I'm trying to create something whereby I can enter text once and then display that text back in other places in my document. What I'm hoping is that if I edit the first instance of the text, the other references of it would update as well.
You can do that with Word "content control databinding"; put both references in a bound content control pointing to the same XML element.
Related
Is there a way to automatically update the content of a word field based on a text I type?
i.e. I have a table with two cells. The left cell contains a QR Code generated by
{ Displaybarcode "Just a Text " QR \s 40 \t }
The rigtht cell contains "Just a text"
Is there a way to update the QR code (actually a word field) based on what I type in the right cell?
So, if I change the text to "I just changed that text!"
I would get this:
I do not mind pressing Ctrl-F9, but I would not want to edit the field itself.
Is that possible?
Dan
I would put the area for the text in a mapped Content Control and use a copy of that control in the DisplayBarCode field as the text portion. The field would need to be updated.
Here is another Add-In to produce Mapped Content Controls by MVP Graham Mayor.
Here is a video by Laura Townsend on how to do it yourself.
Here is the Walkthrough page on mapping to an XML part from Microsoft.
I'm trying to add a hyperlink object inside a Word comment.
To create a new comment in the active document I'm using this piece of script:
tell application "Microsoft Word"
set tempString to "lorem ipsum"
make new Word comment at selection with properties {comment text:tempString}
end tell
but now I'm not able to get a reference to the new created comment for use it with the command "make new hyperlink object".
Thanks for any suggestions.
Riccardo
I don't think you can work with the object returned by make new Word comment (at least not in this case), and you have to insert a unique, findable string then iterate through the comments:
tell application "Microsoft Word"
-- insert a unique string
set tempString to (ASCII character 127)
set theComments to the Word comments of the active document
repeat with theComment in theComments
if the content of the comment text of theComment = tempString then
set theRange to the comment text of theComment
-- you do not have to "set theHyperlink". "make new" is enough
set theHyperlink to make new hyperlink object at theRange with properties {text range:theRange, hyperlink address:"http://www.google.com", text to display:"HERE", screen tip:"click to search Google"}
insert text "You can search the web " at theRange
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
end tell
(edited to insert some text before the Hyperlink. If you want to insert text after the hyperlink, you can also use 'insert text "the text" at end of theRange.).
So for adding text, it was enough to use "the obvious" after all.
[
For anyone else finding this Answer. The basic problem with working with Word ranges in Applescript is that every attempt to redefine a range in the Comments story results in a range that is in the main document story. OK, I may not have tried every possible method, but e.g., collapsing the range, moving the start of range and so on cause that problem. In the past, I have noticed that with other story ranges as well, but have not investigated as far as this.
Also, I suspect that the reason why you cannot set a range to the Word comment that you just created is because the properties of the Comment specify a range object of some kind that I think is a temporary object that may be destroyed immediately after creation. SO trying to reference the object that you just created just doesn't work.
This part of the Answer is modified...
Finally, the only other way I found to populate a Comment with "rich content" was to insert the content in a document at a known place, then copy its formatted text to the comment, e.g. if the "known place is the selection, you can set the content of theComment via
set the formatted text of the comment text of theComment to the formatted text of the text object of the selection
If you are using a version of Word that supports VBA as well as Applescript, I don't really see any technical reason why you shouldn't invoke VBA to do some of these trickier things, even if you need the main code to be Applescript.
]
Finally I got a solution here:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24628799#24628799
that allowed me to insert the hyperlink in reference with part of the comment text, with the following lines, if somebody in the future will search for the same:
tell application "Microsoft Word"
set wc to make new Word comment at end of document 1 with properties {comment text:"some text"}
set ct to comment text of wc
set lastChar to last character of ct
make new hyperlink object at end of document 1 with properties {hyperlink address:"http://www.example.com", text object:lastChar}
end tell
I'm trying to add a hyperlink to a mail merge field. So something like this:
{HYPERLINK "{MERGEFIELD "Links" }"}
So I create a field like this.
{ MERGEFIELD Links }
And the above works (it displays different links for different recipients).
However, when I go to Edit Field, and then attempt to add HYPERLINK to { MERGEFIELD Links}, Word will not allow me. Meaning that when I type HYPERLINK followed by a space, the "variable" field is gone. Instead of word displaying...
