|
This Microsoft Word Tips & Microsoft Word Help page
introduces "DocBunder." DocBundler is a document automation
process developed by former Word MVP Greg Maxey (me).
It consists of a central Data Sheet template containing VBA processing
instructions, and a set of related templates that you can customize and
use to create sets (or "bundles") of Word Documents that draw data from
the Data Sheet.
For example, consider a
"Settlement Statement" from a mortgage company. This type of form is
often accompanied by a half a dozen or so additional forms where each
shares common data (i.e., borrower's name, addresses, loan numbers, loan
amount, etc.).
Rather
than prepare each form individually, you can use a custom Data Sheet
template to collect the required data for all of the related forms and a
set of custom document templates to generate the Settlement Statement
and related forms as a bundled document set automatically.
To
illustrate this process, you can down load one of two (or
both) zip packages that comes with a DocBundler description and
instructions document, a simplified demonstration Data Sheet template
("Data Sheet.dot"), and three simple form templates "Main Form.dot"
"Supplemental Form 1.dot" and "Supplemental Form 2.dot." One
package contains Word97-2003 .dot templates (works with Word2007), the
other package was developed for Word2007 to employ the new
contentcontrols.
|
|
Word97-2003
Package: Word97-2003 |
Word2007
Package:
Word2007 |
|
Follow these demo steps
to create your first bundled document set:
1. Create a new sub-folder in your Word
template directory. For example, if your Word template directory is:
"C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My
Documents\Word\Templates"
…you could create a sub-folder:
"C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My Documents\Word\Templates\Bundled
Templates" |
|
|
|
2. Save the four templates, contained in the demonstration package, in
the folder you just created. |
|
I also saved the demo and instructions document in my folder. |
|
3. Create a new sub-folder in your documents
directory to store the bundled document sets that you will create. Name
this sub-folder "Loans," "Properties," or "Clients," or whatever suits
your needs. For example, you might create a folder:
"C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\My Documents\Word\Word
Documents\Clients" |
|
|
|
4. Open Word and create a new Data Sheet
document based on the Data Sheet template.
5. When the document opens, a setup interface will display. Use the
browse buttons on this interface to select both the template and storage
folder you created previously. Save your selections.
The setup displays automatically on first use. Thereafter it can
be displayed using the "Setup" command on the menu incorporated with the
Data Sheet template. |
|
|
|
6. Enter a "Bundle ID" in the first formfield.
This is a mandatory field.
a. The Bundle ID must be a unique
identifier. When you exit the formfield, Word creates a new sub-folder
in the storage folder that you defined using Setup. Each bundled set
will have its own unique folder. If your storage folder is "…\Clients"
then the BundleID chosen for a group of clients might be "Joe Adams
1234," "Bob Smith 3456," "Anne Jones 9898," "Bob Smith 1345,"
etc., where the ID is the clients name and last four digits of the SSN.
b. When you exit the formfield Word saves the new document in the
unique folder you created using the Bundle ID as a prefix to the
document name. For example, if your defined bundle storage folder is
"C:\Documents …\Word\Documents\Clients" and you used "Bob Smith" as the
Bundle ID, Word will save the new document as "C:\Documents
…\Word\Documents\Clients\Bob Smith\Bob Smith Data Sheet.doc" |
|
|
|
New folder in Clients folder |
New file in Joe Adams 1234 folder |
|
7. Fill in the remaining formfields in the
Data Sheet.
8. When all fields are completed, you create
the set of bundled documents using the "Create Bundle" command on the
"Document Bundle" menu. When you click on this command:
a. Word creates a new document based on
each template in your designated template folder. In this
demonstration, Word will automatically create a new Main Form,
Supplemental Form 1 and Supplemental Form 2 based on their respective
templates and the data entered in the Data Sheet.
b. During processing Word closes and
saves new document in the designated Bundle ID folder.
c. The Data Sheet remains open as the active document when the
process is complete. |
|
|
|
Forms created in the Bundle ID folder |
|
|
|
9. If changes are required to any of the form
data you can edit the bundled documents automatically by opening the
unique Data Sheet document for that bundle, making the changes and then
use the "Update Bundle" command on the "Document Bundle" menu. |
|
|
|
|
Now that you have seen the working example,
the next step to creating your own custom process is simple.
1. Open the Data Sheet template.
a. Add formfields (or modify the existing
formfields) using a unique "bookmark" ID for each required data element
formfield.
DO NOT modify the
Bundle ID formfield.
b. Save the Data Sheet template
2. Create a form template for each required
form.
a. Insert bookmarks with names corresponding to the Data Sheet
formfield bookmark names at each location requiring a data input from
the data sheet.
b. If a data element is required multiple times on a given form, then
insert the bookmark at the first instance and then insert REF fields
that reference that bookmark at the other instance locations. |
|
|
|
3.
That is all there is to it. You can now create your own bundled
document sets simply by creating a new Data Sheet document based on your
custom Data Sheet template and creating the bundle using your custom
templates and the Create Bundle menu command. |
|
|
As stated above, the Word97-2003
works equally well with Word2007. The Word2007 version uses a custom
ribbon tab "Bundler" in lieu of a "Document Bundler" menu command. It also incorporates the new
contentcontrols for entering data. |
|
Word2007 version UI |
|
contentcontrols used in lieu of formfields |
 There
is a bug in Word 2007 contentcontrols that precludes setting the focus in the
content control automatically or making a direct selection.
The new document contains a "Double-click here to
start" MacroButton field. Double-click as indicated. This sets the focus in a
contentControl titled "Bundle ID." |
|
This concludes this Micorsoft
Word Help & Tips page. Special thanks to friend and Word MVP Graham Mayor
for his dogged development reviews and criticism which led to many improvements. |
