Modify Content Controls

This tutorial explains how to modify different types of content controls in a Word document using Aspose.Words for .NET. You can update the text, selected value of a dropdown list, or replace an image within the content controls.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you need to have the following:

• Aspose.Words for .NET library installed.
• Basic knowledge of C# and Words Processing with Word documents.

Step 1: Set up the Document Directory

Begin by setting up the path to your document directory. Replace "YOUR DOCUMENT DIRECTORY" with the actual path to the directory where your document is located.

string dataDir = "YOUR DOCUMENT DIRECTORY";

Step 2: Load the Document and Iterate Over Content Controls

Load the Word document using the Document constructor, passing the path to the document as a parameter. Iterate over all structured document tags in the document using a foreach loop.

Document doc = new Document(dataDir + "Structured document tags.docx");
foreach (StructuredDocumentTag sdt in doc.GetChildNodes(NodeType.StructuredDocumentTag, true))
{
    // Perform actions based on the type of content control
}

Step 3: Modify Plain Text Content Control

For content controls of type SdtType.PlainText, remove all existing children, create a new paragraph, and append a run with the desired text.

case SdtType.PlainText:
{
    sdt.RemoveAllChildren();
    Paragraph para = sdt.AppendChild(new Paragraph(doc)) as Paragraph;
    Run run = new Run(doc, "new text goes here");
    para.AppendChild(run);
    break;
}

Step 4: Modify Drop-down List Content Control

For content controls of type SdtType.DropDownList, update the selected value by setting it to a specific SdtListItem.

case SdtType.DropDownList:
{
    SdtListItem secondItem = sdt.ListItems[2];
    sdt.ListItems.SelectedValue = secondItem;
    break;
}

Step 5: Modify Picture Content Control

For content controls of type SdtType.Picture, retrieve the shape within the content control and replace its image with a new one.

case SdtType.Picture:
{
    Shape shape = (Shape)sdt.GetChild(NodeType.Shape, 0, true);
    if (shape.HasImage)
    {
        shape.ImageData.SetImage(ImagesDir + "Watermark.png");
    }
    break;
}

Step 6: Save the Modified Document

Save the modified document to the specified directory using the Save method. Provide the desired filename with the appropriate file extension. In this example, we save the document as “WorkingWithSdt.ModifyContentControls.docx”.

doc.Save(dataDir + "WorkingWithSdt.ModifyContentControls.docx");

Example source code for Modify Content Controls using Aspose.Words for .NET

	// Path to your document directory 
	string dataDir = "YOUR DOCUMENT DIRECTORY";

	Document doc = new Document(dataDir + "Structured document tags.docx");
	foreach (StructuredDocumentTag sdt in doc.GetChildNodes(NodeType.StructuredDocumentTag, true))
	{
		switch (sdt.SdtType)
		{
			case SdtType.PlainText:
			{
				sdt.RemoveAllChildren();
				Paragraph para = sdt.AppendChild(new Paragraph(doc)) as Paragraph;
				Run run = new Run(doc, "new text goes here");
				para.AppendChild(run);
				break;
			}
			case SdtType.DropDownList:
			{
				SdtListItem secondItem = sdt.ListItems[2];
				sdt.ListItems.SelectedValue = secondItem;
				break;
			}
			case SdtType.Picture:
			{
				Shape shape = (Shape) sdt.GetChild(NodeType.Shape, 0, true);
				if (shape.HasImage)
				{
					shape.ImageData.SetImage(ImagesDir + "Watermark.png");
				}
				break;
			}
		}
	}
	doc.Save(dataDir + "WorkingWithSdt.ModifyContentControls.docx");

That’s it! You have successfully modified different types of content controls in your Word document using Aspose.Words for .NET.