We are using ExecutewithRegions with several tables.  One of the Tables has no rows and when the Document is produced it displays the TableStart/TableEnd tags when I would like them to be hidden.

How can I hide TableStart and TableEnd Tags when there are no rows in the DataTable?

Thank you.

I've created a document that contains this:

«TableStart:MyTable»

«MyField»

«TableEnd:MyTable»

And executed this code:

[Test]

public void TestEmptyTable()

{

Document doc = TestUtil.Open(@"MailMerge\TestEmptyTable.doc");

DataTable table = new DataTable("MyTable");

table.Columns.Add("MyField");

doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(table);

TestUtil.Save(doc, @"MailMerge\TestEmptyTable Out.doc");

Assert.AreEqual("\x000c", doc.GetText());

}

Basically MailMerge deletes TableStart and TableEnd tags and everything in between them if the table does not have any rows and everyting is used properly.

 

---

Roman Korchagin
Aspose.Words Team Leader
Aspose Auckland Team

Our situation is a little more involved that your test:

We use a DataSet, not a DataTable for the merge because our document has both regions that grow and ones that do not.

Our DataSet contains two tables -dtMain and dtRegion. dtRegion handles the GrowRegions of the document.

So in our document we have

«TableStart:Main» «MyMainMergeFields» «TableEnd:Main»

«TableStart:Region» «MyRegionMergeFields» «TableEnd:Region»

dtMain will always have one row. dtRegion may not contain any rows.

We also save the document to a memory stream.

So our code goes something like:

doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(DataSetWith2Tables);

MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();

doc.Save(stream, SaveFormat.FormatDocument);

If the growregion table, dtRegion of our dataset contains no rows, the merge fails  at doc.Save(stream, SaveFormat.FormatDocument) with the common "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" error.

I have tried merging with only one datatable from our dataset - the dtMain using:

doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(dtMain) and I also tried doc.MailMerge.Execute(dtMain)

In either case, the merge executes but still leaves behind the TableStart and TableEnd tags.

I want to try and hide or delete the tags myself but cannot seem to find the syntax to do that.

I have tried DocumentBuilder.MoveToMergeField(FieldName) and DocumentBuilder does not recognize TableStart as valid mergefields.

Can you show me how to delete or hide these tags?

Thanks

Please attach your document because it all works fine for me.

If you use MailMerge.Execute then you don't need TableStart and TableEnd merge fields in the document. In fact this form of mail merge does not use merge regions and does not touch those fields. Maybe you are getting these field left out because you use this normal mail merge.

It does not matter how many tables you have in your data set. As long as your Table.Name matches the name of the table in TableStart and TableEnd fields, then there will be a match between the merge region and table found and the mail merge will execute and remove the fields from the final document.

I've modified my document:

«TableStart:TableA»«FieldA»«TableEnd:TableA»

«TableStart:TableB»«FieldB»«TableEnd:TableB»

I've modified my code:

[Test]

public void TestEmptyTable()

{

Document doc = TestUtil.Open(@"MailMerge\TestEmptyTable.doc");

DataSet ds = new DataSet();

DataTable tableA = new DataTable("TableA");

tableA.Columns.Add("FieldA");

tableA.Rows.Add(new object[] {"aaa"});

ds.Tables.Add(tableA);

DataTable tableB = new DataTable("TableB");

tableB.Columns.Add("FieldB");

ds.Tables.Add(tableB);

doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(ds);

//Customer complained saving to memory stream throws. Does not throw for me.

MemoryStream s = new MemoryStream();

doc.Save(s, SaveFormat.FormatDocument);

TestUtil.Save(doc, @"MailMerge\TestEmptyTable Out.doc");

Assert.AreEqual("aaa\x000c", doc.GetText());

}

---

Roman Korchagin
Aspose.Words Team Leader
Aspose Auckland Team

Hi all,

I am facing up an issue right now similar to that one : http://www.aspose.com/community/forums/36104/when-using-executewithregions-can-you-hide-tablestart-tableend-tags-when-there-are-no-rows-in-the-ta/showthread.aspx#36104
 
I have a word template document with fews MailRegions and for each of these MailRegions, nested Regions.

My Aspose Version is 9.1.0.0 (File Version), 2010,5,14,0 (Product Version).

Here is a part of my template

 

«TableStart:MainParentField»

MyTiTLE

«TableStart:FirstChildLevel»

«LibelleTypeProduit»
	Qty	%	Price
«LibelleArticle»	Qty	%	Price
«TableStart:SecondChildLevel» 1. «UnitLabel»	«Quantity»	«Percent»	«PriceHT»«TableEnd:SecondChildLevel»
TOTAL HT (TOTAL TTC)	«TotalHT» («TotalTTC» )

 

«TableEnd:FirstChildLevel»

«TableEnd:MainParentField»

I can have more than one SecondChildLevel (more than one FirstChildLevel too).

