Hi, I'm using Word 2003 to edit XML (WordML) based Word documents.

I'ld like to add custom information. Hence, I've added a custom namespace to the document element:
and, e.g., added an attribute to an existing tag:
Unfortunately, when I save the document in Word, this attribute will get removed.
Comments will get removed, too, BTW, and apparently, it's not possible to add custom tags (Word will complain about unreadable tags).

I just need to find any type of structure where I can place some custom information that doesn't get removed by Word.

Any ideas?
Thanks

Have you associated a custom schema, detailing your extra elements and attributes, with the document?

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Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)

Thanks for the reply.

You probably mean associating a schema as described here [1].

However, I would not need to tag visible contents, but to add invisible "meta information" to the document and some of its elements.

I.e., the Word document gets exported from a content management system. After an (external) author has edited it, the file will be re-imported into the CMS - and needs to have the information to which CMS object it has been associated, originally.
The same with images that are included with the document. They need to be re-imported into the original images in the CMS.

Tagging like described in [1] would partly work. Still, there are two problems with that in my scenario:
+ I haven't found a way to make the tags invisible. - They would need to be invisible as the potential authors have absolutely no technical skills, and know nothing about XML, etc.
+ The tags surround the document elements, i.e., images. If an author would move a tagged image (without the surrounding tags), the document would become inconsistent.

I would rather like to add attributes (or child elements) to existing Word elements.

[1] http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/is...1/XMLFiles/#S4

OK, by recording macros I found out how to
a) make the markup invisible, and
b) add a custom schema to the Word application, programmatically.

So there would be a way.

Thanks!