User Form retain input using Custom Document Properties

Relatively new to VBA coding.


I’ve set up a word document with a user form that works fine via custom properties. Example of code below:


Private Sub OK_Click()

' Update the properties values
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customTitle").Value = Me.DocumentTitle.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customStartDate").Value = Me.CertDate.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customProjectNo").Value = Me.ProjectNo.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customEqDescription").Value = Me.EqDescription.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customClientName").Value = Me.ClientName.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customClientContact").Value = Me.ClientContact.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customOwnerPhoneNo").Value = Me.OwnerPhoneNo.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customOwnerEmail").Value = Me.OwnerEmail.Value
ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("customRevisionNo").Value = Me.RevisionNo.Value
' Show changes of document properties in document
ThisDocument.Fields.Update

' Hide the userform
UserForm1.Hide

End Sub

Problem is when I save and open an existing document the data is not saved in the user form. If I hit enter on the user form it wipes all entries in the document.
Would be good if the user form could retain the old inputs. Is this doable, and does someone have some code that does this?

Appreciate any advice...

How are you using this document? What is its relationship to the 'existing document'?
I suspect that the issue might be as simple as confusion between the use of ThisDocument and ActiveDocument, ThisDocument being the document with the macro.

It is a simple word document that is repeated time and again for different clients etc.


I open the document, save as, and fill out the user form.

Save it as a template c/w the macro and userform and create new documents from it. Change ThisDocument to ActiveDocument

Frankly I wouldn't use document properties for this task. I would suggest instead using content controls to both receive and display the data in the document. See https://www.gmayor.com/Userform.htm

If you want to use custom properties, try something like this

Seems to work

Code:

---

Option Explicit


Private Sub OK_Click()
    ThisDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("SomeProp").Value = Me.custProp.Value
   
    'https://stackoverflow.com/questions/54769648/custom-document-property-not-getting-saved-in-word-document
    ThisDocument.Saved = False      '  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
   
    Me.Hide
    Unload UserForm1
End Sub


Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
    Dim oCP As DocumentProperty
    Dim i As Long
   
    With ThisDocument
        For i = 1 To .CustomDocumentProperties.Count
            If .CustomDocumentProperties(i).Name = "SomeProp" Then
                Set oCP = .CustomDocumentProperties(i)
                Exit For
            End If
        Next i
   
        If oCP Is Nothing Then  '  custom prop doesn't exist yet
            .CustomDocumentProperties.Add Name:="SomeProp", LinkToContent:=False, Value:="", Type:=msoPropertyTypeString
        Else
            Me.custProp.Value = oCP.Value
        End If
    End With
End Sub

---

Paul,

Why the For ... Next loop? Why not:

Code:

---

Dim oCP As DocumentProperty
  With ThisDocument
    On Error Resume Next
    Set oCP = .CustomDocumentProperties("SomeProp")
    If oCP Is Nothing Then  '  custom prop doesn't exist yet
    .CustomDocumentProperties.Add Name:="SomeProp", LinkToContent:=False, Value:="", Type:=msoPropertyTypeString
    Else
      custProp.Value = oCP.Value
    End If
    Set oCP = Nothing
  End With

---

@Greg -- That is a better approach

Actually, I tried something like that but hit some error (my fault, not Word's) and just went brute force

Glad you pointed it out

Thanks gents.

I'm working my way through Graham Mayor's content control method currently.

I could never get this to work. For some reason the userform when opening does not populate the document, and there seems to be no macro to run it again...:(

Without the actual document, it's hard to see what could possibly be wrong

Use [Go Advanced] at botton right of Reply box, and then the paperclip icon to attach the file

Both Graham Mayor and Greg Maxey have pages on this:

• Interactive Userforms by Greg Maxey
  
• Create a Simple Userform by Graham Mayor, MVP

That is, where the userform populates the document and uses information in the document to populate/initialize the userform.