Here is how I create a document from this template :

Dim doc As Aspose.Words.Document = New Aspose.Words.Document(Doctemplate)
doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(dataSource)
doc.Save(outputFileName, saveFormat) 'Format is WordDocument

dataSource is a DataSet.

Do You have any idea of how I can hide MainParentField when no data (rows) is returned ?

I tried to use an empty datasource, but, it does not work.

I tried also to check my dataset (getXml() methods), and I got that : <NewDataSet />

I also tried that :
<NewDataSet>
<MainParentField>
  <FictiveFieldUseNoWhere />
</MaintParentField>
</NewDataSet>

but not working too..

Any idea ?

Thanks

Hi

 

Thanks for your request. I think in this case you can try using RemoveEmptyRegions class provided by Adam in this thread:

http://www.aspose.com/community/forums/permalink/241691/241795/showthread.aspx#241795

 

Hope this helps.

 

Also we will consider adding an option like RemoveEmptyParagraphs, but for regions. Your request has been linked to the appropriate issue. You will be notified as soon as it is supported.

 

Best regards,

---

Andrey Noskov
Developer/Technical Support
Aspose Auckland Team

Hi Andrey!

Thank you for your answer. When I tried to access your link, I got a denied access :(. I am logged in!

Where could i find this class ? Which namespace ?

that's ok, I could find it!

Hi

 

Sorry it is private thread. Please see the attached RemoveEmptyRegions class.

 

// Open the template document

Document doc = new Document(@"in.doc");

 

// Merge data

doc.MailMerge.ExecuteWithRegions(Dataset);

 

// Remove any remaining unused regions from the document

doc.Accept(new RemoveEmptyRegions());

 

Best regards,

---

Andrey Noskov
Developer/Technical Support
Aspose Auckland Team

Hi again Andrey,

I am working using VB .NET.

I tried to convert the class as below and it is not working :( (it seems running without stopping).

Public Class RemoveEmptyRegion
        Inherits DocumentVisitor

        Private CurrentTable As Table

        Private StartCell As Cell
        Private EndCell As Cell
        Private ParentRow As Row

        Private Const StartRegion As String = "tablestart"
        Private Const EndRegion As String = "tableend"

        Private Depth As Integer = 0
        Private IsInsideTable As Boolean = False
        Private IsEndOfRegion As Boolean = False

        Public Overrides Function VisitFieldStart(ByVal fieldStart As Aspose.Words.Fields.FieldStart) As VisitorAction

            If (GetFieldCode(fieldStart).ToLower().Contains(StartRegion)) Then

                Depth = Depth + 1
                If (IsInsideTable) Then
                    StartCell = CType(fieldStart.ParentParagraph.ParentNode, Cell)
                    ParentRow = StartCell.ParentRow
                End If

                fieldStart.Remove()

            ElseIf (GetFieldCode(fieldStart).ToLower().Contains(EndRegion)) Then

                IsEndOfRegion = True

                If (IsInsideTable) Then
                    EndCell = CType(fieldStart.ParentParagraph.ParentNode, Cell)
                End If

                fieldStart.Remove()

                Depth = Depth - 1
                Else
                    If (Depth > 0) Then
                        fieldStart.Remove()
                    End If
            End If

            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitFieldSeparator(ByVal fieldSeparator As Aspose.Words.Fields.FieldSeparator) As VisitorAction

            If (Depth > 0 Or IsEndOfRegion) Then
                fieldSeparator.Remove()
            End If
            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitFieldEnd(ByVal fieldEnd As Aspose.Words.Fields.FieldEnd) As VisitorAction

            If (Depth > 0 And IsInsideTable And Not IsEndOfRegion) Then

                Dim CurrentCell As Cell = CType(fieldEnd.ParentParagraph.ParentNode, Cell)
                fieldEnd.Remove()

                Dim cells As ArrayList = IsColumnEmpty(ParentRow.ParentTable, ParentRow.Cells.IndexOf(CurrentCell))

                If cells IsNot Nothing Then
                    For Each cell As Cell In cells
                        cell.Remove()
                    Next
                End If

            ElseIf IsEndOfRegion Then

                If (fieldEnd.PreviousPreOrder(fieldEnd.Document) IsNot Nothing) Then

                    Dim prevNode As Node = fieldEnd.PreviousPreOrder(fieldEnd.Document)

                    If (prevNode.NodeType = NodeType.Run) Then

                        Dim run As Run = CType(prevNode, Run)
                        Dim paragraphText As String = run.ParentParagraph.ToTxt().Trim()

