Find item in Word document

4 Nov 202424 minutes to read

Just like you can search for a text in a Word document, you can also search for an item (like image, content control, textbox, and so on). The .NET Word (DocIO) library supports to find an item in Word document based on its properties. With this functionality, you can:

• Find the first item based on one property.
• Find the first item based on multiple properties
• Find all the items based on one property.
• Find all the items based on multiple properties.

Find item by property

Using FindItemByProperty API, find the first item in the Word document that has the specified property name and value.

NOTE

Refer to the appropriate tabs in the code snippets section: C# [Cross-platform] for ASP.NET Core, Blazor, Xamarin, UWP, .NET MAUI, and WinUI; C# [Windows-specific] for WinForms and WPF; VB.NET [Windows-specific] for VB.NET applications.

The following code example illustrates how to find the first item based on one property.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as a Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Input.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load the file stream into a Word document.
    using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        //Find picture by alternative text.
        WPicture picture = document.FindItemByProperty(EntityType.Picture, "AlternativeText", "Logo") as WPicture;
        //Resize the picture.  
        if (picture != null)
        {
            picture.Height = 75;
            picture.Width = 100;
        }
        //Save a  Word document to the MemoryStream.
        MemoryStream outputStream = new MemoryStream();
        document.Save(outputStream, FormatType.Docx);
        //Closes the Word document
        document.Close();
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Find picture by alternative text.
    WPicture picture = document.FindItemByProperty(EntityType.Picture, "AlternativeText", "Logo") as WPicture;
    //Resize the picture.  
    if (picture != null)
    {
        picture.Height = 75;
        picture.Width = 100;
    }
    //Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using document As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Find picture by alternative text.
    Dim picture As WPicture = TryCast(document.FindItemByProperty(EntityType.Picture, "AlternativeText", "Logo"), WPicture)
    'Resize the picture.  
    If picture IsNot Nothing Then
        picture.Height = 75
        picture.Width = 100
    End If
    'Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx)
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find item by properties

Using FindItemByProperties API, find the first item in the Word document based on multiple property names and their corresponding values.

The following code example illustrates how to find the first item in Word document based on multiple property names and their corresponding values.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as a Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Input.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load the file stream into a Word document.
    using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        string[] propertyNames = { "ChartType", "ChartTitle" };
        string[] propertyValues = { OfficeChartType.Pie.ToString(), "Sales" };
        //Find the chart by ChartType and ChartTitle.
        WChart chart = document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Chart, propertyNames, propertyValues) as WChart;
        //Rename the ChartTitle.
        if (chart != null)
            chart.ChartTitle = "Sales Analysis";

        propertyNames =  new string[] { "Title","Rows.Count" };
        propertyValues =  new string[]{ "SupplierDetails","6" };
        //Find the table by Title and Rows Count
        WTable table = document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Table, propertyNames,propertyValues) as WTable;
        //Remove the table in document.
        if (table != null)
            table.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(table);
        //Save a  Word document to the MemoryStream.
        MemoryStream outputStream = new MemoryStream();
        document.Save(outputStream, FormatType.Docx);
        //Closes the Word document
        document.Close();
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    string[] propertyNames = { "ChartType", "ChartTitle" };
    string[] propertyValues = { OfficeChartType.Pie.ToString(), "Sales" };
    //Find the chart by ChartType and ChartTitle.
    WChart chart = document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Chart, propertyNames, propertyValues) as WChart;
    //Rename the ChartTitle.
    if (chart != null)
        chart.ChartTitle = "Sales Analysis";

    propertyNames =  new string[] { "Title","Rows.Count" };
    propertyValues =  new string[]{ "SupplierDetails","6" };
    //Find the table by Title and Rows Count
    WTable table = document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Table, propertyNames,propertyValues) as WTable;
    //Remove the table in document.
    if (table != null)
        table.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(table);
    //Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using document As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    Dim propertyNames = {"ChartType", "ChartTitle"}
    Dim propertyValues As String() = {OfficeChartType.Pie.ToString(), "Sales"}
    'Find the chart by ChartType and ChartTitle.
    Dim chart As WChart = TryCast(document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Chart, propertyNames, propertyValues), WChart)
    'Rename the ChartTitle.
    If chart IsNot Nothing Then chart.ChartTitle = "Sales Analysis"

    propertyNames = New String() {"Title", "Rows.Count"}
    propertyValues = New String() {"SupplierDetails", "6"}
    'Find the table by Title and Rows Count
    Dim table As WTable = TryCast(document.FindItemByProperties(EntityType.Table, propertyNames, propertyValues), WTable)
    'Remove the table in document.
    If table IsNot Nothing Then table.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(table)
    'Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx)
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find all items by property

