Word Template Creation

In Microsoft Word, the Developer tab provides access to content controls, which are essential for creating dynamic templates. However, this tab is not visible by default. To enable it, navigate to File > Options > Customize Ribbon. In the right-hand panel of the customization window, locate and check the Developer checkbox, then click OK. Once activated, the Developer tab will appear in the ribbon, offering a variety of content controls such as text boxes, drop-down lists, and combo boxes. Each of these controls comes with configurable properties that allow users to tailor their behavior and data bindings to suit specific template requirements.

The WordSynchronizer application utilizes three types of content controls in Microsoft Word: Plain Text, Rich Text, and Date Picker. Each control type serves a specific purpose in template design and data mapping. The table below outlines the content control types used in WordSynchronizer along with their general descriptions:

Type	General Description
Plain Text	A plain text content control is designed to hold only plain text, either in a single paragraph or across multiple paragraphs. It cannot contain complex elements such as tables, images, or other embedded content controls. It is used for Aras Innovator → MS Word mapping and MS Word → Aras mapping as well.
Rich Text	A rich text control allows users to enter and format text with styles such as bold, italic, and underline. It can also contain complex elements like tables, images, and even other content controls. However, in the context of MS Word → Aras, this control is only supported for content flowing from Word to Aras. To store the HTML-formatted content in Aras, an additional text property must be configured to handle the rich text data. Please note that if you have summary as a Property and you want to have its html equivalent property it has to be ‘summary_html’.
Date Picker	Displays a calendar from which the user can click a date. It is used for Aras Innovator → MS Word mapping and MS Word → Aras as well.
Repeating	This control allows the duplication of its entire contents, including nested content controls. It is typically used to repeat structured elements such as paragraphs or table rows. This content control is available onwards MS Office 2013.