In-Depth Exploration of WordprocessingML Fields

Return to the WordprocessingML Screen-Cast SeriesWordprocessingML fields are an important construct of Open XML markup. Hyperlinks, the TOC, dates, computed values, page references, and much more are represented by fields. You cannot reliably retrieve a list of all hyper-links in a document without understanding fields and their markup. You can retrieve a partial set of hyperlinks by iterating through external references, however, in some circumstances, a hyper-link is represented in the field markup only, and there is no external reference.

To date, there has not been much in the way of content that explains fields and how to work with them. In this post, I introduce the first video in a two-part series that explains how field markup works. After posting the two videos, I will post some utility code that makes it easier to work with fields. Finally, I will post some code that reliably retrieves all hyper-links in a document.