LINK
it displays...
{HYPERLINK "{MERGEFIELD "Links" }"}
even after I press "update field". So Word is not letting me enter HYPERLINK for some reason.
How do I solve this?
From the Microsoft Web Site,
On the Insert menu, click Field (under Quick Parts in later office versions).
In the Field names list, click Hyperlink,
and then click OK. The text Error! Hyperlink reference not valid
appears in the document.
Press ALT+F9 to open the { HYPERLINK \* MERGEFORMAT } field code.
Put the insertion point after HYPERLINK and then add a space.
On the Insert menu, click Field. In the Field names list, click MergeField. In the Field name text box, type the name of the data source field that contains the hyperlink, and then click OK. For example, if the name of the data source field is "Address1," the field code appears as follows: { HYPERLINK { MERGEFIELD "Address1" } \* MERGEFORMAT }
Press ALT+F9 to close the field code. You now have Error! Hyperlink reference not valid text.
Put the insertion point at some arbitrary place in the middle of the Error! Hyperlink reference not valid text, and insert the text you want to appear. If you would like a merge field, insert that from the "Insert Merge Field" option on the menu.
Delete the remaining text of Error! ... before and after the text you want to keep.
Note: If your merge field only contains an identifier, with the URL to be provided as a static part of the merge document, this can work also. On Step 5, you will need to insert the URL text as well as the MergeField, for example:
{ HYPERLINK "https://www.myurl.com/EditForm.aspx?ID={ MERGEFIELD ID }" \* MERGEFORMAT }
I also have been struggling with this. What I found to be the key is creating the document from SCRATCH and not saving it before executing the mail merge. Here are the steps I used:
open a new document and click on the step by step mail merge wizard; add your generic text.
To add the variable hyperlink go to insert>quick parts>fields
select hyperlink on the left and click okay
Use alt + F9 to see the hyperlink field code
Type “” and between them insert your merged field so that {HYPERLINK \* MERGEFORMAT} -> becomes {HYPERLINK"{MERGEFIELD"Constructed_URL"}"\*MERGEFORMAT}
Press ALT+F9 to hide the field code
Click in the text "Error! Hyperlink reference not valid" and replace with something generic like click here.
Complete the mail merge BEFORE you save the document.
Hope this helps and good luck!
Start with the process here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912679
However, like user1867326 indicated, the hyperlink (which should be variable with the mail merge) is converted into a static link when the Word file is reopened.
A solution that seems to work is adding a bookmark within the hyperlink field code immediatly after the mergefield.
{ HYPERLINK { MERGEFIELD "Link" } \* MERGEFORMAT }
Click between the } and \ and go to INSERT > Bookmark, give it a name, and this seems to prevent Word from replacing the mergefield with a static hyperlink.
This answer is adapted and hopefully clarified from the clever solution described here:
Mailmerge dynamic hyperlink fields lost after save/reload of document - Word 2010
This is what worked for me for an email mail merge with variable hyperlinks that all display the same text. I am using Office 2016 Word.
Put the insertion point where you would like the link display text to be in the document.
On the Insert menu, click Quick Parts, and select Field.
In the Field Names list, click Hyperlink, and then click OK. The text Error! Hyperlink reference not valid appears in the document.
Press ALT+F9 to open the { HYPERLINK * MERGEFORMAT } field code. 5. Put the insertion point after HYPERLINK.
On the Insert menu, click Quick Parts, and select Field. In the Field Names list, click MergeField.
In the Field name text box, type the name of the data source field that contains the hyperlink, and then click OK. For example, if the name of the data source field is "Address1," the field code appears as follows: { HYPERLINK { MERGEFIELD Address1 } * MERGEFORMAT }
Press ALT+F9 to close the field code. You now have Error! Hyperlink reference not valid text.
Put the insertion point just before the period in ‘Error! Hyperlink reference not valid text.’ and delete all the text except for the period. Write in the link display text. Make sure not to delete the period (this is important).
To check that the hyperlinks are mapping, right click on the link display text and click edit hyperlink. You will see the correct link in the address field for each record.
I like to style the period text color to white so it looks invisible.
