Not a pure Mac solution and a definite fail if you are running an M1 Mac, but when last I had a proper job I used an add on to Word onl Windows called TheFormTool that did very much what I think you’re looking to do. If you have an Intel Mac it should work under Parallels, although you’ll need a copy of Windows, and Word and TheFormTool. I once had it working using Crossover, which saves the Windows licence, but that was sometime around the Yosemite era.
The fastest way would be to create a mailmerge as mentioned before. Just create a template with the mailmerge fields and an Excel (or CSV) file with the person names. Information on how to do a mailmerge with Word should be easy to find.
DocProperties also work, but involve too much clicks in my opinion because you will have to change the property for each Person. Content Controls also work as @waylan suggest, but its more complex and also works better when using Word for Windows… Word for Mac is a little less refined in this area.
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I saw this, given the reference to it on the Windows side of things – that version has extensive property fields that can be edited from within the settings section (IIRC), which – as you point out – can then be pulled into the document itself, using the built-in Word “fields”.
But when I looked at my MS Word version, it didn’t appear as if I had nearly the same amount of options. Word/Preferences/Personal Settings/ User Information only allows for a handful of entries, and doesn’t appear to be editable/extensible, as I presume the Windows version is.
At least, this is assuming I understand things correctly!
Thank you for this, and your later, detailed reply. Will have a careful read through, and then make a call on what approach will pay off the most…
Suspect that something like Content control/XML mapping is probably the closest to what I am looking for – but will need to weigh up wading in to get it working, as opposed to the Mailmerge/KM/TE template options – when considering my usage would be occasional, as opposed to daily/weekly/frequently.
If something interesting crops up from my query on the MS Office forums, will share it here as well.
That all said, must say I am a bit surprised that this appears to be so involved. Really would’ve thought that this would be a frequent use-case, especially when longer, more technical documents are concerned – that would not require use of the Developer pane etc. etc.
Guess it’s the age-old challenge of balancing features vs usability for 90% of their users… That, and the fact that Word on the Mac, despite catching up quickly to what is possible on Windows, still has a way to go!
M1 Mac, currently – and whilst I have access to a PC, going to try and fight this one out on the Mac side of things, in my continuing to try and wean myself of anything PC-related! Thanks regardless.
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When search and replace is an easily available “not so involved” solution for low volume situations, I’m not surprised that next available steps are a bit more complicated. Mail merge is next up and is not all that complicated given its usefulness in higher volume situations.
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While the interface is different, the Mac version of Word still exposes all the document properties and lets you create custom ones. It is just a bit tedious. Use the File menu → Properties… Then click on the Custom tab in the dialog box that appears. You have to fill in both the Name and the Value fields for the new property before the Add button will become active.
If you want to modify values of previously created custom fields, you first select the custom field from list at the bottom of the Custom tab, then modify the value, then click the Modify button. Unfortunately, you cannot expand the Properties dialog box so you may have to click on a property in the list to see its full name or value or both.
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Oh wow – wouldn’t have found that in a month of Sundays!
Thanks, will have a look – but take your point on this also being a bit impractical for low-volume scenarios, that require multiple changes.
Still, good to know where this is, for purposes of something down the road, where a more settled document property “field”, will do the trick.
I would guess that the use of the Mail Merge functionality in Word has fallen significantly in the last 20 years due to less sending of information on paper, increased use of on premise database and latterly SaaS systems which allow sending of information via email or allow sharing of information within the system itself without the need to potentially expose the information in transit at all.
In the past, it would have been used by HR departments for all mass lettering, by companies for marketing, by companies to send newsletters to customers and many other weird and wonderful reasons, but electronic methods are so much cheaper (paper and postage), quicker and also less resource intensive (checking and envelope stuffing) that it was inevitable.