Reading formfields without automation

[Koen]

Is it possible to read data from word formfields without using automation?
Is there an alternative (free) library to use?

 

[Tony Jollans]

I'm really not sure what you're asking.

There is only one tool with which to read data from Word formfields, and
that is Word itself. The format is proprietary and undocumented so any other
solution is, at best, guessing. If you have Word the 'library' is free with
it. If you don't have Word, you can't guarantee to read the formfields at
any price.

As for automation, that generally means that the Word application is
controlled from code in another application rather than by a user. Whether
you choose to automate a process depends on many factors but it is
ultimately your choice - as already stated you still need Word.

 

[Koen]

What I basically wanna do:
- Users upload a word doc in my asp.net website
- The formfields are read by the server application and the data is sent to DB

I also know only one manner to "process" the word form: with word automation

My concern is not really about pricing but the fact that word automation may
crash, stay open, slow other processes down, mess up the servers'
availability,...

I've done a lot of word processing with automation (VB6 and .NET interop) in
the past (with really advanced mechanism to quit word whenever something
would go wrong) and for all I know, I never got it 100% right. I don't want
to access the server on remoted desktop after ten days and find 200 word
instances running in the background if you know what I mean...

I also can't delegate the word processing to another sever in this case...

Thanks

 

[Tony Jollans]

Hi Koen,

I appreciate your concerns but there really isn't any guaranteed way besides
using Word. Rather than creating a Word Application object you could, as a
matter of routine, first try attaching (GetObject) to an existing one - that
way you at least wouldn't exacerbate any problem. You might even find it
worthwhile to deliberately keep a single instance of Word running and to
always use that rather than ever creating a new one.

If you try to process the Word binary yourself you are completely on your
own. I have looked at them and have a rough idea how they're organised but
nowhere near enough knowledge to even begin to put together a reliable
process.