Using FindAllItemsByProperty API, find all the items in the Word document that has the specified property name and value.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the items in Word document based on one property.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as a Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Input.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load the file stream into a Word document.
    using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        //Find all footnote and endnote by EntityType in Word document.
        List<Entity> footNotes = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Footnote, null, null);
        //Remove the footnotes and endnotes.
        for (int i = 0; i < footNotes.Count; i++)
        {
            WFootnote footnote = footNotes[i] as WFootnote;
            footnote.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(footnote);
        }
        //Find all fields by FieldType.
        List<Entity> fields = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Field, "FieldType",FieldType.FieldHyperlink.ToString());
        //Iterate the hyperlink field and change URL.
        for (int i = 0; i < fields.Count; i++)
        {
            //Creates hyperlink instance from field to manipulate the hyperlink.
            Hyperlink hyperlink = new Hyperlink(fields[i] as WField);
            //Modifies the Uri of the hyperlink.
            if (hyperlink.Type == HyperlinkType.WebLink && hyperlink.TextToDisplay == "HTML")
                hyperlink.Uri = "http://www.w3schools.com/";
        }
        //Save a  Word document to the MemoryStream.
        MemoryStream outputStream = new MemoryStream();
        document.Save(outputStream, FormatType.Docx);
        //Closes the Word document
        document.Close();
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    //Find all footnote and endnote by EntityType in Word document.
    List<Entity> footNotes = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Footnote, null, null);
    //Remove the footnotes and endnotes.
    for (int i = 0; i < footNotes.Count; i++)
    {
        WFootnote footnote = footNotes[i] as WFootnote;
        footnote.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(footnote);
    }
    //Find all fields by FieldType.
    List<Entity> fields = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Field, "FieldType",FieldType.FieldHyperlink.ToString());
    //Iterate the hyperlink field and change URL.
    for (int i = 0; i < fields.Count; i++)
    {
        //Creates hyperlink instance from field to manipulate the hyperlink.
        Hyperlink hyperlink = new Hyperlink(fields[i] as WField);
        //Modifies the Uri of the hyperlink.
        if (hyperlink.Type == HyperlinkType.WebLink && hyperlink.TextToDisplay == "HTML")
            hyperlink.Uri = "http://www.w3schools.com/";
    }
    //Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using document As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    'Find all footnote and endnote by EntityType in Word document.
    Dim footNotes As List(Of Entity) = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Footnote, Nothing, Nothing)
    'Remove the footnotes and endnotes.
    For i = 0 To footNotes.Count - 1
        Dim footnote As WFootnote = TryCast(footNotes(i), WFootnote)
        footnote.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(footnote)
    Next
    'Find all fields by FieldType.
    Dim fields As List(Of Entity) = document.FindAllItemsByProperty(EntityType.Field, "FieldType", FieldType.FieldHyperlink.ToString())
    'Iterate the hyperlink field and change URL.
    For i = 0 To fields.Count - 1
        'Creates hyperlink instance from field to manipulate the hyperlink.
        Dim hyperlink As Hyperlink = New Hyperlink(TryCast(fields(i), WField))
        'Modifies the Uri of the hyperlink.
        If hyperlink.Type Is HyperlinkType.WebLink AndAlso hyperlink.TextToDisplay Is "HTML" Then hyperlink.Uri = "http://www.w3schools.com/"
    Next
    'Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx)
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

Find all items by properties

Using FindAllItemsByProperties API, find all the items in the Word document based on multiple property names and their corresponding values.

The following code example illustrates how to find all the items in Word document based on multiple property names and their corresponding values.

C# [Cross-platform]

//Open the file as a Stream.
using (FileStream docStream = new FileStream("Input.docx", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
    //Load the file stream into a Word document.
    using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument(docStream, FormatType.Docx))
    {
        string[] propertyNames = { "ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag" };
        string[] propertyValues = { "CompanyName", "CompanyName" };

        //Find all block content controls by Title and Tag. 
        List<Entity> blockContentControls = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.BlockContentControl,propertyNames,propertyValues);

        //Iterate the block content controls and remove the block content controls.
        for (int i = 0; i < blockContentControls.Count; i++)
        {
            BlockContentControl blockContentControl = blockContentControls[i] as BlockContentControl;
            blockContentControl.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(blockContentControl);
        }

        propertyNames = new string[] { "ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag" };
        propertyValues = new string[] { "Contact", "Contact" };

        //Find all the inline content controls by Title and Tag. 
        List<Entity> inlineContentControls = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.InlineContentControl,propertyNames,propertyValues);

        //Iterate the inline content controls and remove the inline content controls.
        for (int i = 0; i < inlineContentControls.Count; i++)
        {
            InlineContentControl inlineContentControl = inlineContentControls[i] as InlineContentControl;
            inlineContentControl.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(inlineContentControl);
        }

        propertyNames = new string[] { "CharacterFormat.Bold", "CharacterFormat.Italic" };
        propertyValues = new string[] { true.ToString(), true.ToString() };

