How to insert custom text bindings to accommodate complex use cases?

About this article

This article will explain how to insert custom text binding through smart fields so it can be utilized to populate the smart template. 

• How to insert custom text bindings with smart fields to accommodate complex use cases? 
• Custom text binding smart field examples

Prerequisites

How to insert custom text bindings with smart fields to accommodate complex use cases? 

Sometimes, when building a smart template, it might be required to create complex text bindings in order to achieve specific use cases. The Custom text binding smart field can be utilized to create custom text bindings for the smart template. This smart field requires a good understanding of the binding syntax as well as conditions, functions, and operators.  Through this smart field, one can inject text. Creating a Custom text binding smart field can be achieved following these steps: 

1. In the Template Designer, navigate to the Template tab
2. Select the location where the smart field should be inserted
   In PowerPoint: select the desired shape. To avoid any conflicts between the shape and the text formatting in PowerPoint, we recommend to only adjust the formatting of the shape containing the smart fields. The text formatting will automatically be inherited from the shape.
   In Word: Place your cursor at the desired location in the template, or select the text that should be replaced by the smart field. If no text is selected when adding the smart field, the display name will be inserted and used as placeholder text.
3. Click Add smart field
   This step doesn't apply if you are adding the very first smart field in the template 
4. Click Custom text binding
5. Optionally edit the Display Name
   The display name will be displayed in the Template tab once the smart field has been added.
6. Insert the desired Binding
   The desired binding syntax should be added to this field. 
7. Optionally, perform additional actions on the smart fields.  
   • Visbility: Edit the visibility of the smart field based on specific conditions. 
   • Allow updates: Allow the smart field to be updated after its generation when edited by the user through the document content updater. This option will not be visible if the document content updater is not enabled on the smart template. 
   • Remove and keep content: this will remove the content control will be removed upon document generation and will effectively disable the document content updater on the smart field. 
8. Click Add to template
   
   • The smart field will be injected into the template and will be displayed in the Template tab

Custom text binding smart field examples

Inserting the user name, job position, and email address using " | " as a separator in a document in Word

Create a Custom text binding smart field utilizing the StringJoin() function together with the user name, job position, and email address bindings:

{{StringJoin(" | ", UserProfile.Name, UserProfile.Title, UserProfile.Email)}}

Inserting the user name, job position, and email address using " | " as a separator in a shape of a presentation in PowerPoint

Create a Custom text binding smart field utilizing the StringJoin() function together with the user name, job position, and email address bindings:

{{StringJoin(" | ", UserProfile.Name, UserProfile.Title, UserProfile.Email)}}

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