com.aspose.words

Interface IMailMergeDataSource

public interface IMailMergeDataSource

Implement this interface to allow mail merge from a custom data source, such as a list of objects. Master-detail data is also supported.

Remarks:

When a data source is created, it should be initialized to point to BOF (before the first record). The Aspose.Words mail merge engine will invoke moveNext() to advance to next record and then invoke M:Aspose.Words.MailMerging.IMailMergeDataSource.GetValue(System.String,System.Object@) for every merge field it encounters in the document or the current mail merge region.

Examples:

Shows how to execute a mail merge with a data source in the form of a custom object.

 
 public void customDataSource() throws Exception {
     // Create a destination document for the mail merge
     Document doc = new Document();
     DocumentBuilder builder = new DocumentBuilder(doc);
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD FullName ");
     builder.insertParagraph();
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD Address ");

     // Create some data that we will use in the mail merge
     CustomerList customers = new CustomerList();
     customers.add(new Customer("Thomas Hardy", "120 Hanover Sq., London"));
     customers.add(new Customer("Paolo Accorti", "Via Monte Bianco 34, Torino"));

     // To be able to mail merge from your own data source, it must be wrapped
     // into an object that implements the IMailMergeDataSource interface
     CustomerMailMergeDataSource customersDataSource = new CustomerMailMergeDataSource(customers);

     // Now you can pass your data source into Aspose.Words
     doc.getMailMerge().execute(customersDataSource);

     doc.save(getArtifactsDir() + "MailMergeCustom.CustomDataSource.docx");
 }

 // An example of a "data entity" class in your application.
 public class Customer {
     public Customer(final String aFullName, final String anAddress) {
         mFullName = aFullName;
         mAddress = anAddress;
     }

     public String getFullName() {
         return mFullName;
     }

     public void setFullName(final String value) {
         mFullName = value;
     }

     public String getAddress() {
         return mAddress;
     }

     public void setAddress(final String value) {
         mAddress = value;
     }

     private String mFullName;
     private String mAddress;
 }

 // An example of a typed collection that contains your "data" objects.
 public class CustomerList extends ArrayList {
     public Customer get(final int index) {
         return (Customer) super.get(index);
     }

     public void set(final int index, final Customer value) {
         super.set(index, value);
     }
 }

 // A custom mail merge data source that you implement to allow Aspose.Words
 // to mail merge data from your Customer objects into Microsoft Word documents.
 public class CustomerMailMergeDataSource implements IMailMergeDataSource {
     public CustomerMailMergeDataSource(final CustomerList customers) {
         mCustomers = customers;

         // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
         mRecordIndex = -1;
     }

     // The name of the data source. Used by Aspose.Words only when executing mail merge with repeatable regions.
     public String getTableName() {
         return "Customer";
     }

     // Aspose.Words calls this method to get a value for every data field.
     public boolean getValue(final String fieldName, final Ref<Object> fieldValue) throws Exception {
         if (fieldName.equals("FullName")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getFullName());
             return true;
         } else if (fieldName.equals("Address")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getAddress());
             return true;
         } else {
             // A field with this name was not found,
             // return false to the Aspose.Words mail merge engine
             fieldValue.set(null);
             return false;
         }
     }

     // A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
     public boolean moveNext() {
         if (!isEof()) mRecordIndex++;

         return (!isEof());
     }

     public IMailMergeDataSource getChildDataSource(final String tableName) {
         return null;
     }

     private boolean isEof() {
         return (mRecordIndex >= mCustomers.size());
     }

     private final CustomerList mCustomers;
     private int mRecordIndex;
 }
 
 

See Also:

MailMerge

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
IMailMergeDataSource	getChildDataSource(java.lang.String tableName) The Aspose.Words mail merge engine invokes this method when it encounters a beginning of a nested mail merge region.
java.lang.String	getTableName() Returns the name of the data source.
boolean	getValue(java.lang.String fieldName, Ref fieldValue)
boolean	moveNext() Advances to the next record in the data source.

