Word File Properties

Document properties contain some additional information and details about a file. It's also known as a Word file's metadata and can represent values like author, company, title, and subject. There are two types of document properties, BuiltIn and Custom.

If you need to read and write document properties in Word documents programmatically, you can use the GemBox.Document API in your C# and VB.NET applications.

The following example shows how you can read and write built-in and custom document properties.

Word file's built-in and custom document properties
Screenshot of document properties from Word file
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using System;
using GemBox.Document;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var document = DocumentModel.Load("%InputFileName%");
        var documentProperties = document.DocumentProperties;

        Console.WriteLine("# Built-in document properties:");

        // Write built-in document properties.
        documentProperties.BuiltIn[BuiltInDocumentProperty.Title] = "My Title";
        documentProperties.BuiltIn[BuiltInDocumentProperty.DateLastSaved] = DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ");

        // Read built-in document properties.
        foreach (var builtinProperty in documentProperties.BuiltIn)
            Console.WriteLine($"{builtinProperty.Key,20}: {builtinProperty.Value}");

        Console.WriteLine();
        Console.WriteLine("# Custom document properties:");

        // Write custom document properties.
        documentProperties.Custom["My Custom Property 1"] = "My Custom Value";
        documentProperties.Custom["My Custom Property 2"] = 123.4;

        // Read custom document properties.
        foreach (var customProperty in documentProperties.Custom)
            Console.WriteLine($"{customProperty.Key,20}: {customProperty.Value,-20} [{customProperty.Value.GetType()}]");
    }
}
Imports System
Imports GemBox.Document

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Dim document As DocumentModel = DocumentModel.Load("%InputFileName%")
        Dim documentProperties = document.DocumentProperties

        Console.WriteLine("# Built-in document properties:")

        ' Write built-in document properties.
        documentProperties.BuiltIn(BuiltInDocumentProperty.Title) = "My Title"
        documentProperties.BuiltIn(BuiltInDocumentProperty.DateLastSaved) = DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ")

        ' Read built-in document properties.
        For Each builtinProperty In documentProperties.BuiltIn
            Console.WriteLine($"{builtinProperty.Key,20}: {builtinProperty.Value}")
        Next

        Console.WriteLine()
        Console.WriteLine("# Custom document properties:")

        ' Write custom document properties.
        documentProperties.Custom("My Custom Property 1") = "My Custom Value"
        documentProperties.Custom("My Custom Property 2") = 123.4

        ' Read custom document properties.
        For Each customProperty In documentProperties.Custom
            Console.WriteLine($"{customProperty.Key,20}: {customProperty.Value,-20} [{customProperty.Value.GetType()}]")
        Next

    End Sub
End Module

Update Properties and Variables

Using the fields of FieldType.DocProperty, you can insert the values of the document's properties into the document's content.

Similarly, using the fields of FieldType.DocVariable, you can insert the values of the document's variables into the document's content. The variables are stored in a DocumentModel.Variables collection.

The following example shows how you can update the document's properties and variables, and display their updated values with Field elements.

Word file with updated DOCPROPERTY and DOCVARIABLE fields
Screenshot of updated DOCPROPERTY and DOCVARIABLE fields
View on GitHub 
using System.Linq;
using GemBox.Document;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var document = DocumentModel.Load("%#PropertiesAndVariables.docx%");

        // Update built-in and custom document properties.
        document.DocumentProperties.BuiltIn[BuiltInDocumentProperty.Title] = "Updated Title";
        document.DocumentProperties.Custom["Custom1"] = "Updated custom value 1!";
        document.DocumentProperties.Custom["Custom2"] = "Updated custom value 2!";

        // Update document variables.
        document.Variables["Variable1"] = "Updated variable value 1!";
        document.Variables["Variable2"] = "Updated variable value 2!";

        var fields = document.GetChildElements(true, ElementType.Field)
            .OfType<Field>()
            .Where(f => f.FieldType == FieldType.DocProperty || f.FieldType == FieldType.DocVariable);

        // Update DOCPROPERTY and DOCVARIABLE fields.
        foreach (var field in fields)
            field.Update();

        document.Save("UpdatedPropertiesAndVariables.%OutputFileType%");
    }
}
Imports System.Linq
Imports GemBox.Document

Module Program

    Sub Main()

        ' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")

        Dim document = DocumentModel.Load("%#PropertiesAndVariables.docx%")

        ' Update built-in and custom document properties.
        document.DocumentProperties.BuiltIn(BuiltInDocumentProperty.Title) = "Updated Title"
        document.DocumentProperties.Custom("Custom1") = "Updated custom value 1!"
        document.DocumentProperties.Custom("Custom2") = "Updated custom value 2!"

        ' Update document variables.
        document.Variables("Variable1") = "Updated variable value 1!"
        document.Variables("Variable2") = "Updated variable value 2!"

        Dim fields = document.GetChildElements(True, ElementType.Field) _
            .OfType(Of Field)() _
            .Where(Function(f) f.FieldType = FieldType.DocProperty OrElse f.FieldType = FieldType.DocVariable)
        
        ' Update DOCPROPERTY and DOCVARIABLE fields.
        For Each field In fields
            field.Update()
        Next

        document.Save("UpdatedPropertiesAndVariables.%OutputFileType%")

    End Sub
End Module

See also

Create Fields in Word documents using C# and VB.NET

Create Fields in Word documents using C# and VB.NET

Next steps

GemBox.Document is a .NET component that enables you to read, write, edit, convert, and print document files from your .NET applications using one simple API. How about testing it today?

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Published: December 13, 2018 | Modified: May 18, 2023 | Author: Josip Kremenic