Merge pull request #472 from telerik/new-kb-remove-mergefields-retain-values-radwordsprocessing-e10b03c570574651b63ad551f5bab7a3

Added new kb article remove-mergefields-retain-values-radwordsprocessing

Author: dessyordanova

knowledge-base/images/mergeFields.gif

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+---
+title: How to Remove a MERGEFIELD While Replacing the Placeholders with Values in RadWordsProcessing
+description: Learn how to remove a MERGEFIELD from a document while replacing the placeholders with actual values, facilitating the MailMerge process in RadWordsProcessing.
+type: how-to
+page_title: How to Remove a MERGEFIELD WWhile Replacing the Placeholders with Values in RadWordsProcessing
+slug: remove-mergefields-retain-values-radwordsprocessing
+tags: wordsprocessing, document, processing, merge, field, mailmerge, remove 
+res_type: kb
+ticketid: 1667593
+---
+
+## Environment
+
+| Version | Product | Author | 
+| --- | --- | ---- | 
+| 2024.3.806| RadWordsProcessing |[Desislava Yordanova](https://www.telerik.com/blogs/author/desislava-yordanova)| 
+
+## Description
+When preparing a document for the [MailMerge]({%slug radwordsprocessing-editing-mail-merge%}) operation in RadWordsProcessing, it might be necessary to remove a [MERGEFIELD]({%slug radwordsprocessing-concepts-merge-field%}) without losing its inserted value. This process ensures that the document is clean and ready for MailMerge without encountering issues related to leftover `MERGEFIELD` .
+
+This KB article also answers the following questions:
+- How can I delete `MERGEFIELD` fields but keep their content in the document?
+- What is the correct approach to prepare a document for MailMerge in RadWordsProcessing?
+- Is there a way to clean up `MERGEFIELD` from a document without affecting its content?
+
+## Solution
+To remove a `MERGEFIELD` while retaining their values, you can use the `RadFlowDocumentEditor`'s `DeleteContent` method. This approach involves deleting the field codes but leaving the field values as plain text in the document. Additionally, the [Find and Replace]({%slug radwordsprocessing-editing-find-and-replace%}) functionality provides a straightforward way to handle any leftover text from the fields.
+
+Here is an example code snippet demonstrating how to accomplish this:
+
+```csharp
+using Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.Model.Editing;
+using Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.Model;
+using Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.Model.Fields;
+using Telerik.Windows.Documents.Flow.FormatProviders.Docx;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+
+RadFlowDocument document = new RadFlowDocument();
+RadFlowDocumentEditor editor = new RadFlowDocumentEditor(document);
+FieldInfo firstNameField = editor.InsertField("MERGEFIELD First_Name", "«first name»");
+FieldInfo lastNameField = editor.InsertField("MERGEFIELD Last_Name", "«last name»");
+
+//Get field characters of merged fields
+var fieldCharacters = document.EnumerateChildrenOfType<FieldCharacter>().Where(ch => ch.FieldInfo.Field is MergeField).ToList();
+
+//Get field infos of merged fields
+var fieldInfos = fieldCharacters.Select(fc => fc.FieldInfo).Distinct();
+
+//Iterate and delete merge fields
+foreach (var fieldInfo in fieldInfos)
+{
+    editor.DeleteContent(fieldInfo.Start, fieldInfo.Separator, true);
+    editor.DeleteContent(fieldInfo.End, fieldInfo.End, true);
+}
+
+//Replace the text that is left
+editor.ReplaceText("«first name»", "John ");
+editor.ReplaceText("«last name»", "Smith ");
+
+
+//Export document
+DocxFormatProvider provider = new DocxFormatProvider();
+string outputFilePath = "output.docx";
+File.Delete(outputFilePath);
+using (Stream output = File.OpenWrite(outputFilePath))
+{
+    provider.Export(document, output);
+}
+
+//Open document
+Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo() { FileName = outputFilePath, UseShellExecute = true });
+```
+
+This method ensures that the `MERGEFIELD ` is removed effectively, leaving only the value in the document.
+
+|Before|After|
+|----|----|
+|![Merge Fields Before](images/mergeFields.gif)|![Merge Fields After](images/replacedMergeFields.png)|
+
+## See Also
+
+- [Find and Replace Text and Style in RadWordsProcessing]({%slug radwordsprocessing-editing-find-and-replace%})
+- [RadFlowDocumentEditor Class Overview]({%slug radwordsprocessing-editing-radflowdocumenteditor%})
+- [FieldCharacter Class in RadWordsProcessing]({%slug radwordsprocessing-model-fieldcharacter%})

knowledge-base/images/replacedMergeFields.png

@@ -226,4 +226,5 @@ If you want to separate the items into several rows you need to close the group
  * [Inserting Images using Mail Merge]({%slug inserting-images-using-mail-merge-radwordsprocessing%})
  * [Populate a Table with Data using Nested Mail Merge Functionality]({%slug populate-table-data-mail-merge%})
  * [Generating a Word Document Template with Data Using MailMerge in RadWordsProcessing]({%slug generate-doc-template-and-populate-with-collection-data-mail-merge%})
+ * [How to Remove a MERGEFIELD While Replacing the Placeholders with Values in RadWordsProcessing]({%slug remove-mergefields-retain-values-radwordsprocessing%})
  * [Performing Nested MailMerge with Multiple Levels in RadWordsProcessing]({%slug nested-mailmerge-radwordsprocessing%})