RemovalHanlder will only remove a content control if it has a tag containing 'od' stuff, as shown in the following xsl:when
Using xml Syntax Highlighting
<xsl:when
test="$xpath and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:xpath=') or $repeat and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:repeat=') or $condition and contains(w:sdtPr/w:tag/@w:val, 'od:condition=')">
Parsed in 0.000 seconds, using
GeSHi 1.0.8.4
The SDT in the example you mention just uses plain old bindings, and doesn't have the 'od' (OpenDoPE) stuff:
Using xml Syntax Highlighting
<w:sdtPr>
<w:rPr>
<w:lang w:val="x-none"/>
</w:rPr>
<w:alias w:val="Data value: element"/>
<w:id w:val="-1309316605"/>
<w:dataBinding w:storeItemID="{5448916C-134B-45E6-B8FE-88CC1FFC17C3}" w:xpath="/myxml[1]/element1[1]" w:prefixMappings=""/>
<w:text w:multiLine="true"/>
</w:sdtPr>
Parsed in 0.001 seconds, using
GeSHi 1.0.8.4
and so it is retained.