How to fill form fields in Word automatically with pywin32 in python?

Jammmme 0

I have a little problem to solve, but I don´t get an acceptable solution. I try to have a script that automaticcaly fills in FormFields in Word with entries of dictionaries. So far I used pywin32 for that task and somehow I managed to find a solution that works at all. At least as long as I update the word document.

The command that I use so far in a loop is "marks(i).Result = keyValue". Here "marks" is - as far as I understand - a formfields object, which I get by "marks = doc.FormFields".

As I said, all this works to some extent, but as soon as I update the document in Word, all entries disappear again.

Would be really great if someone could help me and knows how to make it that the entry remains permanent. Unfortunately I do not understand the documentation of pywin32 at all. Attached below is the whole function.

Thanks in advance!

def wordExport(window, excDict, docPath):
  
    wordApp = win32com.client.Dispatch('Word.Application') #Word App Object
    wordApp.Visible = False
    doc = wordApp.Documents.Open(docPath) #Open .docx
    marks = doc.FormFields # FormFields object
    cMarks = marks.Count # FormField count
    cMatches = 0 #Match counter
    cOverwrt = 0 #Fields overwritten

    for i in range(1, cMarks + 1):
        fieldName = str(marks(i).Name) #String object of FormField

        #Default Cases --------------------------------------------------------------------
        if fieldName in excDict:
            keyValue = excDict.get(fieldName) #Get value to key(FormField)
            resultIsEmpty = not marks(i).Result #No text has been entered before

            # No prior entry present
            if keyValue != "None"
                marks(i).Result = keyValue + " "
                cMatches += 1
                if not resultIsEmpty:
                    cOverwrt += 1

    doc.Close()
    wordApp.Visible = False

1 answer

Alan Farias 750 Reputation points

2023-02-24T16:29:21.5066667+00:00
I know it might sound stupid, but have you ever tried something simple like:

doc.Save()
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Jammmme 0 Reputation points

2023-02-25T14:16:51.46+00:00

Thanks for your answer! But unfortunately this does not help. I attach screenshots, maybe that clarifies my problem more. I run the script and at the first moment the text box seems to be filled in:

But when I click on it, , the field is empty where something should be:

Alan Farias 750 Reputation points

2023-02-25T19:14:54.6066667+00:00

It seems like the issue might be related to the type of form field you are using in your Word document. According to the screenshots you provided, it looks like you are using a text form field with the "Default text" property set to "Click here to enter text".

When you run your script, it updates the form field with the desired value, but when you click on the form field, it is resetting to the default text.

To fix this issue, you can try using a plain text content control instead of a form field. Content controls are a newer and more versatile type of control in Word, and they provide better support for data binding and programmatically setting values.

To create a plain text content control, go to the Developer tab in Word, and click on the "Plain Text Content Control" button in the Controls group. Once you have created the content control, you can set its value using the following code:

def wordExport(window, excDict, docPath): wordApp = win32com.client.Dispatch('Word.Application') #Word App Object wordApp.Visible = False doc = wordApp.Documents.Open(docPath) #Open .docx cMatches = 0 #Match counter cOverwrt = 0 #Fields overwritten for cc in doc.ContentControls: fieldName = cc.Title #Title of the content control #Default Cases -------------------------------------------------------------------- if fieldName in excDict: keyValue = excDict.get(fieldName) #Get value to key(FormField) resultIsEmpty = not cc.Range.Text #No text has been entered before # No prior entry present if keyValue != "None": cc.Range.Text = keyValue + " " cMatches += 1 if not resultIsEmpty: cOverwrt += 1 doc.Close() wordApp.Visible = False

In this code, we are iterating over all the content controls in the document, and setting the value of each content control based on the corresponding key in the excDict dictionary. The cc.Range.Text property is used to set the text value of the content control.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jammmme 0 Reputation points

2023-02-26T13:30:49.68+00:00

Edit: Okay, that was easy! Already found a solution just by really understanding the problem. Thank you so much!

Hi, thank you very much, I will try to solve my problem with the plain text content control, but is it generally possible to change the default text of the existing form fields with a python script?

Because I think you gave me the - for me so far unknown - reason for my problem. The required text is inserted into my form field but immediately replaced by the - non-existent - default text.

So the easiest way for me would be to simply change the default text via a script.

If you have a solution for me, I would be very grateful again! Best regards!

Jammmme 0 Reputation points

2023-02-26T13:40:36.8933333+00:00

Sorry, how can I delete a comment? :D

Alan Farias 750 Reputation points

2023-02-27T11:29:33.0633333+00:00

@Jammmme If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please let me know.
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