I have had limited success with the other suggestions - basically, Word is buggy in this area. There is a simple alternative - indeed the only alternative AKAIK if you want the hyperlink to vary AND the text that is displayed to vary too (not an unreasonable requirement).
Note that this only works for DOCUMENT MERGES, not for EMAIL MERGES, since it relies on processesing the output document.
The trick is to add a place marker (text that serves as an ID) wherever you want a hyperlink. Insert this via a regular mergefield. In your table of source data, you need columns
place marker, text_for_display, hyperlink
You then need to put your source data into Excel (if that isn't where you have it already) and put this formula
="Set Rng = ActiveDocument.Content: Rng.Find.Execute FindText:="""&[place marker]&""": ActiveDocument.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Rng, Address:="""&[hyperlink]&""", TextToDisplay:="""&[text_for_display]&""""
into a blank column in the first row, and fill down.
You need to amend [place marker],[hyperlink] and [text_for_display] to the appropriate cell references.
If the [hyperlink] includes a query string, you may find you want to build it using a formula, based on other data in the source.
The resulting formulae can then be pasted into a macro and run on the output document.
You may then want to use the "Robbins/Mayor" macro http://www.wordbanter.com/showthread.php?t=18346 to split the generated documents.
I got this working thanks to this thread, but then it stopped working and I figured out why so I thought I'd say thanks by posting what I discovered here.
The issue is that word has a special type of curly brace. Copying the code text from this thread may not work for that reason. To get the curly braces Word wants, I used Fn + Command + F9 on my Mac running Catalina and Office 365. Apparently some Mac users may find Command + F9 works -- just test to find out. I'm sure Windows has a similar keystroke set. I found the Mac solution in this post.
Also, the syntax that works for me is: { HYPERLINK { MERGEFIELD "url" } * MERGEFORMAT } where "url" is the label of the column with the link in my Excel file. Note the position of the quotes. This differs from other posts here (I tried the other combinations) but I wouldn't be surprised if the syntax may vary across Word versions and operating systems.
To get this method to work in Mac Office 365 (Big Sur), you need to know about the Toggle Field Codes in the context menu. The shortcut above to replicate the Alt-F9 behavior will create a new field, instead of allowing you to edit the field that exists.
At these steps:
Press ALT+F9 to open the { HYPERLINK * MERGEFORMAT } field code.
OR
Press ALT+F9 to close the field code. You now have Error! Hyperlink reference not valid text.
Instead of the keyboard shortcut, right click on the error message and select Toggle Field Codes from the context menu.
Answer worked great for me with this adjustment! Thank you!
i want to use automatic numeration of Figures by word. When i insert a caption, I can choose what kind of caption this is, and since i have a different language than english, i made a new Type "Figure". The problem is with referencing: When i insert a cross reference onto that figure, it inserts it as "Figure" and makes it bold, since i embolden the "Figure" part of the caption, to make it more visible.
How can i change this in the text to be abbreviated with "fig."? Its annoying that the capitalisation is wrong and that the whole word "Figure" is inserted, instead of just the abbreviation. How can i accomplish that?
In Word 2007 you can in the "Insert Caption" dialog check whether to include or exclude the label from the caption. So inserting a reference will make you show only the number, without "Figure" word, so you can type "Fig." manually.
(Picture taken from http://word.tips.net/T000890_Adding_Captions.html)
As far as I know it is not possible (this way) until Office 2007.
I have a Word document with fields of the reference variety, which occur in the form "[field].[field]"--in other words, there's a period between the two fields. I want to globally replace this with a space.
Word offers the ^d special character to search for fields, but for some reason the query "^d.^d" does not find anything. However, ".^d" does. Now comes the problem, however--what do I specify as the replacement text in order to retain the field code? If using regular expressions, I could use a "Find What Expression" such as \1, but with regexp ("wild card") mode the ^d is not permitted.
I guess I could write a macro...
I would like to add to Bibadia's solution.
An example of an index entry field; we want to change a name we misspelled.
Make sure hidden formatting is displayed (toggle with SHIFT+CTRL+F8).
Make sure wildcards option is not selected. To search for fields, use the opening and closing field braces code (optionally use ^w for spaces, as Bibadia suggested):^19 XE "Deo, John" ^21
Replace won't recognize field braces character, but will allow to insert the clipboard's content. ;). To do that, insert in text the correct entry. CTRL+F9 to insert field and type:XE "Doe, John"
Select the field above and copy
Use ^c in the replace box
Hit Replace All
Ta-da!
