Use a repeat block to import multiple rows from a data source. A repeat block is a fragment in the template document - defined by a Word bookmark - that contains merge fields and that will be repeated for each row in a data source. To import multiple rows from a single data source, create a repeat block in the template and, in the WordWriter code, call SetRepeatBlock to bind the repeat block to a data source.
The main document is any part of the template that is not within a repeat block. SetDataSource sets a single-row data source for merge fields in the main document. If you pass SetDataSource a ResultSet that contains more than one row, WordWriter will import the first row to the template. Multiple row data sources can be imported to repeat blocks only, not to main document merge fields.
Please note that WordWriter does not support nested repeat blocks. Repeat blocks may not be located within other repeat blocks.
To create a repeat block:
In Microsoft Word, bookmarks are not marked by default. To see which document fragments are bookmarks:
Whether the template will bind to one data source or several, merge fields are not required in the main document. To import multiple rows from a single data source, use a repeat block only, and do not include any merge fields in the main document. The repeat block can span all the content in the document. For example, by defining a repeat block with a bookmark that spans an entire page, and setting a multiple-row data source, you can use WordWriter to create multiple form letters:
Here is some example code that demonstrates the usage of SetRepeatBlock with a DataTable that has multiple rows. This code inserts data into merge fields "FirstName" and "LastName" enclosed in the repeat block named "BookMarkName".
void GenerateDocument(int employeeID) { //--- Query the database DataTable dt = new DataTable(); using(SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connString)) { string sql = "SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employee"; SqlDataAdapter adpt = new SqlDataAdapter(sql, conn); adpt.Fill(dt); } //--- Use a DataTable as the data source WordTemplate wt = new WordTemplate(); wt.Open(templatePath); wt.SetRepeatBlock(dt, "BookMarkName"); wt.Process(); wt.Save(Page.Response, "RepeatBlockOutput.doc", false); } |
Private Sub GenerateDocument(ByVal employeeID As Integer) '--- Query the database Dim dt As New DataTable() Dim conn As New SqlConnection(connString) Dim sql As String = _ "SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM Employee"" Try Dim adpt As New SqlDataAdapter(sql, conn) adpt.Fill(dt) Finally If Not conn Is Nothing Then conn.Dispose() End If End Try '--- Use a DataTable as the data source Dim wt As New WordTemplate() wt.Open(templatePath) wt.SetRepeatBlock(dt, "BookMarkName") wt.Process() wt.Save(Page.Response, "RepeatBlockOutput.doc", False) End Sub |
The following code sample demonstrates the use of SetRepeatBlock to emulate mail merge behavior. The repeat block spans an entire page within the document. This causes a new page to be created for each recipient in the database: