Sets the specified repeat block's data source to an ADO.NET DataSet. A repeat block is a fragment in the template document that will be repeated for each row in a data source. In the template document, repeat blocks are defined by Word bookmarks that contain merge fields.

 public void SetRepeatBlock(System.Data.DataSet ds, System.String bookmark)
Public Sub SetRepeatBlock(ByVal ds As System.Data.DataSet, ByVal bookmark As String)

The DataSet to use as the data source.

The bookmark name of the template repeat block. The bookmark passed to SetRepeatBlock must exist in the template Word file. To see a list of template bookmark names:

  1. Open the template in Microsoft Word.
  2. Open the Edit menu.
  3. Select Go To...
  4. Select Bookmark.
  5. Under Enter bookmark name, open the drop-down list of bookmark names.

SetRepeatBlock will throw this exception if null (C#) or Nothing (VB.NET) is passed to the method.

SetRepeatBlock will throw this exception if the bookmark has been set to be removed.

You can call SetRepeatBlock several times for a single instance of WordTemplate. The repeat block specified by the parameter bookmark must exist in the template.

If you pass an empty DataSet to SetRepeatBlock, WordWriter will not include the specified repeat block in the generated Word file.

Not all Word features can be included in a repeat block:

Supported in Repeat Blocks

Not Supported in Repeat Blocks

  • Character Formatting (everywhere)
  • Paragraph Formatting (Alignment, Outlines, Indent, Spacing, Page Break before, Keep Together)
  • Multiple Columns (2, 3, Column Breaks)
  • Borders and Shading
  • Tabs
  • Bullets
  • Numbering (numbering not reset, it is continued from one repeat block to another)
  • Page Breaks
  • Section Breaks
  • Auto Text Field
  • Hyperlink
  • Pictures
  • Table Row Repeat (entire row only)
  • Fields (with some restrictions)
  • Nested repeat blocks (Only one data source may be assigned to a single repeat block.)
  • Overlapping bookmarks
  • Comments
  • Drawing Objects
  • Text Boxes
  • Footnote and endnote references
  • Table and picture indexes
  • Single cell in a table
  • Smart tags (smart tags will be removed from the document)
  • Repeat blocks in headers, footers, footnotes, comments, text boxes, etc.

          //--- A dataset with the data to be repeated
          DataSet ds = GetDataSet();
          WordTemplate oWW = new WordTemplate();
          oWW.Open("c:\\template.doc");

          //--- Set a data source for the repeat block
          //--- defined by the bookmark "Page"
          //--- "ds" is the DataSet containing the data to be
          //--- imported and repeated in the repeat block
          //--- The first DataTable in the DataSet will be used
          oWW.SetRepeatBlock(ds, "Page");
          oWW.Process();
          oWW.Save(Page.Response, "Output.doc", false);
          '--- A dataset with the data to be repeated
          Dim ds As DataSet = GetDataSet()
          Dim oWW As New WordTemplate()
          oWW.Open("c:\template.doc")

          '--- Set a data source for the repeat block
          '--- defined by the bookmark "Page"
          '--- "ds" is the DataSet containing the data to be
          '--- imported and repeated in the repeat block
          '--- The first DataTable in the DataSet will be used
          oWW.SetRepeatBlock(ds, "Page")
          oWW.Process()
          oWW.Save(Page.Response, "Output.doc", False)