#PowerPlatformTip 106: 'Word & Quick Parts'

TL;DR: Store a Word template in a SharePoint library and insert the library’s columns as Quick Parts > Document Property fields. A standard flow creates a copy of the template with Create file and fills the columns with Update file properties. Word shows the column values in those fields, so you get a filled document without the premium Populate a Microsoft Word template action.

💡 Challenge

You want offers, confirmations or letters generated from SharePoint data. The obvious action, Word Online (Business) Populate a Microsoft Word template, is premium. For a few fields per document that’s a license you don’t want to buy.

✅ Solution

Let SharePoint do the filling. Columns of a document library are available in Word as document properties. If you place them in the template with Quick Parts, every copy of the template shows the values of its own library columns. The flow only has to create a copy of the file and set the columns, all with standard SharePoint actions.

🔧 How It’s Done

1. Create the columns in the library.

🔸 In the document library, add the columns you need in the document, for example CustomerName (single line of text), OfferDate (date) and Amount (number).

2. Build the template in Word desktop.

🔸 Create a Word document in that library and open it in the Word desktop app.

🔸 Place the cursor where the value belongs and select Insert > Quick Parts > Document Property. The library columns appear in the list next to the standard properties. Insert CustomerName, OfferDate and Amount where you need them.

🔸 Save the file, for example as Template_Offer.docx.

3. Copy the template in the flow.

🔸 Start the flow from your data, for example When an item is created on an Offers list.

🔸 Add SharePoint Get file content for Template_Offer.docx.

🔸 Add SharePoint Create file in a folder of the same library, so the new file has the same columns: File Name for example Offer_@{triggerOutputs()?['body/ID']}.docx, File Content = the File Content output of Get file content. (Copy file would keep the template’s name, it has no file name parameter.)

4. Fill the columns.

🔸 Add SharePoint Update file properties with Id = the ItemId output of Create file, and map CustomerName, OfferDate and Amount to the list item’s values.

5. Open the result.

🔸 Open the new document in Word. The Quick Parts fields show the values of the file’s columns.

🎉 Result

Every new list item produces its own Word document with the customer name, date and amount in place, built with standard SharePoint actions only.

🌟 Key Advantages

🔸 No premium action: Get file content, Create file and Update file properties are standard.

🔸 Data stays visible in SharePoint: the values are real library columns, so you can filter, sort and search the generated documents.

🔸 Template edits without the flow: layout changes happen in Word; the flow doesn’t change.

⚠️ Good to Know

🔸 Quick Parts document properties are inserted in the Word desktop app. Do the template work there.

🔸 Each field holds one value. For tables with a variable number of rows, use the ZIP/XML approach from the related tip below or the premium Word template action.

🎥 Video Tutorial

🛠️ FAQ

1. Can I use other data sources besides SharePoint?

The data can come from anywhere a flow can read, such as Dataverse, Excel or SQL. The document itself has to live in a SharePoint library, because the Quick Parts fields show that library’s columns.

2. Do I need a premium Power Automate license for this?

No. The flow uses SharePoint actions only. Premium is only needed for the Word Online (Business) action Populate a Microsoft Word template.

3. What happens if the data changes after the document is generated?

Run Update file properties again with the new values. The document shows the updated column values the next time it is opened.

🔗 Related Tips

🔸 Fill and Sign a Word Document with Power Apps and Power Automate - a ZIP/XML-based alternative when Quick Parts fields aren’t flexible enough.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 92: ‘Free PDF Tools in PowerAutomate’ - convert or process the finished Word document as a PDF afterward.

🔸 #PowerPlatformTip 94: ‘Extract Text from DOCX’ - the reverse direction: read text back out of a generated Word document.