Word 2007[c] The Missing Manual

15.3. Tagging Information with Content Controls

The previous chapter, on creating forms, describes how to insert content controls into your documents. In the example, the content controls are used to hold address information such as name , address, city, state, and Zip code. You can adjust the settings using the Content Controls Properties box (Figure 15-4).

To open the box, go to Developer Controls Properties or use the shortcut Alt+L, L. The properties boxes vary for different types of controls, but each has two text boxes at the toTitle and Tag. These two settings seem suspiciously similar, but they actually serve different functions for programmers. The Title is the name a programmer uses to refer to the control in a macro or a program. The Tag is the name a programmer uses to refer to the XML element.

Whenever you insert a content control into your document and provide the tag with a name, you're creating an XML element. Other programs can use the element to access parts of your document. For example, a program can read the subscription forms and add that information to a database or spreadsheet. Content controls share information in two directions, too, so documents can be savvy enough to go out and collect information from other sources. Imagine a realtor has a fact sheet on a house that's for sale. One of the content controls on the fact sheet contains the price. Each time the fact sheet is opened, the content control that holds the price checks the current price for the house and displays the up-to-date price in the document.