Structured Document Tags (SDT)

Content controls are Word-native form fields. GoWord writes w:sdt → w:sdtPr → w:sdtContent (CT_SdtBlock / CT_SdtRun). Unique w:id values start at 100000000. Checkboxes use the Word 2010 w14:checkbox markup; the document root declares mc:Ignorable="w14 wps".

AddSDT* methods live on element.Container, so they are available on a section, a table cell, a header, and a text run.

AddSDTText / AddSDTDropdown / AddSDTDate / AddSDTCheckbox

Signature

func (c *Container) AddSDTText(alias, tag, placeholderText string) *SDT
func (c *Container) AddSDTDropdown(alias, tag string, options map[string]string) *SDT
func (c *Container) AddSDTDate(alias, tag, dateFormat string) *SDT
func (c *Container) AddSDTCheckbox(alias, tag string, checked bool) *SDT
func (c *Container) AddSDT(typ string) *SDT

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
alias	string	w:alias — the title Word shows in the control chrome.
tag	string	w:tag — a stable machine name for later fill / extract.
placeholderText	string	Visible w:sdtContent text. Non-empty values also set w:showingPlcHdr.
options	map[string]string	Drop-down value → displayText. Keys are written in sorted order as w:listItem.
dateFormat	string	w:dateFormat. Empty becomes yyyy-MM-dd. Locale is en-US.
checked	bool	w14:checked. Content glyph is ☒ when true, ☐ when false (MS Gothic).
typ	string	PHPWord-style kind for AddSDT: plainText, dropDownList, date, checkbox, comboBox, richText.

Chainable setters

Method	Effect
SetAlias / SetTag	Rewrite w:alias / w:tag.
SetValue	Replace visible content and clear the placeholder flag.
SetListItems	Replace drop-down / combo-box entries.
SetDateFormat	Rewrite w:dateFormat.
SetChecked	Toggle w14:checkbox and the content glyph.

Notes

• Node order is w:sdt → w:sdtPr → w:sdtContent. Do not hand-edit the XML.
• Empty drop-down maps still write a control whose placeholder is Choose an item.
• AddSDT("plainText") remains the PHPWord alias; prefer the typed helpers in new code.
• A Developer tab is not required to fill the controls in Microsoft Word.

Complete example

Save as main.go and run go run .. Microsoft Word opens form.docx without a repair dialog.

package main

import (
	"log"

	"github.com/yunkeweb/go-word"
	"github.com/yunkeweb/go-word/style"
)

func main() {
	doc := word.New()
	doc.SetDefaultFontName("Calibri")
	sec := doc.AddSection()
	sec.AddTitle("Employee onboarding form", 1)

	sec.AddSDTText("Full name", "full_name", "Enter full name")
	sec.AddSDTDropdown("Department", "department", map[string]string{
		"eng": "Engineering",
		"fin": "Finance",
		"hr":  "Human Resources",
	})
	sec.AddSDTDate("Start date", "start_date", "yyyy-MM-dd")

	p := sec.AddTextRun()
	p.AddText("I have read the handbook  ")
	p.AddSDTCheckbox("Handbook", "handbook_ack", false)

	tbl := sec.AddTable(style.Table{Width: 9000})
	hdr := tbl.AddRow()
	hdr.AddCell(3000, style.Cell{Shading: style.Shading{Fill: "1F4E79"}}).
		AddText("Field", style.Font{Bold: true, Color: "FFFFFF"})
	hdr.AddCell(6000, style.Cell{Shading: style.Shading{Fill: "1F4E79"}}).
		AddText("Value", style.Font{Bold: true, Color: "FFFFFF"})
	row := tbl.AddRow()
	row.AddCell(3000).AddText("Manager")
	row.AddCell(6000).AddSDTText("Manager", "manager", "Enter manager name")

	if err := doc.Save("form.docx"); err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}
}

What Word shows

Four content controls: a plain-text box, a three-item drop-down, a date picker, and an unchecked checkbox next to the handbook sentence. The manager field sits inside a table cell (w:sdt as a child of w:tc). A longer sample lives in examples/v0.9.0_sdt. Combine with document protection when the rest of the page must stay locked.