Method Detail

getTableName

java.lang.String getTableName()
                       throws java.lang.Exception

Returns the name of the data source.

Remarks:

If you are implementing IMailMergeDataSource, return the name of the data source from this property.

Aspose.Words uses this name to match against the mail merge region name specified in the template document. The comparison between the data source name and the mail merge region name is not case sensitive.

Examples:

Shows how to execute a mail merge with a data source in the form of a custom object.

 
 public void customDataSource() throws Exception {
     // Create a destination document for the mail merge
     Document doc = new Document();
     DocumentBuilder builder = new DocumentBuilder(doc);
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD FullName ");
     builder.insertParagraph();
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD Address ");

     // Create some data that we will use in the mail merge
     CustomerList customers = new CustomerList();
     customers.add(new Customer("Thomas Hardy", "120 Hanover Sq., London"));
     customers.add(new Customer("Paolo Accorti", "Via Monte Bianco 34, Torino"));

     // To be able to mail merge from your own data source, it must be wrapped
     // into an object that implements the IMailMergeDataSource interface
     CustomerMailMergeDataSource customersDataSource = new CustomerMailMergeDataSource(customers);

     // Now you can pass your data source into Aspose.Words
     doc.getMailMerge().execute(customersDataSource);

     doc.save(getArtifactsDir() + "MailMergeCustom.CustomDataSource.docx");
 }

 // An example of a "data entity" class in your application.
 public class Customer {
     public Customer(final String aFullName, final String anAddress) {
         mFullName = aFullName;
         mAddress = anAddress;
     }

     public String getFullName() {
         return mFullName;
     }

     public void setFullName(final String value) {
         mFullName = value;
     }

     public String getAddress() {
         return mAddress;
     }

     public void setAddress(final String value) {
         mAddress = value;
     }

     private String mFullName;
     private String mAddress;
 }

 // An example of a typed collection that contains your "data" objects.
 public class CustomerList extends ArrayList {
     public Customer get(final int index) {
         return (Customer) super.get(index);
     }

     public void set(final int index, final Customer value) {
         super.set(index, value);
     }
 }

 // A custom mail merge data source that you implement to allow Aspose.Words
 // to mail merge data from your Customer objects into Microsoft Word documents.
 public class CustomerMailMergeDataSource implements IMailMergeDataSource {
     public CustomerMailMergeDataSource(final CustomerList customers) {
         mCustomers = customers;

         // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
         mRecordIndex = -1;
     }

     // The name of the data source. Used by Aspose.Words only when executing mail merge with repeatable regions.
     public String getTableName() {
         return "Customer";
     }

     // Aspose.Words calls this method to get a value for every data field.
     public boolean getValue(final String fieldName, final Ref<Object> fieldValue) throws Exception {
         if (fieldName.equals("FullName")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getFullName());
             return true;
         } else if (fieldName.equals("Address")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getAddress());
             return true;
         } else {
             // A field with this name was not found,
             // return false to the Aspose.Words mail merge engine
             fieldValue.set(null);
             return false;
         }
     }

     // A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
     public boolean moveNext() {
         if (!isEof()) mRecordIndex++;

         return (!isEof());
     }

     public IMailMergeDataSource getChildDataSource(final String tableName) {
         return null;
     }

     private boolean isEof() {
         return (mRecordIndex >= mCustomers.size());
     }

     private final CustomerList mCustomers;
     private int mRecordIndex;
 }
 
 

Returns:

The name of the data source. Empty string if the data source has no name.

Throws:

java.lang.Exception

moveNext

boolean moveNext()
          throws java.lang.Exception

Advances to the next record in the data source.

