Insert Content Controls into Word Document in Java
Tags: java, contentcontrols, worddocument
Published: 2019-10-31 14:21:55

---
title: Insert Content Controls into Word Document in Java
published: true
description: This article demonstrate how to add content controls to a Word document in java.
tags: java, content controls, word document
---

#Introduction 

Content controls are ideal for creating templates because content controls can help us fix the position of content, specify the kind of content (for example, a date, a picture, or text), and restrict or enable editing on content. In this article, I will demonstrate how to insert the following types of content controls into a Word document in Java.

1. Combo box
2. Check box
3. Text 
4. Picture
5. Date picker
6. Drop-down list

#Required library

[Free Spire.Doc for Java](https://www.e-iceblue.com/Introduce/free-doc-for-java.html)

Before using the below code, we need to download Free Spire.Doc for Java and then import the Spire.Doc.jar file into our project. For maven project, you can refer this [online tutorial](https://www.e-iceblue.com/Tutorials/Licensing/How-to-install-Spire.PDF-for-Java-from-Maven-Repository.html) to install Free Spire.Doc for Java from maven repository.
 
#Code example
```java
import com.spire.doc.*;
import com.spire.doc.documents.*;
import com.spire.doc.fields.*;

import java.util.Date;

public class ContentControls {
    public static void main(String[] args){
        //create a new Word document
        Document document = new Document();
        Section section = document.addSection();
        Paragraph paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        TextRange txtRange = paragraph.appendText("The following example shows how to add content controls in a Word document.");
        section.addParagraph();

        //add combo box content control
        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Combo Box Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        StructureDocumentTagInline sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setSDTType(SdtType.Combo_Box);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("ComboBox");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("ComboBox");
        SdtComboBox cb = new SdtComboBox();
        cb.getListItems().add(new SdtListItem("Item 1"));
        cb.getListItems().add(new SdtListItem("Item 2"));
        cb.getListItems().add(new SdtListItem("Item 3"));
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(cb);
        TextRange rt = new TextRange(document);
        rt.setText(cb.getListItems().get(0).getDisplayText());
        sd.getSDTContent().getChildObjects().add(rt);
        section.addParagraph();

        //add checkbox content control
        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Check Box Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setSDTType(SdtType.Check_Box);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("CheckBox");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("CheckBox");
        SdtCheckBox scb = new SdtCheckBox();
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(scb);
        rt = new TextRange(document);
        sd.getChildObjects().add(rt);
        scb.setChecked(true);
        section.addParagraph();

        //add text content control
        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Text Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setSDTType(SdtType.Text);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("Text");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("Text");
        SdtText text = new SdtText(true);
        text.isMultiline(true);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(text);
        rt = new TextRange(document);
        rt.setText("Text");
        sd.getSDTContent().getChildObjects().add(rt);
        section.addParagraph();

        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Picture Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(new SdtPicture());
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("Picture");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("Picture");
        DocPicture pic = new DocPicture(document);
        pic.setWidth(10f);
        pic.setHeight(10f);
        pic.loadImage("logo.png");
        sd.getSDTContent().getChildObjects().add(pic);
        section.addParagraph();

        //add date picker content control
        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Date Picker Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setSDTType(SdtType.Date_Picker);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("Date");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("Date");
        SdtDate date = new SdtDate();
        date.setCalendarType(CalendarType.Default);
        date.setDateFormat("yyyy.MM.dd");
        date.setFullDate(new Date());
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(date);
        rt = new TextRange(document);
        rt.setText("2018.12.25");
        sd.getSDTContent().getChildObjects().add(rt);
        section.addParagraph();

        //add drop-down list content control
        paragraph = section.addParagraph();
        txtRange = paragraph.appendText("Drop-Down List Content Control:  ");
        txtRange.getCharacterFormat().setItalic(true);
        sd = new StructureDocumentTagInline(document);
        paragraph.getChildObjects().add(sd);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setSDTType(SdtType.Drop_Down_List);
        sd.getSDTProperties().setAlias("DropDownList");
        sd.getSDTProperties().setTag("DropDownList");
        SdtDropDownList sddl = new SdtDropDownList();
        sddl.getListItems().add(new SdtListItem("Option 1"));
        sddl.getListItems().add(new SdtListItem("Option 2"));
        sd.getSDTProperties().setControlProperties(sddl);
        rt = new TextRange(document);
        rt.setText(sddl.getListItems().get(0).getDisplayText());
        sd.getSDTContent().getChildObjects().add(rt);

        //save and launch the file
        document.saveToFile("addContentControls.docx", FileFormat.Docx_2013);
    }
}
```
Output:
![Alt Text](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/ir3a2a6jbqmmv40ac9mk.png)