Can I auto-populate multiple fields in Word using a table?

Question

Hello, my boss would like to be able to use a drop down on our Proposal to auto-populate customer information (contact name, address, phone #, email) using a drop down of the company names or at least after typing the company names. I've compiled all of the info into a spreadsheet and, after a lot of pulling my hair out, was able to make it work quite nicely in Excel. The problem is that you can't easily format the rest of the proposal properly in that program, with bullets, nice font, etc. He swears that he used to do it in Word by embedding a table but all of the searches I've done and videos I've found just seem to want me to make forms which is very tedious and doesn't seem like a solution for this. It seems more useful if you want to enter the same info over and over. And the mailer option only seems like it would work if I am doing multiples of the same form at once. Thanks so much if anyone can help me!

Answer 1

Hello SharaNVZ, thanks for coming into forums. I will be more than happy to help you.

You can achieve the desired functionality in Word by using the "Content Controls" feature.

Here's a rough outline of the steps that you can follow.

1. Create a table in Word with columns for each piece of information you need (contact name, address, phone #, email).
2. Save the table as a separate document and link it to your main proposal document.
3. In your main proposal document, insert content controls for each piece of information.
4. Using the "Developer" tab, set up the content controls to display the information from your linked table based on the company name selected from a drop-down list.

You can format the rest of the proposal as desired and the linked information will automatically populate the content controls. This method allows for dynamic data entry, making it a better solution than the form-based method you mentioned.

Hope this info helps.

Warm Regards, Myk

Answer 2

Word's mail merge, drawing data from an Excel spreadsheet (or from a table in a different Word document, or from a database) can certainly generate a letter or an invoice or an email for a single name.

After you've selected the type of output (Letter, Email, etc.) from the Start Mail Merge button and selected the data source (Excel spreadsheet, Word document, etc.) from the Select Recipients button, click the Edit Recipient List button. That opens the following dialog, with the list of data from the selected source.

The check boxes in the second column are all checked by default, but you can click the check box in the heading row to clear all of the check marks, and then click to check only the one or a few that you want to include. Completing the rest of the merge will then produce output only for the selected name(s).

Answer 3

Thank you for your response. How do I link it to my main document? Are you saying I should create a master document that links to a subdocument? I tried googling and the instructions I get leave me with a hyperlink in the middle of my document. Is there a way to link them that's not visible? Thanks!

Answer 4

Master document and sub document are Word jargon terms for a flawed feature called the Master Documents "Feature" in Microsoft Word. Avoid using them when looking for help your you will get hopelessly confusing responses to your queries, if not dangerous advice.

Take a look at Mail merge using an Excel spreadsheet.

Your data is in the Excel spreadsheet. (It can be in a different kind of data file, but I prefer Excel for this.)

The top row of each column in the spreadsheet is your field names. They should all start with a letter, not a number or symbol, have no spaces, and be meaningful. You can run words together like ClientFirstName, ClientLastName, or use underscores in the middle like Client_First_Name.

You have your primary merge document (what you have been describing as the master document) and use the Mailings tab to set it as such a document, attach it to your data source, and then enter your merge fields.