Created on 2010-11-24 06:17:00

APx custom reports use Microsoft Word. Microsoft has discontinued the XML tags feature, which affects APx custom reports created with APx500 version 2.5. This article is intended to clarify issues surrounding the changes to Microsoft products.

What happened to XML tags? They've been replaced by Content Controls.
Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 provide features called Content Controls, which utilize embedded tags to automatically insert content into a Word document. APx500 now uses Content Controls to insert text, measurement result values, and images (such as graph results, logos, etc.) into a custom Word report layout.

History:
APx500 v 2.5
APx500 version 2.5 used embedded XML tags to insert text and images into a Microsoft Word report, largely to maintain compatibility with Word 2003 (which did not support Content Controls). However, Microsoft has discontinued support for embedded XML tags.

APx500 v 2.6 and later
With APx500 version 2.6, we have changed the MS Word Layout feature to support Content Controls for Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. APx500 no longer supports XML tags for layout creation or editing, with the consequence that MS Word 2003 is no longer supported as a layout creation or editing application.

Conversion of report layouts created with APx500 version 2.5
When opening a project with an attached layout, APx500 version 2.6 and later will convert a layout that contains XML tags (created using APx500 version 2.5), into an equivalent layout that uses Content Controls. The original layout document (containing the XML tags) will be saved under a new filename. For example, Myfile.docx will be renamed Myfile(OLD-XML).docx.

When adding an existing layout to an open project using the Report: Edit Properties dialog, APx500 version 2.6 and later will convert a layout that contains XML tags (created using APx500 version 2.5), into an equivalent layout that uses Content Controls.

Warning!
Do NOT use Microsoft Word 2010, 2007, or 2003 (with the current compatibility pack) to open or view an APx500 MS Word report layout that contains embedded XML tags (created with APx500 version 2.5).

The embedded XML tags will be stripped from the document! The content data will remain in place, but the embedded tags will be gone.

The only way to preserve the tags for further editing is to bring the document into APx500 version 2.6 or later, either as an attachment to a project file, or by adding the document to a project using the Report > Edit Properties dialog, as described above. APx500 will convert the tags before opening Microsoft Word, as described above.