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J
JM_1252980812-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
January 30, 2026
Solved

Text disappears when creating document from word template

  • January 30, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 694 views

Version: Windchill 12.0

 

Use Case: Creating a word document from a word template


Description:

We have a word document template in our "templates" in windchill. In some fields in the footer (and sometimes the header), the text that is in the template is removed/deleted after the creation of the new document.

 

There is both some text, followed by a docprotery.

Best answer by JM_12529808

Should anyone have the same problem, here is the solution I found on the mentioned Issue. 

The cell containing the text that got deleted, also included an old bookmark reference, possibly from inserting a Windchill Attribute (not using the docproperty). This reference can not be seen in plain text normally - I found it in the XML file. 

Here are two methods to find them

  1. In word: File > Options > Advanced > Show document content and check "Show bookmarks
    The bookmark shows up as a small grey bracket. 
  2. Rename the .docx to .zip and open the zip folder.
    1. Search through all files for "bookmark", and delete the ones associated with Windchill. 

3 replies

Fadel
Fadel23-Emerald I
23-Emerald I
January 30, 2026

Do you see any error in  logs ?

Buiꓘa
    J
    JM_1252980812-AmethystAuthor
    12-Amethyst
    January 30, 2026

    Hi Fadel

     

    Do you know which particular log to look in?

    Fadel
    Fadel23-Emerald I
    23-Emerald I
    January 30, 2026

    The regular Method and background method server  

    Buiꓘa
      avillanueva
      23-Emerald I
      avillanueva23-Emerald I
      23-Emerald I
      January 30, 2026

      This very strange. From what I know, creating a document from a template should just create a document object in Windchill and copy in the template Word file. No manipulation of the file should occur. I would take Windchill out of the equation. Perhaps there is something wrong with the Word document. Try some offline tests. Are these footers in any way tied to Windchill attributes? Desktop Integration could be the cause. Disable that in preferences and just use browser download. See if that makes a difference and we can narrow scope. DTI will push attributes into Word file so there is some touching of the file on download.

      J
      JM_1252980812-AmethystAuthor
      12-Amethyst
      January 30, 2026

      If I just download the file, it is straight up a copy of the template - without the attributes / docproperties updated. And it keeps the part in question. 

      There is a docproperty right after the "Resp.:", but that should be kept. 

      I tried adding an extra row to the footer, to trick it into deleting that cell, but it did not work.

      J
      JM_1252980812-AmethystAuthorAnswer
      12-Amethyst
      February 2, 2026

      Should anyone have the same problem, here is the solution I found on the mentioned Issue. 

      The cell containing the text that got deleted, also included an old bookmark reference, possibly from inserting a Windchill Attribute (not using the docproperty). This reference can not be seen in plain text normally - I found it in the XML file. 

      Here are two methods to find them

      1. In word: File > Options > Advanced > Show document content and check "Show bookmarks
        The bookmark shows up as a small grey bracket. 
      2. Rename the .docx to .zip and open the zip folder.
        1. Search through all files for "bookmark", and delete the ones associated with Windchill. 
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