        //Find all the bold and italic text.
        List<Entity> textRanges = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.TextRange,propertyNames,propertyValues);

        //Iterate the textRanges and remove the bold and italic.
        for (int i = 0; i < textRanges.Count; i++)
        {
            WTextRange textRange = textRanges[i] as WTextRange;
            textRange.CharacterFormat.Bold = false;
            textRange.CharacterFormat.Italic= false;
        }
        //Save a  Word document to the MemoryStream.
        MemoryStream outputStream = new MemoryStream();
        document.Save(outputStream, FormatType.Docx);
        //Closes the Word document
        document.Close();
    }
}

C# [Windows-specific]

//Load an existing Word document.
using (WordDocument document = new WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx))
{
    string[] propertyNames = { "ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag" };
    string[] propertyValues = { "CompanyName", "CompanyName" };

    //Find all block content controls by Title and Tag.
    List<Entity> blockContentControls = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.BlockContentControl,propertyNames,propertyValues);

    //Iterate the block content controls and remove the block content controls.
    for (int i = 0; i < blockContentControls.Count; i++)
    {
        BlockContentControl blockContentControl = blockContentControls[i] as BlockContentControl;
        blockContentControl.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(blockContentControl);
    }
    propertyNames = new string[] { "ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag" };
    propertyValues = new string[] { "Contact", "Contact" };

    //Find all the inline content controls by Title and Tag. 
    List<Entity> inlineContentControls = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.InlineContentControl,propertyNames,propertyValues);

    //Iterate the inline content controls and remove the inline content controls.
    for (int i = 0; i < inlineContentControls.Count; i++)
    {
        InlineContentControl inlineContentControl = inlineContentControls[i] as InlineContentControl;
        inlineContentControl.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(inlineContentControl);
    }

    propertyNames = new string[] { "CharacterFormat.Bold", "CharacterFormat.Italic" };
    propertyValues = new string[] { true.ToString(), true.ToString() };

    //Find all the bold and italic text.
    List<Entity> textRanges = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.TextRange,propertyNames,propertyValues);

    //Iterate the textRanges and remove the bold and italic.
    for (int i = 0; i < textRanges.Count; i++)
    {
        WTextRange textRange = textRanges[i] as WTextRange;
        textRange.CharacterFormat.Bold = false;
        textRange.CharacterFormat.Italic= false;
    }
    //Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx);
}

VB.NET [Windows-specific]

'Load an existing Word document.
Using document As WordDocument = New WordDocument("Input.docx", FormatType.Docx)
    Dim propertyNames = {"ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag"}
    Dim propertyValues = {"CompanyName", "CompanyName"}

    'Find all block content controls by Title and Tag. 
    Dim blockContentControls As List(Of Entity) = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.BlockContentControl, propertyNames, propertyValues)

    'Iterate the block content controls and remove the block content controls.
    For i = 0 To blockContentControls.Count - 1
        Dim blockContentControl As BlockContentControl = TryCast(blockContentControls(i), BlockContentControl)
        blockContentControl.OwnerTextBody.ChildEntities.Remove(blockContentControl)
    Next

    propertyNames = New String() {"ContentControlProperties.Title", "ContentControlProperties.Tag"}
    propertyValues = New String() {"Contact", "Contact"}

    'Find all inline content controls by Title and Tag. 
    Dim inlineContentControls As List(Of Entity) = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.InlineContentControl, propertyNames, propertyValues)

    'Iterate the inline content controls and remove the inline content controls.
    For i = 0 To inlineContentControls.Count - 1
        Dim inlineContentControl As InlineContentControl = TryCast(inlineContentControls(i), InlineContentControl)
        inlineContentControl.OwnerParagraph.ChildEntities.Remove(inlineContentControl)
    Next

    propertyNames = New String() {"CharacterFormat.Bold", "CharacterFormat.Italic"}
    propertyValues = New String() {True.ToString(), True.ToString()}

    'Find all the bold and italic text.
    Dim textRanges As List(Of Entity) = document.FindAllItemsByProperties(EntityType.TextRange, propertyNames, propertyValues)

    'Iterate the textRanges and remove the bold and italic.
    For i = 0 To textRanges.Count - 1
        Dim textRange As WTextRange = TryCast(textRanges(i), WTextRange)
        textRange.CharacterFormat.Bold = False
        textRange.CharacterFormat.Italic = False
    Next
    'Save a Word document.
    document.Save("Sample.docx", FormatType.Docx)
End Using

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

TIPS

Passing null for both the property names and property values in the above APIs, you can also find an item in a Word document without relying on any property.

See Also

• How to find and replace text in heading paragraphs in a Word document
• How to replace a logo with text and another image with different text in a Word document