                        If (String.IsNullOrEmpty(paragraphText)) Then
                            run.ParentParagraph.Remove()
                        End If
                    End If
                End If

                fieldEnd.Remove()

                If (IsInsideTable And IsEndOfRegion) Then

                    Dim cells As ArrayList = IsColumnEmpty(ParentRow.ParentTable, ParentRow.Cells.IndexOf(StartCell))

                    If (cells IsNot Nothing) Then

                        For Each cell As Cell In cells
                            cell.Remove()
                        Next
                    End If

                    cells = IsColumnEmpty(ParentRow.ParentTable, ParentRow.Cells.IndexOf(EndCell))

                    If cells IsNot Nothing Then
                        For Each cell As Cell In cells

                            cell.Remove()
                        Next
                    End If

                    Dim isRowEmpty As Boolean = True

                    For Each cell As Cell In ParentRow.Cells
                        For Each p As Paragraph In cell.Paragraphs

                            If (p.HasChildNodes) Then
                                isRowEmpty = False
                            End If
                        Next
                    Next

                    If isRowEmpty Then
                        ParentRow.Remove()
                    End If
                End If
                IsEndOfRegion = False

            ElseIf Depth > 0 Then
                fieldEnd.Remove()
            End If

            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitRun(ByVal run As Run) As VisitorAction

            If (Depth > 0 Or IsEndOfRegion) Then
                run.Remove()
            End If

            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitTableStart(ByVal table As Table) As VisitorAction

            If (Depth > 0) Then
                table.Remove()
            Else
                IsInsideTable = True
                CurrentTable = table
            End If

            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitTableEnd(ByVal table As Table) As VisitorAction

            IsInsideTable = False
            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Public Overrides Function VisitParagraphEnd(ByVal paragraph As Paragraph) As VisitorAction

            If (Depth > 0 Or IsEndOfRegion) Then
                If (Not paragraph.HasChildNodes) Then
                    paragraph.Remove()
                End If
            End If

            Return VisitorAction.Continue

        End Function

        Private Shared Function IsColumnEmpty(ByVal table As Table, ByVal ColumnId As Integer) As ArrayList

            Dim isColumnEmptyValue As Boolean = True
            Dim nodes As ArrayList = New ArrayList()

            For Each row As Row In table
                Dim CurrentCell As Cell = row.Cells(ColumnId)

                If (CurrentCell IsNot Nothing) Then
                    nodes.Add(CurrentCell)
                    For Each p As Paragraph In CurrentCell.Paragraphs
                        If (p.HasChildNodes) Then
                            isColumnEmptyValue = False
                        End If
                    Next
                End If
            Next

            If Not isColumnEmptyValue Then
                Return Nothing
            Else
                Return nodes
            End If

        End Function

        ''' <summary>
        ''' Not Sure For This Bloc ....
        ''' </summary>
        ''' <param name="fieldStart"></param>
        ''' <returns></returns>
        ''' <remarks></remarks>
        Private Shared Function GetFieldCode(ByVal fieldStart As Aspose.Words.Fields.FieldStart) As String

            Dim builder As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()

            Dim node As Node = fieldStart

            While Not node.Equals(node.NextPreOrder(node.Document))
                If node IsNot Nothing And node.NodeType <> NodeType.FieldSeparator And node.NodeType <> NodeType.FieldEnd Then
                    ' Use text only of Run nodes to avoid duplication.
                    If (node.NodeType = NodeType.Run) Then
                        builder.Append(node.GetText())
                    End If
                End If
            End While

            'For node As Node = CType(fieldStart, Node) To node.NextPreOrder(node.Document)

            '    If node IsNot Nothing And node.NodeType <> NodeType.FieldSeparator And node.NodeType <> NodeType.FieldEnd Then
            '        ' Use text only of Run nodes to avoid duplication.
            '    If (node.NodeType == NodeType.Run) Then
            '            builder.Append(node.GetText())
            '        End If
            '    End If

            'Next

            Return builder.ToString()
        End Function

    End Class

Hi

 

Thanks for your inquiry. Please see the attached file.

If you need more assistance, I will be glad to help you.

 

Best regards,

---

Andrey Noskov
Developer/Technical Support
Aspose Auckland Team

Hi Andrey!

I tried, and it works! Thanks You so much! (You have now both C# and Vb version).

Is it possible to mark as resolved this issue ?

David

Hi David,

We will mark this issue as resolved sometime in the future when we implement this behaviour automatically within the actual ExecuteWithRegions function. In the mean time it's great that this manual implementation is working well for you.

If you have any further inquires, please feel free to ask.

Thanks,

---

Adam Skelton
Programming Writer
Aspose Auckland Team

The issues you have found earlier (filed as 17666) have been fixed in this update.     

---

Alexey Noskov
Developer/Technical Support
Aspose Auckland Team