Word W01: A review note with linked metadata

Create a one-page review note with consistent filenames, reusable styles and linked document properties. Learn which information updates automatically, which fields need a deliberate refresh and how to inspect the metadata of a native Word PDF export.

Watch the lesson

Watch the unlisted Word W01 lesson on YouTube · 15:38 · English. Use the CC control to turn the separate English captions on or off.

Download the English practice package

Download Word W01 English practice files — ZIP (236 KB)

The package contains eight files: the reusable DOTX, native model DOCX and PDF, English exercise, naming guide, further reading, README and full English licence. Extract the ZIP and try the exercise before comparing the model.

Validated environment: Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, Version 2610 (Build 20527.20112), English interface, 2 November 2026. Native checks covered mapped Title/Subject/Status controls, separate body/footer custom-field updates, save/reopen, unchanged master, style-template inheritance and the actual one-page PDF's Title, Author, Subject and Keywords.

English · Microsoft Word for Windows desktop · 30–45 minutes of practice

Create a one-page AEC review note whose repeated identifiers come from document properties. Use styles to control its appearance, preserve a reusable template and check the metadata in the exported PDF. This exercise uses fictional data and does not resolve an engineering discrepancy or approve a document for issue.

Before you start

You need licensed Word for Windows desktop and basic file/folder skills. Extract the practice package into a local folder. Software licensing is separate from the training-material licence. Word for the web does not provide the same desktop template workflow. Interface labels may vary by version. Do not upload confidential project data.

1 Create and name a working copy

Double-click BIMETI-WORD_REVIEW_TEMPLATE-EN-v06.dotx in File Explorer. Confirm that Word has created a new document, not opened the master for editing. If the master itself opens, close it without saving and ask your training support contact to check the file association.

Save the new document as DEMO-BIMETI-REVIEW_NOTE-001-EN-v06.docx. Hyphens separate naming containers; underscores join words inside a container. Read W01-NAMING_GUIDE-EN-v06.md for the two explicit naming patterns. There is no automatic filename-to-property parsing: compare the filename and DocumentID yourself.

2 Fill the central document record

Open File > Info > Properties > Advanced Properties. Use Summary and Custom, and the applicable properties shown under File > Info. Set the following values. The supplied template already contains fictional DEMO defaults, not empty boxes. Inspect and confirm them rather than assuming they are correct for another project.

Leave Hyperlink Base blank: this example needs no base for relative web links. Do not invent contact details, reviewers or dates just to fill empty boxes. Word maintains system dates and statistics. These are document-level values; do not change your global Office identity. BIMETI identifies the material publisher, not an invented employer for this project.

3 Display linked values and prove the connection

For predefined properties, use Insert > Quick Parts > Document Property, then Title, Subject or Status as appropriate. These property controls differ from ordinary text. Custom properties use Insert > Quick Parts > Field > DocProperty: select the exact property name. Do not expect custom Project or DocumentID to appear in the predefined Document Property gallery.

Use the existing property controls where supplied; do not insert duplicate labels on top of them. Use Title for the title paragraph and Subject for the Purpose text. If Purpose needs correction, change central Subject or its linked property control rather than typing a separate duplicate. Display Project, DocumentID and Version in the metadata area. Repeat DocumentID and Version in the footer. Keep the supplied concise copyright and safety footer.

On a disposable test copy, change central DocumentID from DEMO-BIMETI-REVIEW_NOTE-001 to DEMO-BIMETI-REVIEW_NOTE-002. Select the main document and press Ctrl+A, F9. Enter the footer separately and update its fields too. Both displays must show the new value. Restore DEMO-BIMETI-REVIEW_NOTE-001, update both locations and save. A main-body update alone does not prove that the footer refreshed. Do not type over a DocProperty result: change its source property. A displayed field result is not a promise of two-way editing.

When replacing control contents, select its text only, excluding the paragraph mark so the paragraph style is retained. Check a predefined property control separately: change the native Status control to Draft and inspect the corresponding central property. Restore For review through the property and inspect the visible control. Confirm both directions before relying on that behaviour. If a value remains stale, confirm its field/control type and source, update it explicitly and compare again.

