Unfortunately the situation is nothing like as straightforward as it
should be.
If you go to Office Button->Prepare->Properties , Word displays a number
of "core properties" in a "Document Information Panel" (DIP). You can
also enable the DIP for a specific document, or documents based on a
specific template, by going to Developer->Document Panel, enabling the
DIP, then saving the document (or template).
However, the standard DIP does not show anything like the number of
"Properties" that are available from the Insert->Quick Parts->Document
Property option. Nor do the properties in this list correspond to any
other obvious list of properties. Other than that, these properties
behave in much the same way, i.e. each of these properties is associated
with a value in an area of the saved document called the "Data Store".
When you insert the "property" you are inserting a content control that
is like a "window" into the appropriate part of the data store. So when
you alter the content of either one of the content controls, or the
content of the data store, or the content of the property field in the
DIP, everything linked to this property in the data store is updated
(once you exit the control/field etc.)
If you happen to be using Sharepoint (or any other document management
system that knows how to perform the necessary tricks) then you can add
new properties to the document, and Sharepoint arranges that the DIP
displays those properties. AFAICS even if you create a Sharepoint
property with the same name as one of the "standard" properties not
displayed in the DIP (such as "Company Address") it is in fact a
different property. How helpful.
This all relies on the presence of one or more components of the
InfoPath forms package, because the DIP is in effect an InfoPath form.
You can also use Infopath to customise the DIP. However, what has never
been completely obvious to me and which seems to be skimmed over in
almost every treatment of the subject, is which components you actually
have to have on your machine to make Word behave in this way.
In other words, if you're not using Sharepoint, although you can use the
standard property content controls, and using VBA or other code, you can
also create your own property content controls that will behave in just
the same way, but none of them except the really standard ones will
appear in the DIP. Other options would be to use code to display them in
another way, or to protect the document for forms, which would make it
easier for the user to tab from control to control rather than having to
click in each one in turn. In that case you would either need to have a
mechanism for them to unprotect the document once they'd finished, or
you need to use an unprotect area, or perhaps rich text control, to
allow the user to edit freely.
Although it isn't particularly relevant, the old-style "Custom Document
Properties" are still available, but still work the old way: you can
enter them using the same old dialog box, accessible via "Advanced
Properties" from the DIP, but you have to insert their values using {
DOCPROPERTY } fields, those fields do not update automatically when the
property value is changed, and the flow of data is not two-way (i.e.
modifying the result of the field does not in itself modify the
underlying property value.
You may find some of the tools/info./links on Greg Maxey's site useful:
http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/word_tips.htm
Peter Jamieson
http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk