Tag Archives: wordwriter

Knowledge Base, WordWriter

How to insert a line break using WordTemplate

Problem

To insert a line break in Word, you can press SHIFT+ENTER. This post covers how to insert a Word line break by injecting a newline character into the string of data that will populate a merge field.

Note: You cannot insert a paragraph break by injecting a character into your data. To start a new paragraph, you should use a separate merge field or use the WordApplication class to programmatically modify the document.

Solution

In this example, the template has one merge field, called “MyParagraph.”

The following code populates the merge field with two lines of text:

 WordTemplate wt = new WordTemplate(); wt.Open(Server.MapPath("./template.docx")); string[] fields = {"MyParagraph"}; object[] data = {"This is the first line." + '\n' + "This is the second line."}; wt.SetDataSource(data, fields); wt.Process(); wt.Save(Page.Response, "Output.docx", true);

The populated document will contain a line break wherever ‘\n’ was inserted:

Knowledge Base, WordWriter

How to get a list of bookmarks from a Word document

Problem

You want to get a list of all the bookmarks in a document using WordWriter.

Solution

WordTemplate

The WordTemplate.Boomarks will return the names of all the bookmarks in a WordWriter template. This can be useful for binding data to the template with SetRepeatBlock, which requires the name of the bookmark for the repeatblock.

WordApplication

Use the GetElements method to retrieve all the elements of a particular type. In this case, the Element.Type is “Bookmark”.

For example, to retreive an array of all the bookmarks in a document:

Element[] eArray = document.GetElements(Element.Type.Bookmark);
//Get a handle on the first bookmark in the document
Bookmark bookmrk = (Bookmark)eArray[0];
If you need to retrieve a particular bookmark, use Document.GetBookmark(string), which returns the Bookmark object with the specified name.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Install Error 1608: Unable to Create InstallDrive Instance. Return code -2147024891

Problem

When attempting to run the installer for OfficeWriter 4.x or below, InstallShield returns the error:

1608: Unable to Create InstallDriver Instance. Return code -2147024891.

This error has been known to occur for some users when installing or uninstalling OfficeWriter. According to InstallShield, “Error 1608 is a very system specific issue and is often caused by limited system privileges, incorrect DCOM settings, or another malfunction on the computer.”

Solution

In most cases, the instructions in the following InstallShield article resolve this problem. For many of our customers, this error has been resolved by simply following the instructions regarding DCOM Settings (section A).

http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108440 (note: installshield’s website can be very slow sometimes.)

If after trying all of the suggestions in the InstallSheild article, you are unable to install or uninstall OfficeWriter using the automatic installer, you will need to perform a manual installation and/or uninstallation.

Instructions for uninstalling and installing OfficeWriter can be found in our documentation. Although the instructions are labeled for ExcelWriter, the same steps apply to installing WordWriter.

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

WordWriter generated document opens in protected mode in Word 2010

Problem

When a report rendered with WordWriter is opened in Word 2010, the document opens in “Protected Mode” (red warning banner). This might also happen in Excel 2010.

Solution

In Office 2010, Microsoft introduced a security feature which can cause files to be opened in Protected Mode with a red warning banner that locks the file for editing. The Protected Mode is activated when Office detects something in the file format that is not consistent with the security definition.

Unfortunately, since we do not have access to the definitions that the security feature uses to check files, we cannot predetermine what will cause the Protected Mode to activate. We have already addressed a number of items that can cause files to open in Protected Mode, but we are unable to know all the possible causes.

If you are using the latest version of the product and you encounter a file that opens in Protected Mode contact us.

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

New line characters are not displayed in WordTemplate output

Problem

The data source for a merge field contains text with new line characters (e.g. Chr(13) & Chr(10), “/n”), but the output is not being displayed on multiple lines in OOXML documents (.DOCX, DOCM) in WordWriter 4.0.0-4.1.0.

Solution

This issue was resolved in WordWriter 4.5.0. WordWriter software updates are available for download at www.officewriter.com/product-updates.

ExcelWriter, Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Error: BC3002: Type ‘WordTemplate’ is not defined

Problem

When working with a dynamically compiled aspx page (meaning that it does not have a code behind aspx.cs or aspx.vb page), the following error message may occur:

Compiler Error Message: BC30002: Type ‘WordTemplate’ is not defined

The error is thrown on the line that instantiates the WordTemplate object.

Solution

Note: Although the error message lists WordWriter, this applies to ExcelWriter as well.

Most customers have precompiled web applications or web sites, which means that the site is precompiled from Visual Studio with references to any necessary DLLs, including SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.ExcelWriter.dll or SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.WordWriter.dll. For more information on how to add OfficeWriter to a precompiled .NET application, see Adding OfficeWriter to your .NET Application.

However, if working with dynamically compiled pages, the references aren’t added ahead of time. The sample principles for precompiled applications apply here as well:

  1. Make sure to import or include the SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.WordWriter (or SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.ExcelWriter) namespace.
  2. Make sure to import the System.Web namespace because the ExcelWriter and WordWriter output options have a dependency on System.Web.
  3. Make sure that SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.WordWriter.dll or SoftArtisans.OfficeWriter.ExcelWriter.dll is in the bin directory of the application. The alternative is to install the DLL into the GAC.

