I have a series of documents where I have as many as 65 to 70 values where I need to repeat each one around 20x. I was able to use 'content control' Quick Parts for a few of them but there aren't enough 'document properties' available and I'm relatively new to using this feature. I tried using reference fields but those would not update upon changing the first value. I want to create a field, place a value in it, and then copy it 20x, and any time I edit the first, I want the other 20 to automatically update. There are only 16 doc properties and I need at least 70. I tried creating custom variables but those aren't updating when I modify the first field either......



Suggestions?

Mapped Content Controls - That is what you are currently using under a different name. The so-called document properties under Quick Parts are a special case of these built into Word beginning with Word 2007.

See Repeating Data Using Document Properties Content Controls and Other Mapped Content Controls which describes what you are already doing and leads into Greg Maxey's tool for mapping any content control. I do not believe there is a practical limit to the number you can use with his tool. You can also have access to drop-down, rich text, and date-picker controls. While you do not need Greg's tool for mapping other content controls, it makes the process much easier.

Other methods are discussed at Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields) but the mapped content control is the easiest so long as you do not have to use the form in versions of Word prior to Word 2007. If you only want to change the value in one place (and have that reflected elsewhere) an even simpler method discussed on this page is "Simple Linked Content Controls."

Thank you Charles. I'll give it a shot.

He is actually recommending using say, the 'abstract' document property under 'quick parts' numerous times and just labeling the field title differently, and you cannot do that. If I use 'abstract' in one field and call it "DBName", and in another I call it "DBlink", every field I created using the 'abstract" document property will change to whatever value I have in DBName. You cannot re-use those fields, at least I've not been able to. So essentially I can only use each of those 15 variables once each.

Read it again. What that page talks about is relabeling the "Abstract" property as something like "Client Name" and then copying that to use where you want the client's name. It has only one purpose. You have to use different content controls for different fields. The "document properties" you are already using are content controls that are already mapped. You can change their names.

The key is that by using mapping, you can have as many of these as you want without going through the "document properties" menu. You can have different kinds of content controls as well.

Read the articles. Take the time to learn this stuff and decide what will work for you. There are a number of options.

Start by learning about Content Controls. The content controls can be found on the Developer Tab.
Take a look at the Paste as Link option mentioned above and decide if that will work for you. It is the simplest.

If you want to be able to change each item anywhere in the document rather than in just the first spot, then you will need mapped content controls. Again, the ones you are using are a special case of mapped content controls. If you create your own, you can have as many as you want. The easiest way to map content controls is to use Greg's utility to insert the controls.

There are other ways of replicating data in a document discussed in one of the articles. Those work in earlier versions of Word as well.