It's usually better to go the macro route when finding fields because, as you say, the find algorithm that Word uses doesn't work the way you might hope with fields.
But if you know exactly what the fields contain, you can specify a search pattern that will probably work (however not in wildcard mode).
For example, if you want to look for figure number field pairs such as
{ STYLEREF 1 \s }.{ SEQ Figure \* ARABIC \s 1 }
(which would typically be the same set of fields everywhere in the document)
If you only really need to look for the following:
{ STYLEREF 1 \s }.<any field>
you could ensure that field codes are displayed and search for
^d STYLEREF 1 \s ^21.^d
or
^19 STYLEREF 1 \s ^21.^19
If you need to be more precise, you can spell out the second field as well.
"^d" only works for finding the field beginning, not the field end.
It's a shame that ^w wants to find at least 1 whitespace character because otherwise it would be more robust to look for
^19^wSTYLEREF^w1^w\s^w^21.^19
Perhaps someone else knows how to work around that without using wildcards?
Torzaburo,
I suggest that you do this using a macro. You can start by recording the macro, and later refining your processing steps within the macro.
First turn on the hidden characters by navigating to Home > Paragraph > toggle the show/hide Paragraph symbol. Also, select all and toggle the field codes on (right-click and select "Toggle Field Codes".
Open a new blank Word doc in addition to the one you have open. You will use this later. Start the macro recording and find the field using the "^d" (field code) as you said.
When the field is found, copy only the field text within the brackets, and not the full field reference. While the macro is still recording, ALT + TAB to the new blank document and paste the field code in as plain text.
At this point, do the necessary find & replace processing to the field codes. Highlight the processed field codes, copy, ALT + TAB back to the original document, and paste back between the { } brackets.
Stop the macro recording. Add any further custom processing to the macro VBA.
Select-All and re-toggle the field codes. Update the field codes.
You don't need a macro. Just toggle all field codes on by using Alt+F9. Then do a find and replace for what you want to change. Once the replacement is complete, use Alt+F9 again to toggle the field codes back off.
Disclaimer: I didn't originate this solution, but it's clean and elegant and I thought it should be included here:
(Adapted from Search & Replace Field Codes in Word):
Create or find a single instance of the field you want to convert text to
Toggle Field Codes visible (AltF9)
Copy the code for the field you want to use to the Clipboard (highlight and CtrlC)
Open the Replace dialog box (CtrlH), insert the text you want to replace in the Find What box and then enter ^c in the Replace With box.
This will replace your text with the contents of the Clipboard, turning it into the field code you copied in step 3. It also copies formatting information (font, color, etc.), to control how the field will appear when hidden. (Caveat: I've tested this with Word 2003 under Windows 7 only.)
Coming in late on this, probably way too late for Beth (sorry Beth). And this may not be quite what Beth was looking for. But for anyone interested ...
It sounds like Beth may have created captions throughout the document using INSERT CAPTION (hence the presence of field codes). This means these captions will have been (automatically) created in CAPTION style.
To globally replace the separator "." with " " (space) in such captions, take two steps:
[1] Go to REFERENCES | INSERT CAPTION, then click on NUMBERING and replace the SEPARATOR "." with "EM-DASH". This will replace all separators in captions for the selected label in the CAPTION Window. If you have other labels in use in the document (e.g. FIGURE), select the other labels one by one and repeat this process.
[2] Do a find/replace searching for special character "em-dash" (^+) in style CAPTION, replacing with " ". Click REPLACE ALL.
Voila!
NOTE: This presumes that em-dash does not appear in the caption text anywhere. If it does, then you'll need to do a pre- and post- "fiddle" to ensure these em-dashes are not touched by the global replace above.
The "pre-fiddle" is to do a global find/replace across captions, replacing the em-dash ("^+") with some other string (e.g. "EM-DASH") that doesn't ever occur in any caption's text. Then you do the separator change as described above. Finally, the "post-fiddle" is to restore the em-dashes that were in the captions, by doing a global replace of the string "EM-DASH" with the actual em-dash character "^+".