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Word Error: Could not start converter mswrd632.wpc

Problem

When you try to save a Word 2007 template as part of a SQL Server Reporting Services RDL you get an error:

Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc

Solution

This error is caused by a Windows security update published December 2009, affecting Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. You can resolve the issue by disabling the converter through the registry. Open regedit and delete the registry keys at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text Converters\Import\MSWord6.wpc. Restart Word and the error should disappear.

You can find more information in this article. It also provies a script that will perform the registry fix for you. The additional steps mentioned in the update to that article have not been tested, as unregistering the converter has solved the problem in every instance in which we’ve encountered it.

Note that this issue only affects Word 2007 SSRS templates. Word 2003 templates are not affected. Also, Excel 2007 is not affected by this issue.

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, Reporting Services, WordWriter

Reporting Services Error: The following bookmark cannnot be found in the template

Problem

When rendering an OfficeWriter for Word Reporting Services report, after removing all bookmarks from the template for a specific data source, the following error occurs:

Reporting Services Error ---------------------------------------------------------- An error occurred during rendering of the report. (rrRenderingError) Get Online Help An error occurred during rendering of the report. WordWriter Error: The following bookmark can't be found in the template: DataSourceName The following bookmark can't be found in the template: DataSourceName -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SQL Server Reporting Services

For example, someone may decide to remove a table of data from their report which they no longer want to display. To do this, they would delete the table, thereby removing the merge fields in it and the bookmark around the table row that defined the Selection Query Range for that data source.

Solution

As mentioned above, this error occurs when a Selection Query Range is defined for a data source and then removed from the template. Once a Selection Query Range for a data source is added to the template using the OfficeWriter Designer toolbar, a bookmark is added to the template to define what portion of the document should repeat and that data source is linked to the template in the report’s RDL file. If all the bookmarks for this data source are then removed from the template, the references to that data source in the RDL file that the Designer added are not automatically removed.

This behavior is planned to change in a future version, so that it will be possible to define a Selection Query Range for a data source in a template, and then later decide to remove it. In the meantime, there are two workarounds to this issue:

Remove the relevant block from the RDL for the data source that is no longer used

Important: Back up your RDL file before making manual changes to it in case you make a mistake.

For each data source used in the template, the OfficeWriter Designer adds a DataSourceName">... block in the RDL file.

If a data source is no longer used in the template, simply open the RDL file in a text editor and remove the correspoding Table block.

For example, if you want to remove this block for a data source called Contacts, look for the ... block and delete it.

Design your report from scratch

Build a new report from scratch (both RDL and Word template). When designing the template, be careful to only add Selection Query Ranges for data sources that will definitely be used in the report. (Don’t plan on removing all the bookmarks for any data source.)

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Large documents generated by WordWriter do not print correctly

Problem

At least two specific separate issues may be caused by Background Printing, an optional feature of Microsoft Word, when printing a long WordWriter-generated document. The first causes Word to report upon opening that there are errors in the document and to ask to repair them; words are then omitted from the printed file and Word crashes while printing. The second causes Word to print only the first few pages of a large document.

Solution

Background Printing in Word allows you to continue working in Word while the program is sending a large file to the printer. Unfortunately, it causes a number of issues with some long WordWriter-generated files, as described above. The only effective workaround for these problems is to turn off background printing in Word. To turn off Background Printing, follow these steps:

Word 2007/2010

  1. Go to the Office button (2007) or File tab (2010)
  2. Select Word Options (2007) or Options (2010)
  3. Go to Advanced and then to the Print section
  4. Uncheck Print in background

Word 2003

  1. Go to Options
  2. Go to the Print tab and then to the Printing Options section
  3. Uncheck Background Printing

Knowledge Base, OfficeWriter, WordWriter

Documents generated by WordWriter do not print

Problem

Using WordTemplate or WordApplication, the document is generated and opens in Word. But when you try to print the file in Word, nothing happens. There are no error messages, the printer just does not start printing.

Solution

There are several possible reasons for why a WordWriter-generated document will not print:

Document contains an image that is set to “Behind text”

If the template file contains an image that is formatted to be behind text, then this issue was addressed in WordWriter 3.9.2. The recommended solution is to upgrade to the latest version of WordWriter.

If upgrading is not an option, then a possible workaround is to set the image as a watermark, so it will appear behind the text of the document:

Word 2007/2010:

  1. Go to the Layout tab.
  2. In the Page Background tab group, go to the Watermark dropdown.
  3. Select Custom Watermark.
  4. Select Picture watermark.
  5. Select the image that you want to appear behind the text.

Word 2003:

  1. Go to Format
  2. Go to Background
  3. Go to Printed Watermark
  4. Select the image that you want to appear behind the text

MS Word Background Printing Option

There is a known issue with some WordWriter-generated documents and the Background Printing option in MS Word. If your WordWriter-generated documents do not print or trying to print those documents results in error messages, try turning off Background Printing as described in this post.