Remove Word content controls & retain data

[diana]

Were receiving documents containing content controls and would like to remove the content controls and retain the data.

is there easy way to view the content controls in one location and then goto the content control. For example the Bookmarks dialog lists all bookmarks in the document

I goto the Developer tab and click Design View. This turns on the content control tags. However I have to scroll through the document to identify the content controls. These are long documents are its possible a content control can be missed.

TIA

--dd

[HansV]

I don't know of a built-in way to do this, so I think you'll have to write a macro that loops through the content controls.

[kdock]

Code: Select all

Diana, I've been working with content controls a lot lately. There is no one place to review all content controls with their content from within Word. There is a Word 2007 Content Control Toolkit from Microsoft that does allow you to do something like what you're suggesting, but only if controls are "mapped." Is there a reason you need to review each control for content? You can click in one of the content controls and tab from control to control through the whole document.

This is code I use to delete controls and leave content behind:

Code: Select all

Do While ActiveDocument.ContentControls.Count > 0
    For Each oCC In ActiveDocument.ContentControls
    If oCC.LockContentControl = True Then oCC.LockContentControl = False
    oCC.Delete False
Next
Loop

The "False" in the last line keeps the content from being removed. Use "True" if you want to delete both the control and the content.

HTH, Kim

[kdock]

Diana, here's a quick follow-up. I said the Word 2007 Content Control Toolkit only reported mapped controls. Not true -- it will list all the content controls in a document, mapped or not.

However, it's not a perfect tool. It lists controls by ID (an internal number) and tag. Content controls don't have to have a title or tag property, or, more confusingly, they can be duplicated within a document. However, there's a feature in it that might get you part the way where you're going.

2007 toolkit with annotations.png

Click the tiny Word icon I highlighted just above the list. This opens the document in read-only mode, alongside the list of controls it found. You can click a control on the list and it should be highlighted in the document. HOWEVER, I've found that if the ID is a negative number, the toolkit won't find it. I don't know how the ID is assigned and can't tell why it's sometimes negative.

But it might help you because it does accurately report how many controls are in the document, and initially lists them in order of their appearance in the document. You can also rearrange the list to show controls by location (main doc, header, etc), type of control, and so on.

I got it from HERE, but I know CodePlex is shutting down. If you search for "Word Content Control Toolkit" you should find a proper download location, too.

Hope this helps you a little more... Kim

[Jay Freedman]

Greg Maxey has an add-in that will take care of this task and much more, dealing with content controls, document variables, document properties, and bookmarks. Download it from http://gregmaxey.com/word_tip_pages/cc_ ... addin.html.

On the Lists tab, after choosing the Content Controls option button, the list shows the titles of the controls in the document. The Content/Value panel shows the current contents of the selected control. The Delete button removes the control and leaves the content as text.

1.png

[Charles Kenyon]

I am a regular user of Greg's Content Control Tools.
http://gregmaxey.com/word_tip_pages/con ... tools.html
They are easy to use and very helpful. If I want to do anything more than simply insert one-of content controls or use the Document Property Content Controls, that is my go-to resource.

[jec1]

Hi Diana

I use the below code. Greg's addin obviously does the same but the below macros do the job in legal documents I use. I have the macro on a global Word addin:

Code: Select all

Sub Finish_CCs()
'For all content controls throughout the document:
Call ccs_Unlock

Dim Rng As Range, CCtrl As ContentControl
 For Each Rng In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
   For Each CCtrl In Rng.ContentControls
     CCtrl.Delete
   Next
 Next

End Sub

Sub ccs_Unlock()
Dim oStory As Range
Dim oCC As ContentControl
    For Each oStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
        For Each oCC In oStory.ContentControls
            oCC.LockContentControl = False
        Next oCC
        If oStory.StoryType <> wdMainTextStory Then
            While Not (oStory.NextStoryRange Is Nothing)
                Set oStory = oStory.NextStoryRange
                For Each oCC In oStory.ContentControls
                    oCC.LockContentControl = False
                Next oCC
            Wend
        End If
    Next oStory
    
lbl_Exit:
    Set oStory = Nothing
    Set oCC = Nothing
    Exit Sub
End Sub

[diana]

Apologies for the late reply, Ive been away.

Thank you all, I'll take a look...