Introduction:

This page is primarily about how to repeat data in a document using mapped content controls. This can be relatively easy, or somewhat complex. This page is not comprehensive. It is based on things I learned from Greg Maxey's pages. I wrote it because I frequently answer questions on how to type information in one location in a document and have it show up in other places as well.

Without Content Controls: If it is something that you want to have in a header or footer to reflect the content of the page or section, you should use a StyleRef Field. For repeating in the body of the document, if you are using Word versions predating Word 2007, you should use bookmarks and REF fields. In Word 2007 and later, though, I prefer Content Controls. For more ideas, see Greg Maxey's page on Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields).

Macintosh Versions 2011 - 2021 (365) have a limited ability to use Content Controls, but not to create or modify them.

If you are going to repeat information in multiple documents, you should look at Automated Boilerplate Using Microsoft Word and Mail Merge.

There are at least two ways to repeat information in a document using Content Controls. The easiest is to use the Document Property Content Controls built into Word. This works for up to 15 separate items of plain text. The second is with Mapped Content Controls. (The document property content controls are actually built-in mapped content controls.)

Custom Mapped Content Controls are more flexible and there is no practical limit on the number you can use. In addition, the document properties content controls may only be useful for text while other kinds of mapped content controls can have other kinds of data.

Document Property Content Controls

You can insert Document Property Content Controls using Insert > Quick Parts > Text > Document Property. Here the same controls are shown in Word 2010, 2019, and 2021. The Ribbon tab looks a bit different but these Document Property Content Controls are on the Insert Tab under Quick Parts.

  

There are 15 choices, some of which correspond to the summary document properties. Here, though, we are not using them for that. We are using them to repeat data. Fourteen are plain-text controls and the Publish Date control is a Date-Picker control (but can hold plain text as well).

I recommend using Abstract, Publish Date, and Status first. Here is an example:

This does not seem very useful until you see that you can modify these by using the Developer Tab and choosing Properties. That will let you change the tab at the top from "Abstract" to whatever you want, i.e., "First Party Name".

Then you can use Developer Mode to change the placeholder text.

Remember to click out of Developer Mode when you are done. Once you have these text changes made, you can replicate the information throughout your document by using the same document property controls. If you insert them directly as you did the first time, they will have their original titles. However, if you instead copy and paste, you will get your new titles. When information is changed in one location, it changes throughout the document in the same document property content controls.

Here is the same thing with the fields filled in. When you tab out of a content control after editing it, the same control changes throughout the document.

Everything I know about doing this came from this page by Greg Maxey in Method 7 (Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields)) and my own experimentation. There are numerous ways of repeating information in a Word context. This is only one of them. I urge you to review Greg's page for more information.

Once you have modified these Document Property Content Controls for one document, it is possible to save them for use in another by saving them as Building Blocks.

The Document Property Content Controls are a special case of what are called Mapped Content Controls. They are a special case because they come already mapped in Word. They are the equivalent of plain text content controls except the Publish Date which is a Date Picker Control. If you want the features of a different kind of Content Control, you will have to map it to the document's XML directly. See this Microsoft Answers thread on these content controls not picking up formatting changes because they are plain-text.

The above information on Document Property Content Controls is an exploration/expansion of Idea #7 in Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields) by Greg Maxey.

Here is a sample document showing a repurposed Publication Date Document Property Content Control used in a Calculated Date field from Paul Edstein's date calculation tutorial.

Here are videos on doing this repurposing:

	Repurposing Document Property Content Controls by Laura Townsend
	Type Once, Repeat Many by SMEOfficeSupport

It is possible to add properties (and related mapped content controls) to this list. It is not easy. I explore this later in this page.

More Mapped Content Controls (custom)

Please see Repeat Text With Mapped Content Controls by Laura Townsend and Mapped Content Controls by Greg Maxey for information on how mapping works. Frankly, I do not understand it nearly as well as Greg does. For those who want the straight stuff from Microsoft, you can, instead, go to Walkthrough: Bind content controls to custom XML parts.

I use Greg Maxey's Custom Content Control Insert Dialog or Graham Mayor's Insert Content Control Add-In these days for all of my custom Content Controls (other than the built-in doc property controls) These are free Add-ins that change the Developer Tab. Greg's can make all of the controls mapped by default. It changes the Controls Group to Content Controls and Legacy Controls.

A different tool is offered by Graham Mayor. It is also free. You can download that one here: Insert Content Control Add-In

Graham Mayor's Add-In adds the buttons to both the Developer and the Insert Tabs.

 

Once you have either installed, it makes using mapped controls even easier than using the Document Property controls.

 

For more detailed control or to convert existing controls look at his free Content Control Tools^©. You can download the utility from this page. Content Control Tools

It simplifies creation of a mapped content control. I know it works with Drop-Down Lists, Date Picker, Picture and Plain Text. I assume that it works with the others as well. Note the Word version limitation on mapping of Rich Text and Check Box controls. As with the Document Property controls, once you have created one, you can copy it elsewhere in your document to replicate data. As with the Document Property controls, they are mapped so changing something in one location in your document changes it elsewhere.

