Stop a content control Title and Tag being changed when authors are copying and pasting

Question

We have several large documents which staff complete by entering information into a range of content controls. Each control has a Title and Tag which is used to load the data into a database for reporting.

When the authors are copying and pasting information from one control to another and manipulating the content in the destination control they are tend to copy and paste the entire control and thus the Title and Tag is being copied over as well.

When the document is created, there is a need to delete portions of the document which hasn't been filled so it isn't possible to use the Restricted Editing option in each control or document protection.

The client doesn't allow any macros.

Without relying on the authors only copying the text within a control and pasting this, is there anyway we can maintain the Title and Tag data during the copy and paste process.

Answer 1

Try applying Grouping to the Content Controls. I believe that my overcome the issue that you have.

Answer 2

Hi @LIG_AB,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your sharing, this is an expected behavior of Word content controls. When copying a content control and pastes it elsewhere, Word inserts the entire control object, including its properties. Those properties are in <w:sdtPr> where Word stores Title and Tag, so the pasted control also brings along the Title and Tag.

For this situation, you can try the approach given by Jason Eaton or you can use the "Content control cannot be deleted" feature:

• Select the content control > Developer tab > Properties > "Check Content control cannot be deleted"

With this feature enabled, the content can be edited, but the structured document tag itself can’t be deleted. It protects the structure and also the Title/Tag from being overwritten, while still letting users paste/enter text inside the control.

Please understand that the initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, you can try this approach and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to investigate further.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 3

I am no expert on this but I was able to duplicate your issue with a sample word doc. Restricting editing did prevent it from changing title and tag. For step 2 in restrict editing I changed checked "Only allow this type of editing..." and selected "Filling in forms". It allowed the text to be copied and pasted without changing the tags or title.

Also, if you don't want to restrict editing I tried something else. Instead of pressing Cntrl+V or right clicking "Paste" try Cntrl+Shift+V or, when you right click, "Keep text only". This also did not change title or tags when editing was NOT restricted. But you run the risk of someone forgetting to paste text only and changing the title and tag.