Customize Field Properties

Aspose.Words provides the ability to programmatically interact with various field properties. In this article, we will look at a couple of examples so that you understand the basic principle of working with field properties. You can see the full list of properties for each field type in the corresponding class.

Field Property Update

Sometimes users need to change the value of a field property. For example, update the AuthorName property of the AUTHOR field or change the FieldName property of the MERGEFIELD field.

The following code example shows how to rename merge fields in a Word document:

Field Display Result

Aspose.Words provides a property to obtain the field’s result for fields that do not have a field separator node. We call this “fake result” or display result; MS Word displays it in the document by calculating the field’s value on the fly, but there is no such value in the document model.

The following code example shows the usage of DisplayResult property:

---

FAQ

1. Q: How can I rename a MERGEFIELD in a Word document using Aspose.Words for Java?
   A: Load the document, iterate through its fields, locate FieldMergeField instances, and call setFieldName("NewName") on each field you wish to rename. After updating, save the document.

2. Q: How do I obtain the result of a field that has no field separator (the “fake” result) in Java?
   A: Use the Field.getDisplayResult() property. This returns the value that Word would display for the field even when the field does not contain a separate result node.

3. Q: How can I change the author name of an AUTHOR field programmatically?
   A: Cast the field to FieldAuthor and call setAuthorName("New Author"). The change is reflected when the document is saved or when the field is updated.

4. Q: Is it possible to modify other field‑specific properties such as date or numeric formats?
   A: Yes. Each field type exposes its own set of properties (e.g., FieldDate.setDateTimeFormat, FieldFormula.setFormula). Adjust these properties as needed and then update the field to apply the new formatting.