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I know that the Custom Document Properties method exists, but it's a bit too clunky for me and the people I work with to use.

I want to create custom fields that work just like the built-in Document Properties fields like here. screenshot of "Document Properties" in the Quick Parts menu in Word

For example, I want to create a text entry field asking for the name of a municipality. I should be able to scatter the blank field around the document, and it should update automatically every time I change the municipality name.

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I'm not sure what the "Custom Document Properties" method is. I suspect it is creating Custom Document Properties and using DocProperty fields in your document that have to be updated if the property is changed.

You want to use Mapped Content Controls (mapped to XML part)

  • These will automatically update when a change is made to any copy of the Content Control in the document.
  • They do not require a field to be updated.

There are 15 of these built into Word. They are the so-called "Document Properties" under Quick Parts that you show above. Here is my article on how to repurpose these Document Property Content Controls for your Data. These are not the same thing as custom document properties and you can rename them for your own purposes within the document/template. They are not fields but rather Content Controls.

You can create your own, as well. That has the advantage of letting you use more of them and use different kinds of Content Controls. Here is Greg Maxey's article on Mapped Content Controls. These do not show up under that "Document Property" menu, but once created they act much the same.

The process of creating your own is not all that straightforward, but Greg has several utilities to do it for you as does Word MVP Graham Mayor.

I have used all of these and they work well. They are free downloads.

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  • Thanks! I'm trying these out. I do need to ask if I'd need to install the addons on my colleagues' computers as well for these custom content controls to continue to work on their end.
    – Bobby Kew
    Apr 16, 2021 at 10:13
  • No. Once these are created in a document, they work without any Add-ins using Word's built-in processes. For a few variables, the repurposed controls work well. I generally use the first of the Add-Ins (the custom dialog) because it is the simplest in operation. If I need more than one item that changes, I usually use that to create mapped controls.
    – Charles Kenyon
    Apr 16, 2021 at 13:15
  • Thanks! This is exactly what I needed, then!
    – Bobby Kew
    Apr 16, 2021 at 14:38
  • You are welcome. See: What should I do when someone answers my question: stackoverflow.com/help/someone-answers
    – Charles Kenyon
    Apr 16, 2021 at 20:10

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