending on where you want the next paragraph to appear). However, a
manual page break, column break, or text wrapping break won't do -- it has to be
a section break.

You can't get to the task pane from the Forms toolbar. You have to use the menu
item Tools > Protect Document. (However, once you've been to the task pane and
selected which sections to unprotect, then you can use the lock icon on the
toolbar to unlock and relock, and the document will remember which sections to
lock.)

 

[Jay Freedman]

Well, "fairly easy" is a very subjective description. For me it would be fairly
easy. For anyone with no experience in writing macros, it would be a rather
lengthy "learning experience". You might even learn a few new swear words.

You can get a gentle start with macros at these pages:

http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/VBABasicsIn15Mins.htm
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/UsingRecorder.htm
http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Userforms/CreateAUserForm.htm

From there, though, it's still a stretch to create a fully automated template of
the kind you're describing. It can be built up in stages as you learn more
techniques. You need to know or learn Basic language syntax, but more
importantly you need to learn how Word's features are represented in that
language (and it helps to know already how the features work in the user
interface so you can choose the best tool for the job).

I'd encourage you to try, if you're interested, and post questions as you run
into them in the newsgroup
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.word.vba.beginners

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

But note that the OP can do what he/she currently wants with a MacroButton
NoMacro field and a StyleRef field as described in my post.