Examples:

Shows how to execute a mail merge with a data source in the form of a custom object.

 
 public void customDataSource() throws Exception {
     // Create a destination document for the mail merge
     Document doc = new Document();
     DocumentBuilder builder = new DocumentBuilder(doc);
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD FullName ");
     builder.insertParagraph();
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD Address ");

     // Create some data that we will use in the mail merge
     CustomerList customers = new CustomerList();
     customers.add(new Customer("Thomas Hardy", "120 Hanover Sq., London"));
     customers.add(new Customer("Paolo Accorti", "Via Monte Bianco 34, Torino"));

     // To be able to mail merge from your own data source, it must be wrapped
     // into an object that implements the IMailMergeDataSource interface
     CustomerMailMergeDataSource customersDataSource = new CustomerMailMergeDataSource(customers);

     // Now you can pass your data source into Aspose.Words
     doc.getMailMerge().execute(customersDataSource);

     doc.save(getArtifactsDir() + "MailMergeCustom.CustomDataSource.docx");
 }

 // An example of a "data entity" class in your application.
 public class Customer {
     public Customer(final String aFullName, final String anAddress) {
         mFullName = aFullName;
         mAddress = anAddress;
     }

     public String getFullName() {
         return mFullName;
     }

     public void setFullName(final String value) {
         mFullName = value;
     }

     public String getAddress() {
         return mAddress;
     }

     public void setAddress(final String value) {
         mAddress = value;
     }

     private String mFullName;
     private String mAddress;
 }

 // An example of a typed collection that contains your "data" objects.
 public class CustomerList extends ArrayList {
     public Customer get(final int index) {
         return (Customer) super.get(index);
     }

     public void set(final int index, final Customer value) {
         super.set(index, value);
     }
 }

 // A custom mail merge data source that you implement to allow Aspose.Words
 // to mail merge data from your Customer objects into Microsoft Word documents.
 public class CustomerMailMergeDataSource implements IMailMergeDataSource {
     public CustomerMailMergeDataSource(final CustomerList customers) {
         mCustomers = customers;

         // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
         mRecordIndex = -1;
     }

     // The name of the data source. Used by Aspose.Words only when executing mail merge with repeatable regions.
     public String getTableName() {
         return "Customer";
     }

     // Aspose.Words calls this method to get a value for every data field.
     public boolean getValue(final String fieldName, final Ref<Object> fieldValue) throws Exception {
         if (fieldName.equals("FullName")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getFullName());
             return true;
         } else if (fieldName.equals("Address")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getAddress());
             return true;
         } else {
             // A field with this name was not found,
             // return false to the Aspose.Words mail merge engine
             fieldValue.set(null);
             return false;
         }
     }

     // A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
     public boolean moveNext() {
         if (!isEof()) mRecordIndex++;

         return (!isEof());
     }

     public IMailMergeDataSource getChildDataSource(final String tableName) {
         return null;
     }

     private boolean isEof() {
         return (mRecordIndex >= mCustomers.size());
     }

     private final CustomerList mCustomers;
     private int mRecordIndex;
 }
 
 

Returns:

true if moved to next record successfully; false if reached end of the data source.

Throws:

java.lang.Exception

getValue

boolean getValue(java.lang.String fieldName,
                 Ref fieldValue)
          throws java.lang.Exception

Throws:

java.lang.Exception

getChildDataSource

IMailMergeDataSource getChildDataSource(java.lang.String tableName)
                                 throws java.lang.Exception

The Aspose.Words mail merge engine invokes this method when it encounters a beginning of a nested mail merge region.

Remarks:

When the Aspose.Words mail merge engines populates a mail merge region with data and encounters the beginning of a nested mail merge region in the form of MERGEFIELD TableStart:TableName, it invokes getChildDataSource(java.lang.String) on the current data source object. Your implementation needs to return a new data source object that will provide access to the child records of the current parent record. Aspose.Words will use the returned data source to populate the nested mail merge region.

Below are the rules that the implementation of getChildDataSource(java.lang.String) must follow.

