Quickparts

Hello Kirsty,

Thank you for your question.

To achieve automatic updates of repeated text or fields in a Microsoft Word document using Quick Parts, you can use the "Document Property" or "Content Control" features. Here's a step-by-step guide to set this up:

Open the Word document and go to the first page.

Insert Document Property:
Go to the Insert tab.
Click on Quick Parts in the Text group.
Select Document Property and choose a predefined property like Title, Author, Company, etc. For example, if you choose Title, it will insert a field that represents the document title.

Edit the Property:
Click on the inserted property and type in the desired text. This text will be automatically used throughout the document where the same property is referenced.

Use the Same Property Elsewhere:
Wherever you want to use the same text, repeat the steps to insert the same document property (e.g., Title). The text will be automatically updated wherever this property is used.

Using Custom Content Controls:
Open Microsoft Word and go to the Developer tab. If the Developer tab is not visible:
Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
Check the Developer option in the right-hand list.

Insert a Content Control:
On the Developer tab, click Rich Text Content Control or Plain Text Content Control in the Controls group.
A placeholder text will appear in your document.

Edit the Content Control Properties:
Click on the content control to select it.
In the Controls group, click Properties.
Assign a Title and Tag to your content control (e.g., Title: "CustomerName", Tag: "CustomerName").

Repeat Content Control:
Wherever you want the same text to appear, insert another content control with the same Tag. To do this easily, you can copy and paste the content control or insert a new one and set its properties to match the original.

Linking Controls:
If you used the same Tag for multiple content controls, changing the text in one control will update all controls with the same Tag automatically.
Using Fields and Bookmarks

Insert a Bookmark:
Select the text you want to repeat.
Go to the Insert tab and click Bookmark in the Links group.
Give the bookmark a name (e.g., "CustomerName").

Insert a Ref Field:
Place the cursor where you want the text to repeat.
Press Ctrl + F9 to insert a field code.
Type REF BookmarkName (e.g., REF CustomerName) between the braces { }.
Press F9 to update the field.

Updating Fields:
To update all fields in the document, press Ctrl + A to select all text and then press F9.
By following these steps, you can ensure that the text you update in one place is automatically updated throughout your document. This method is very useful for templates, standardized documents, or any repetitive content management in Word.

I hope that by following these steps closely, it will help you create Quick Parts which update automatically.

Kind regards
Marius Barnard
STL