I would be using Mapped Plain Text Content Controls to do this and the user could import that data from Excel as an XML file. This can be automated with a macro to replace the xml file (or set its values) and avoid working with the text via find and replace.



Your Excel data needs to be in fieldname/value pairs. In Excel this could be a second column eg.
object1...Joe
object2...Smith
object3...123 Main St
object4...Springfield

Your original question would enable you to insert all the necessary Content Controls but would need to include either setting the Title/Tag properties to the fieldname or setting the mapping.

Alternatively, if you are using a find/replace method recommended by Paul, then you would need to make sure you search all stories to get entries in the headers/footers etc.

__________________
Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

Thanks Paul and Andrew.

I think the mapping you mentioned would be ideal once we have the words tagged as plain text content control objects.

So the Title would be the Object name, and the Tag would be DocumentVariable always.


Circling back to my original questions is it possible to scan the document for the words from an excel list? Let's say I have 10 documents with all the same possible variables that would to be converted to Content Control Objects.

I found a post on how someone built a find and replace based of an excel list:

Sub Main()
Dim xl as Object 'Excel.Application
Dim wb as Object 'Excel.Workbook
Dim ws as Object 'Excel.Worksheet
Dim rng as Object 'Excel.Range
Dim cl as Object 'Excel.Range
Set xl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
Set wb = xl.Workbooks.Open("c:\folder\file.xlsx") '## Modify as needed
Set ws = wb.Sheets(1) '##Modify as needed
Set rng = ws.Range("A1", ws.Range("A1").End(xlDown))
For each cl in rng
Call Macro5(cl.Value, cl.offset(0,1).Value)
Next
End Sub

Sub Macro5(findText$, replaceText$)
'
' Macro5 Macro
'
'
Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
Selection.Find.Replacement.ClearFormatting
With Selection.Find
.Text = findText
.Replacement.Text = replaceText
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
End With
Selection.Find.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
Selection.Find.Execute
End Sub

Original post here: vba - "Find and Replace" multiple words in Word from Excel list - Stack Overflow

Would it be possible to change that to apply the content control instead of the word replacement?

Maybe something like this? if Macro5 above was changed out.

Sub ReplaceTags(findText)

With Selection.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Text = findText
.Forward:=True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.MatchCase = False
.MatchWholeWord = False
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
End With

Selection.Range.ContentControls.Add (wdContentControlText)
Selection.ParentContentControl.Title = Selection.Text
Selection.ParentContentControl.Title = "DocumentVariable"


End Sub