Fill template placeholders

The following example shows you how to generate a document from a template by replacing placeholders with data. This is the most common reporting scenario - load a template that contains placeholders such as {name}, {date} and {amount}, then replace them with values from your application or database. The Replace method accepts lists of placeholders and values so all of them are replaced in a single pass.

C# example - Replace multiple placeholders

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Independentsoft.Office.Word;

namespace Sample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Load a template document containing placeholders like {name}, {date}, {amount}
            WordDocument doc = new WordDocument("c:\\test\\template.docx");

            List<string> placeholders = new List<string>();
            placeholders.Add("{name}");
            placeholders.Add("{date}");
            placeholders.Add("{amount}");

            List<string> values = new List<string>();
            values.Add("John Smith");
            values.Add("2026-06-30");
            values.Add("$1,250.00");

            // Replace all placeholders in a single pass
            doc.Replace(placeholders, values);

            doc.Save("c:\\test\\output.docx", true);

            Console.WriteLine("Template filled successfully!");
        }
    }
}

C# example - Replace a single placeholder

using System;
using Independentsoft.Office.Word;

namespace Sample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            WordDocument doc = new WordDocument("c:\\test\\template.docx");

            doc.Replace("{name}", "John Smith");

            doc.Save("c:\\test\\output.docx", true);
        }
    }
}

VB example - Replace multiple placeholders

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports Independentsoft.Office.Word

Module Module1
    Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)

        ' Load a template document containing placeholders like {name}, {date}, {amount}
        Dim doc As WordDocument = New WordDocument("c:\test\template.docx")

        Dim placeholders As List(Of String) = New List(Of String)()
        placeholders.Add("{name}")
        placeholders.Add("{date}")
        placeholders.Add("{amount}")

        Dim values As List(Of String) = New List(Of String)()
        values.Add("John Smith")
        values.Add("2026-06-30")
        values.Add("$1,250.00")

        ' Replace all placeholders in a single pass
        doc.Replace(placeholders, values)

        doc.Save("c:\test\output.docx", True)

        Console.WriteLine("Template filled successfully!")

    End Sub
End Module

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