If the table that is represented by this data source object has a related child (detail) table with the specified name, then your implementation needs to return a new IMailMergeDataSource object that will provide access to the child records of the current record. An example of this is Orders / OrderDetails relationship. Let's assume that the current IMailMergeDataSource object represents the Orders table and it has a current order record. Next, Aspose.Words encounters "MERGEFIELD TableStart:OrderDetails" in the document and invokes getChildDataSource(java.lang.String). You need to create and return a IMailMergeDataSource object that will allow Aspose.Words to access the OrderDetails record for the current order.

If this data source object does not have a relation to the table with the specified name, then you need to return a IMailMergeDataSource object that will provide access to all records of the specified table.

If a table with the specified name does not exist, your implementation should return null.

Examples:

Shows how to execute a mail merge with a data source in the form of a custom object.

 
 public void customDataSource() throws Exception {
     // Create a destination document for the mail merge
     Document doc = new Document();
     DocumentBuilder builder = new DocumentBuilder(doc);
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD FullName ");
     builder.insertParagraph();
     builder.insertField(" MERGEFIELD Address ");

     // Create some data that we will use in the mail merge
     CustomerList customers = new CustomerList();
     customers.add(new Customer("Thomas Hardy", "120 Hanover Sq., London"));
     customers.add(new Customer("Paolo Accorti", "Via Monte Bianco 34, Torino"));

     // To be able to mail merge from your own data source, it must be wrapped
     // into an object that implements the IMailMergeDataSource interface
     CustomerMailMergeDataSource customersDataSource = new CustomerMailMergeDataSource(customers);

     // Now you can pass your data source into Aspose.Words
     doc.getMailMerge().execute(customersDataSource);

     doc.save(getArtifactsDir() + "MailMergeCustom.CustomDataSource.docx");
 }

 // An example of a "data entity" class in your application.
 public class Customer {
     public Customer(final String aFullName, final String anAddress) {
         mFullName = aFullName;
         mAddress = anAddress;
     }

     public String getFullName() {
         return mFullName;
     }

     public void setFullName(final String value) {
         mFullName = value;
     }

     public String getAddress() {
         return mAddress;
     }

     public void setAddress(final String value) {
         mAddress = value;
     }

     private String mFullName;
     private String mAddress;
 }

 // An example of a typed collection that contains your "data" objects.
 public class CustomerList extends ArrayList {
     public Customer get(final int index) {
         return (Customer) super.get(index);
     }

     public void set(final int index, final Customer value) {
         super.set(index, value);
     }
 }

 // A custom mail merge data source that you implement to allow Aspose.Words
 // to mail merge data from your Customer objects into Microsoft Word documents.
 public class CustomerMailMergeDataSource implements IMailMergeDataSource {
     public CustomerMailMergeDataSource(final CustomerList customers) {
         mCustomers = customers;

         // When the data source is initialized, it must be positioned before the first record.
         mRecordIndex = -1;
     }

     // The name of the data source. Used by Aspose.Words only when executing mail merge with repeatable regions.
     public String getTableName() {
         return "Customer";
     }

     // Aspose.Words calls this method to get a value for every data field.
     public boolean getValue(final String fieldName, final Ref<Object> fieldValue) throws Exception {
         if (fieldName.equals("FullName")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getFullName());
             return true;
         } else if (fieldName.equals("Address")) {
             fieldValue.set(mCustomers.get(mRecordIndex).getAddress());
             return true;
         } else {
             // A field with this name was not found,
             // return false to the Aspose.Words mail merge engine
             fieldValue.set(null);
             return false;
         }
     }

     // A standard implementation for moving to a next record in a collection.
     public boolean moveNext() {
         if (!isEof()) mRecordIndex++;

         return (!isEof());
     }

     public IMailMergeDataSource getChildDataSource(final String tableName) {
         return null;
     }

     private boolean isEof() {
         return (mRecordIndex >= mCustomers.size());
     }

     private final CustomerList mCustomers;
     private int mRecordIndex;
 }
 
 

Parameters:

tableName - The name of the mail merge region as specified in the template document. Case-insensitive.

Returns:

A data source object that will provide access to the data records of the specified table.

Throws:

java.lang.Exception