A somewhat simpler (and less comprehensive) tool is offered by Graham Mayor. It is also free. You can download that one here: Insert Content Control Add-In

I use all three utilities and have them loaded as Add-Ins. For more on mapped content controls and many other ways to repeat information in a Word document, see: Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields) by Greg Maxey.

Here is an example of using a Checkbox Mapped Content Control. There is no Document Property checkbox.

This screenshot is from a document developed as an answer in this forum thread. The document with the sample checkboxes and IF field can be downloaded from that thread.

 

Saving Modified Document Property Content Controls as Building Blocks / AutoText

You cannot save and use any content controls as AutoText. Period. (As of Word 2021 what you get is text when you use the AutoText, not a content control.)

If you save your custom mapped controls that are not Document Property Content Controls in building blocks (other than AutoText) they will function as content controls but do not retain their mapping when used in a Global Template. If stored in a Document Template, mapping is retained.

You can save altered Document Property Content Controls in Building Blocks as Building Blocks other than AutoText. These will act as mapped when inserted.

For instance, if you add a modified document property content control and save that as a building block (not AutoText) then it will keep your modifications but still function as a mapped control in a new document. I recommend using Building Blocks that do not assume a particular position (i.e. not a Cover Page, Header, or Footer). I tested with an Equation Building Block and a Page Number Building Block (without position). Here they are in Quick Parts. The links below take you to an explanation of how this was created with links to the template.

These altered document property content controls in the new document remain mapped to that node in the new document.

Note that if the Content Control was the first thing on the page, it seemed that it did not work to create the Building Block. This may have been a problem with the entire Building Block not being part of the selection.

It is possible to have multiple Content Controls included in a single Building Block. So, if you have a set of modified document property content controls that you would like to be able to reuse, you could save them in a single building block to be able to insert into a new document.

Many of the Cover Page Building Blocks and some of the other building blocks use Document Property Content Controls.

See my answer to this question on Microsoft Answers and Stackoverflow. Mapped Content Controls can be saved, and used as mapped content controls in Building Blocks. How they can be used differs between Document Templates and Global Templates. Global Templates can only have repurposed Document Property Content Controls in building blocks to be usable.

	Mapping Content Controls and saving in Quick Parts
	xml - Mapping Content Controls to Form Fields But in Quick Parts - Stack Overflow

 

The advantage of the built-in Document Property Content Controls is that they are all available under the Insert > Quick Parts > Document Properties menu. If you create your own mapped controls and store them as Building Blocks in a document template, you could place them in a custom building blocks gallery and put a drop-down for that Gallery on your Ribbon or QAT. See Build & Deploy Custom Building Block Galleries by Greg Maxey. Here is a temporary link to a template I created with mapped controls stored in the Quick Parts gallery as a proof of concept. That template was developed in responding to this question on Microsoft's Tech Community forum.

Macintosh Versions 2011 and later

Caveat, I have not used either of these Word versions. This information comes from John Korchok, an experienced Mac Word user.

It is my understanding that while none of these has the ability to insert content controls, mapped or otherwise, that most will work in these versions. They have to be created using a Windows version, though. The Date Picker Content Control does not work on a Mac.

I have compiled a .dotx template containing the document property content controls that work in these Mac versions. Again, you can't edit any names but they can be copied and pasted into documents on a Mac and will work as mapped content controls within the new documents. For full function, be sure to download the template to your computer rather than creating a new document. Dotx containing Content Controls for use on a Mac. Version 18.04

Here is a .dotx template that has them saved as individual AutoText entries. Document Property Content Controls AutoText. Version 18.01.

I recommend, instead, creating templates in a Windows environments where these can be edited as described above. However, I expect these samples will be of use to some users who do not have access to Word in a Windows environment.

The Mac versions do use the built-in document properties discussed below. I believe they can be reached by using File > Properties from the Menu bar but may not be the mapped content controls but rather Document Property Fields. 

John gives information on his website on how to create Content Controls using vba on the Mac.

Can the Quick Parts list of Document Property Content Controls be Modified or Expanded?

Yes, but not easily, at least for me. I'm not sure yet how to do this. Greg Maxey is exploring this in a Word Answers question: Help with XML Schema. While it is not simple, here is a resulting menu. "Client Age" "Client SSN", and "Typist (Initials Only)" are additions that act like the other items built into the list.

Both the SSN and Typist are subject to validation. See the Answers thread for how.

 

See also Greg Maxey's Enhanced Document Properties Add-In. It gives something similar. It adds a menu for extra document property mapped content controls when it is loaded. Those persist in a document or template as mapped content controls so when inserted in a document or template they retain their special duplication feature.

See my question on the Microsoft Answers site: XML location of Document Properties in Quick Parts list

Here are screenshots from the document involved there. All of the custom items in the properties list act as mapped content controls! They are not all actually "document properties." They will not show up if you use a DocProperty field.

There are more! These can be added through SharePoint. I do not know more at this time. As I figure this out (if I ever do) I will post information here.

 

More on built-in document properties (nothing to do with repeating data)

Microsoft Word has a number of built-in document properties and also allows custom document properties. You can see these in Word 2007-2010 under File (Office Button) > Properties > Advanced.