4 Keep the content exact and format through styles

Use these three sections:

• Purpose: Coordinate drawing references
• Observations: Sheet A-101 refers to detail D-04, but the review index lists D-03.
• Action: Coordinator to verify the reference before issue.

D-04 and D-03 must remain different. Record the discrepancy; do not invent a resolution, deadline or named reviewer.

Apply Title, Heading 1 and Normal to the appropriate paragraphs. Inspect Purpose, Observations and Action in the Navigation pane. The supplied metadata, label and footer styles handle their own text. Do not repeatedly select paragraphs and change their font size manually.

On a separate practice copy, open Home > Styles, right-click Heading 1, and choose Modify. Make one modest spacing change, with Only in this document selected. All three section headings should change together. Keep automatic style updating off. Restore the intended layout before exporting the release document.

For a deliberate template update, first copy the master to BIMETI-WORD_REVIEW_TEMPLATE-EN-v06_style_demo.dotx. Intentionally open that separate DOTX using File > Open, modify the style, save and close. Now create a new document from that copied template and inspect the inherited style. Do not overwrite the approved master or modify Normal.dotm. Existing issued documents do not automatically acquire the new template styling.

5 Reopen and export a checked PDF

Update body and footer fields, save, close and reopen your DOCX. Confirm its title, identifiers, status and heading styles. Export from Word using its PDF Save As/Save a Copy or Export route. In Options, select Document properties and export without markup. Avoid a generic Print to PDF route for this metadata exercise.

Save DEMO-BIMETI-REVIEW_NOTE-001-EN-v06.pdf and open it. Inspect PDF properties and compare Title, Author, Subject and Keywords with the central record. Record a mismatch or blank rather than assuming success. Do not assume that Status, Company, Manager or every custom property transfers into PDF metadata. A visible value on the page does not prove an equivalent PDF property exists.

Acceptance checklist

• The original DOTX remains unchanged; the working DOCX and PDF use the documented naming pattern.
• Title, Project, DocumentID, Version and Status match the source record; both repeated identifiers pass the change-and-restore test.
• The three sections retain the exact facts above and use real styles.
• Modify Style affects all three headings; a separate updated template produces a new document with that style.
• DOCX reopens correctly; PDF has one readable A4 page, the original logo and concise English footer, with no clipping.
• The four PDF metadata values are inspected, not assumed. Preserve meaning if a viewer displays keyword separators differently.

If the document spills onto a second page, inspect page size, fonts and style spacing before shrinking text. If a field does not update, inspect its source property and update the correct document area. Do not mark the exercise passed while a discrepancy remains.

Useful metadata can improve identification and findability in a configured system. Search still depends on indexing, supported file types and permissions. This exercise does not change Windows indexing or SharePoint administration settings.

Read W01-FURTHER_READING-EN-v06.md for official guidance and LICENSE_EN.md for reuse terms. Training example; not an engineering approval.

Reuse and safety

Video: Creative Commons — Attribution (CC BY), as chosen by Edgaras Timinskas. Downloadable practice materials: CC BY-NC 4.0, with the separate internal employee-training permission described below. The video licence does not relicense the files, grant standalone logo rights or remove third-party rights.

Training example; not an engineering approval. No Microsoft endorsement is implied. The full English material licence is reproduced below.

Official further reading

Microsoft sources checked on 2 November 2026. These explain the workflow; documentation is not evidence that a particular file passed a native application test.

• View or change the properties for an Office file — standard/custom properties and Word's Info/Advanced Properties routes.
• Quick Parts — predefined Document Property versus Field insertion.
• Field codes: DocProperty field — property-based display and property-name selection.
• Insert, edit, and view fields in Word — field insertion, result/code display and separate body/header/footer updates.
• Customize or create new styles — Modify Style and document/future-template scope.
• Save a Word document as a template — deliberately open/edit/save a Windows Word template; DOTX format.
• Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office Desktop apps — PDF Options includes Document properties; this source does not promise every custom metadata value transfers.
• Search indexing in Windows — indexing scope, properties and content.
• Manage the search schema in SharePoint — metadata mappings and search limitations; advanced reference, not beginner configuration instruction.
• Update fields — field refresh and table caveats.

Search-indexing references are background reading only. Do not change system or tenant configuration for this exercise.