Automatically update template from multiple documents

[peggy.ker]

I have created a template of questions. Once a week I send out this
template to about 25 people. The 25 people send it back to me with
their answers and the document is sent back with the same name I sent
it to them. So now I have 25 documents all the same name but different
information, I need to get the information from these documents into my
template. Is there a way of doing this automatically instead of
copying and pasting the text from each document into the template.
Maybe another Microsoft product can handle it better? Thank you for
your responses. Peggy

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

I have created a template of questions. Once a week I send out this

template to about 25 people. The 25 people send it back to me with
their answers and the document is sent back with the same name I sent
it to them. So now I have 25 documents all the same name but different
information, I need to get the information from these documents into my
template. Is there a way of doing this automatically instead of
copying and pasting the text from each document into the template.
Maybe another Microsoft product can handle it better?

Well, a form on the Internet would probably be good, in that you'd get
back a separate set of identifiable information for each person (in the
form of an email, for example).

The only other possibility, as far as MS products go, would be InfoPath,
but unless this is within your company and everyone gets InfoPath, it's
unlikely everyone would have it.

I suppose you have no control (or knowledge) about which version of Word
everyone uses?

have you set this up as a form, or is it a "plain" Word document?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
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[peggy.ker]

Thank you for your response Cindy. If I was to use a form on the
Internet and once submitted to email it back to me, I would still need
to paste all the comments into the main template, which is basically
what I am doing now. Infopath I am not sure of the benefits of this
program, I will have a look at that one. Every one is on the Windows
XP operating system and using Office Professional 2003 software. At
the moment the information is a plain word document. Peggy

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

If I was to use a form on the

Internet and once submitted to email it back to me, I would still need
to paste all the comments into the main template, which is basically
what I am doing now. Infopath I am not sure of the benefits of this
program, I will have a look at that one. Every one is on the Windows
XP operating system and using Office Professional 2003 software. At
the moment the information is a plain word document.

Well, InfoPath might definitely be a possibility, then.

But in any case, in order to make your end of things more efficient, you'll
probably need a macro solution of some sort. The starting point for working
this out would be how the files you're receiving back should be organized.
One advantage for the Internet form would be that a solution in Outlook
could work directly with the content of the emails, and not have to deal
with attachments (which is why I suggested that).

InfoPath would deliver XML, meaning no files would have to be opened in an
application.

Another possibility would be to save your template and the documents you
send as XML. Here, again, the data in the documents could be picked up
without needing to open them in Word.

Well, a form on the Internet would probably be good, in that you'd get
back a separate set of identifiable information for each person (in the
form of an email, for example).

The only other possibility, as far as MS products go, would be InfoPath,
but unless this is within your company and everyone gets InfoPath, it's
unlikely everyone would have it.

I suppose you have no control (or knowledge) about which version of Word
everyone uses?

have you set this up as a form, or is it a "plain" Word document?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail