Find Field Properties

Purpose Summary. What is this page about?

This page demonstrates how to retrieve a field’s code, result, and merge‑field names using Aspose.Words for Python via .NET.

A field that is inserted using DocumentBuilder.insert_field returns a Field object. This is a faсade class that provides useful methods to quickly find some properties of a field.

The following code example shows how to find the field code and field result:

Note if you are only looking for the names of merge fields in a document, then you can instead use the built-in get_field_names method.

The following code example shows how to get names of all merge fields in a document:

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FAQ

1. Q: How can I obtain the field code of a field inserted with DocumentBuilder?
   A: After inserting the field, the InsertField method returns a Field object. Call field.get_field_code() to retrieve the full field code string, which includes the field name and its switches.

2. Q: How do I read the result (displayed text) of a field?
   A: Use the field.result property. It returns the evaluated result of the field as a string. For example, field_result = field.result.

3. Q: What is the easiest way to list all merge field names in a document?
   A: Use the static method MailMerge.get_field_names(document). It returns a list of strings containing the names of every merge field found in the supplied Document object.

4. Q: Can I differentiate between different field types (e.g., MERGEFIELD, REF, PAGE) programmatically?
   A: Yes. The field.type property returns a FieldType enumeration value. Compare it with members such as aw.fields.FieldType.FIELD_MERGE_FIELD, aw.fields.FieldType.FIELD_REF, etc., to identify the field type.

5. Q: How can I modify a field’s code after it has been created?
   A: Retrieve the field code with field.get_field_code(), edit the string as needed, and then assign the modified code back using field.set_field_code(modified_code). After updating, call field.update() to re‑evaluate the field.