Fields vs Content Controls

The latest release of Autotag, version 9, has switched to a new way of tagging in Office. The tags are still the same, but instead of using a 'Field', we have switched to 'Content Controls'. The main reason we did this is because with a content control you can insert charts and images directly into the control, so for certain tags instead of seeing text, you get to see the actual object that will be in the final report.

Another benefit of switching to content controls was that with fields it was possible to delete some of the field text, the nickname of the tag, which in turn would delete some of the tag causing errors on report generation.

I have worked extensively with both types of tags, and personally I like the field tags more. Here are a few reasons why.

1. If you are in a content control it can be hard to exit and get back to editing regular text. I often find myself clicking outside of the content control, only to have the tag builder window open because word counts my clicks as a double click on the content control. This is because to exit a content control you have to click the mouse into an area that has regular text, if you click off to the side of the page it will not exit. The only surefire way around this is to use the arrow keys.

2. No intuitive way to delete tags. If you try to delete the content control it just deletes the nickname text, to fully delete the tag you have to hit the delete button.

3. Fields are easier to copy paste since they are easier to select.

4. Content controls are harder to select and move around

In a perfect world I would have chart tags, and import tags, still be content controls, but out tags and all the other ones should be fields.

Any feedback that you have going either way would be greatly appreciated because the company will be looking at the comments of this post to make a decision as to whether or not we will change the way tags work in autotag. But if you like the way they are now, then also please tell us that in the comments section.

Thanks. 

Comments

[En-jay]

With content controls, the only issue above that I've run into is number 1 (difficulty to move out of a text content control). While it is annoying, I'm gradually becoming used to using the arrow keys to exit them.

2: Using the "Delete Tag" option in the AutoTag menu will cleanly remove the entire tag. Slight inconvenience.

3 & 4: I actually find the content controls easier to select and move. Since the entire control highlights when you mouse over it, I know exactly what I'm about to select. Once selected you can click and drag the control to move it, just like normal text in Office.

In my opinion, I think that the advantage of being easier to select and move the tags outweighs the disadvantage of getting out of a content control back into the document.

[meowkins]

I am fine with either one, but I do want to see charts as charts, and pictures as pictures, instead of as text tags, so for those, I think stick with content controls.

[Ryan Fligg]

I tend to agree with you on the content controls being more difficult to manipulate in the template. I also think that the ability to see chart and import tags rendered in the report is a great advantage, especially when you demand fine control of the layout of your template.

I would also like to bring to your attention a strategy I often use, the convert tags option. You can work in fields mode if it is more efficient for you but when you are finished, you can then convert to content controls and this will allow you to manipulate layout. The only improvement I would like to see is a main button in the GUI to make the switch and convert with one click.

Again as referenced above, not an ideal solution but it is what has been working for me.

[Chris Clements]

I have similar issues with the content control tag type, although, I can't get autotag to "unfocus" from the current tag even with the arrow keys. This is different than the tag simply being highlighted on the screen however. If I open a new document and on line 1 create an tag, I can get it to unhighlight by using the arrow keys, however, autotag still maintains "focus" on the tag (can still see the contents in the select bar, and can't create a new tag). To get around this, I have to arrow over until the tag is not highlighted, insert a space, insert the new tag with the space between the new and old tag, and then delete the space.