SharePoint Data Doc

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of the most frequently asked question about SharePoint Data Doc:


Q: When I try to install the Add In I get the following error: "Customized functionality in this application will not work because the certificate used to sign the deployment manifest for DataDoc is not trusted", what should I do?

A: This error invariably occurs if you try to install the application from a network share or directly from a web site. Please download the setup package of your choice to your local hard drive and then try to install again, this should solve your problem.

Solution from Jeremy: I was able to run the install by individually unblocking each file in the zip file (right clickà unblock).

A: An alternate way to solve the trust issue appears to be running the Setup.exe file from within the .zip file itself. So, do not extract the files, simply open the .zip file and then double click the Setup.exe file.


Q: I have downloaded and installed the Trial, now what do I do?

A: On the MS Word ribbon you should notice a new tab called SharePoint Data Doc. Click on this and then on the Data Doc Settings button. Enter the connection details required, Site URL, Domain (Optional), Username and Password and click Test connection. When the test is successful, click Save&Exit.

Next click the Add Data Sets button on the ribbon which will open the screen to allow you to connect to your SharePoint lists. Enter a Name for your new Data Set, something along the lines of "Contacts By Name", or "Contacts by ID" is usually good, where the by is the criteria field you have selected. Select a list from those shown (Clicking Download lists from server will query your SharePoint site for the available lists), then select a field to use as a criteria. Save the Data Set and you are ready to start adding SPDD bookmarks to your documents.


Q: Do both version work against Sharepoint 2007 and SharePoint 2010 sites?

A: Yes they do. You will need to have the correct version of SharePoint Data Doc installed for the version of MS Word that you are running but both versions can access SharePoint 2007 AND SharePoint 2010 site list data.


Q: WIll my connection work if I enter in my sites full URL including the default.aspx in the administration screen?

A: No. You need to remove the Default.aspx part of the URL string before it will work. The URL you enter must end with the last "/" character. This URL is used to access the WSS (Windows SharePoint Services) services in the _vti_bin directory of each site, so the URL stub you paste must match that location. If you are having trouble trying to figure out which is the correct folder, your administrator can easily tell you what the _vti_bin folder address is for your site.

For example: If your site URL is "http://www.SharePointDataDoc.com/Sites/Test/Default.aspx", the string you should enter in the connection settings would be "http://www.SharePointDataDoc.com/Sites/Test/"


Q: Why is there a "Domain" text box in the administration connection settings ?

A: Some SharePoint passwords are in the form "user@domain.com". In these instances, you can generally leave the Domain text box clear, as the Domain is already specified in the user name. On other occasions it will be necessary to enter the domain and user seperately. If you are having trouble with your connection, try entering the domain and user seperately.


Q: I am a developer of custom SharePoint solutions, is it possible to package SharePoint Data Doc with my solution?

A: Yes. It is very easy to package SPDD with a custom SharePoint solution. Purchase a licence for each end user and install on their machines. Gather clients standard documents and add bookmarks to create SPDD templates that are connected to your solutions SharePoint list data. Create your settings XML file containing WSS connection details and dataset details. Then roll out the XML file and the templates to each of your end users. Please contact us for more information reagarding custom integration possibilities or to arrange discounts for large numbers of end users.


Q: How do I create a template with SharePoint Data Doc.

A: Adding a SPDD bookmark to any document and saving it, makes it a template which can be used to batch create individualised copies of that document.


Q: How do I add SharePoint Data Doc Bookmarks to my active document?

A: Open the 'Add Boomark' screen, select a Data Set that you have created, which will list the available list columns. Place the cursor in your document where you want to place a SPDD bookmark, then double click on the field you want to add. The bookmark for that column is then placed in your document. You can add bookmarks for the same field anywhere in you document and as many times as you like.


Q: How do I add a table of SharePoint Data into my active document?

A: Click on the "Create Table" button on the SPDD ribbon. Select your Data Set that you wish to use and then Fetch some data using the query tool shown. The returned records are displayed in the list view to the top right of the form. Select the Rows of data that you wish to include in your table, hold down CTRL+Click or Shift+Click to select groups of rows and deselect others.

Now select the columns that you wish to add to your table, bearing in mind that there is a limit of 60 columns in a MS Word table (although you should never need that many columns in reality). When you have selected your columns then clicking the "Add Table" button will add the table to your active document with the data matching the details you have selected.


Q: How do I create a batch of individualised documents from my SharePoint data?

A: If you want to create multiple documents from your list data, use the "Generate Batch Documents" functionality on the SPDD ribbon. Get one a standard letter/memo/fax etc, place your bookmarks where you need to put variable data from SP, then save it.

In the Generate Batch Documents form, select that saved document as the template to use and then you can Fetch your data to useas the source for the documents. It will create a seperate document for each row of data that you select in the list of records returned and output them to the location you have specified.


Q: Can I use more than one SharePoint list to populate my documents with data?

A: Yes you can. Create a seperate dataset for each of the SharePoint lists that you want to use, Add bookmarks from each dataset to your document, then run a fetch for each dataset on the same document to merge the data from the different SharePoint lists.


Q: Can I use my standard documents that I currently use in my office with SharePoint Data Doc?

A: Yes you can. In fact the application has been designed to make this process as easy as possible. Simply highlight the text in each document that you want to come from your SharePoint site, save it and it is ready to be used as a SPDD template.


Q: I want all my users to use the datasets and security settings that I have, is this possible without re-creating on each machine?

A: Yes. You need simply create both your security/login settings and your datasets on one machine and then copy the XML settings file DDXMLStore.xml from your users Documents\DataDoc\. Then you can paste the file to each of your users machines Documents\DataDoc\ directory and they will have the same security sttings and datasets as you when they open the application.


Q: Can I use documents on a shared network as templates for SPDD?

A: Yes, it makes no difference where the documents are stored, the application works from the name of the bookmarks that have been added to each document. It then uses these names to match to the individual named datasets that have been created.


Q: Can I do Join queries in the query builder?

A: At the moment this functionality is not available. It is scheduled for a future update, so watch this space. In the meantime it is possible to run consecutive queries using different lists data against a single document, thus merging data from multiple list sources.


If you need any question answered please do not hesitate to contact us at : support@DCSoftwareSolutions.com