Setup of custom XML values

Updated February 21, 2023 11:56

Background

Many of Templafy's existing and potential customers are utilizing the usage of metadata from their template management systems. This is key for large organizations to keep track of their documents across the organization's document management systems (DMS), with one of the most common examples being SharePoint. The release of this new feature now enhances the possibilities of how Templafy can operate with metadata, by making it possible to set and read SharePoint metadata. This essentially means the new workflow will ensure that the documents are always set with the proper metadata, while at the same time, also sparing users from adding the metadata later in the document creation process. The scope of this article will cover the prerequisites and explore the detailed workflow for utilizing the new feature.

Sections in this article:

Pre-requisites
Step By Step Guide

Pre-requisites

The feature is available on Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Dynamics Version 1.13
VSTO Add-ins 5.9.29.0
Document Content Updater(DCU) enabled for both, tenant and template.

Note

The functionality "Custom XML" will be deprecated and will not be available in the Template Designer when the "Custom XML Value" will be present.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create or Upload a document to SharePoint, in order to attach the XML mapping to it.

2. Close the document and add random values to the attributes that will be targeted - do not leave them blank!

Leaving an attribute with a blank value will result in SharePoint attaching a "@nil" value to it, which will later prevent Templafy from attaching the XML value to the particular attribute, as well as to fetch updated values from SharePoint.

3. Download the document

4. Build the document form. Different forms of input are allowed, including manual text input, dates, and dropdown lists. For this particular example, there will be one of each created.

5. Open the document and access the Template Designer. Go to Document tab and select Custom XML Values from the dropdown.

6. Go to the Developer tab in word and click on XML Mapping Pane.

7. Find the correct Custom XML Part. In this case the correct namespace is: http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties

A path called properties with a subsection called documentManagement should appear when you select the namespace. When documentManagement is expanded it will reveal all the attributes attached from SharePoint.

To ensure the attribute was not left blank, the name of it in the namespace should not be expandable. In the below example the outcome of leaving an attribute blank can be seen (expandable menu and a @nil value in it).

8. Insert the namespace name in the Namespace textbox (Copy the value from above).

8.1 Insert the name of the particular path that will be targeted, the correct syntax to do that is as follow:

/p:properties/documentManagement/PropertyName, where PropertyName is a placeholder for the particular property that is being targeted.

8.2 Insert the name of the binding that will be linked to the SharePoint property. Follow the default binding syntax and repeat the same process for all the attributes.

8.3 Ensure the document is compatible with Dynamics Version 1.13 and is DCU enabled.

9. After the configuration is ready, upload the document to the Templafy tenant and attach the form to it.

10. Generate the document through the document creation process.

11. Upload the document to SharePoint. The attributes that were linked with Custom XML Values should become automatically populated.

12. Modify the properties' values and download the document back.

13. Open the document and enable edits. Click on Update Document, the document form should appear with the updated values from SharePoint. Upon clicking the Update button, the new values should be inserted into the document.