Topic: Fields

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A Quick-and-Dirty Word Count Got an editor or teacher who wants you to calculate the number of words in a document the “old fashioned way?” You can do it by using a compound field, discussed in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Adding a Box Around Selected Text You can use a special field to put a box around text within a paragraph. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97

Adding a Dynamic Total in Your Document You can use a few bookmarks and an equation field to add a dynamic total anywhere in your document. Once in place, you can change any of the amounts, and the total is updated the next time the field results are updated. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Age Calculation with Fields You may need to dynamically calculate an age within a document. You can do this by using fields, and every time the field results are updated your date will be updated. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Auto-incrementing Form Fields Templates are a great way to create new documents because they act as intricate patterns to what those new documents should contain. What if you want the new documents to include some sort of automatically incrementing number? This tip looks at ways you can accomplish the task. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Automatically Updating Fields and Links You can update fields and links automatically when you print your document, but what if you want them updated when you open or close the document? That is not as easy of a proposition, but there are ways to fulfill the request, as shown in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Calculating Dates with Fields Fields allow you to place dynamic information within a document. One such piece of information is the current date, inserted with a very simple field. If you want to calculate a date that is two weeks in the future, the task isn’t that simple. This tip describes what it takes to put that future date into your document using nothing but fields. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Calculating Form Fields Word enables you to create forms with fields that users fill in. You can even create calculations based on what users enter into form fields. Here’s how to get those calculations to automatically update whenever you change information in the form. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Combining Word Documents Use one little field to combine documents in Word. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Conditional Calculations in Word Spreadsheet programs allow you to create complex formulas that perform conditional calculations. You can similarly do some simple conditional calculations in a Word table, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Controlling Document Properties Word saves quite a bit of information with a document, besides the document itself. This tip provides a general overview of document properties, including how to change them and make sure you are prompted for them. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Controlling Field Shading Word allows you to control how fields are presented when the insertion point is within them. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Converting Field Results to Text Fields provide a great way to insert dynamic information in your documents. Using the Ctrl+Shift+F9 shortcut, you can convert field results to straight text. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Converting Fields to Text Fields are dynamic. You can convert them to text to remove their dynamic nature. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Converting Forms to Regular Documents It is often easier to work outside the form view. Here is how to change your forms into regular text. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Copying Form Field Contents Are you developing a form with Word? In some instances it is advantageous to copy whatever is entered in a form field to another location in your document. This tip explores two ways you can reuse information entered into your document’s fields. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Creating an AutoText List How to create an AutoText list using a field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Date Last Edited You can insert several dynamic dates into your document. One you may want is to add the date when the last edit was performed. Word doesn’t track this date, but has other dates that may be more what you really need. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Displaying Blanks when Summing to Zero You can place totals in your tables, and you may want Word to suppress the display of zero sums. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Displaying Fields Fields are used quite extensively in some documents. If you want to see where the fields are located, you’ll want to use one of the methods described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Documents Printing Out of Order If you are printing a large number of documents, and they print out of order, here is a possible explanation and solution. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document For some purposes it would help to use a zero with a slash through it. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Entering Calculations in a Form Field Creating a field that will calculate two other form fields. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Field Reference to Number of Prior Pages Fields are used for all sorts of purposes in Word, but typically to provide some sort of dynamic information. This tip shows some of the power of fields by using them to calculate and display the number of previous pages in a document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Finding Fields Fields allow you to add all sorts of dynamic information to your document. If you need to find those fields, there are several ways you can accomplish the task. This tip covers shortcuts and searching techniques you can use. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Getting Information About Fields Fields are used to generate many different types of information in a document. There are so many fields available that it may be difficult to remember what each does. Here’s how to get the info you need about individual fields. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Getting Rid of Fields Inserted by Third-Party Programs Third-party programs can be used to affect a document and change what is contained therein. Of course, getting rid of what those programs add to a document can be a challenge, as discussed in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Including Section Numbers in an Index When Word creates an index based on your specifications, you may want it to include a section number in its page references. There are a couple of ways you can do that, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting a Cross-Reference to an Item in a List Using Bookmarks to Cross-Reference your text to your list. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting a Cross-Reference to Text Cross-referencing is a great feature of Word that allows you to add references to text in various places of your document. Change the text in one place, and the reference to that text is automatically changed. This tip shows how easy it is to add a cross-reference. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting a Document's Location One of the fields you can insert in a document will indicate the document’s file name and path. This tip explains how to construct the field properly to get all the information you need. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting a Document's Size Want to insert the size of your document directly into the document body? You can do so by using one of the dynamic fields available in Word. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting a Page Number Field How to place a page number anyplace in a document. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting Custom Properties with Fields Using File | Properties you can specify different information to be stored with your document. If you create your own custom properties, you can use the DocProperty field to place the contents of those custom properties in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting Fields Fields are used for a variety of dynamic purposes in a document. There are a couple of ways you can easily insert fields, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting Page Number Cross-References Want to insert a dynamic cross-reference to a particular page number? It’s easy to do following the steps in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting Summary Information Word maintains quite a bit of information about your document, and makes that information available as “summary information.” You can access that information and insert it in your document using fields, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Author Name Word keeps track of lots of information about a document and its history. One piece of information is the author's name. You can insert this name into your document using a field, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Current Month Do you need to have a dynamic indication of the current month in your document? This tip explains how you can use a DATE field to display just the month. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Date and Time Inserting a date and time in your document is a snap using the tools provided in Word. Just pick the command, then specify what format you want to use. You can even specify if you want the date to update itself or not. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Date Your Document Was Last Printed Word keeps track of each time you print your document, and you can automatically insert the last printing date anywhere you want. This tip explains which field you specifically use to insert this information. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Date Your Document Was Last Saved Word maintains a lot of information about each document you create. One tidbit that Word tracks is the date that the document was last saved. Using the special SaveDate field, you can insert this date into the body of your document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Document Creation Date When you first create a new document, Word keeps track of the date on which the event occurs. You can then, at any time, insert that special date into a document. This tip shows exactly how easy it is to do so. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Document Revision Number Need to know how many times your document has been saved? Word keeps track of this information, and makes it easily accessible through the use of a field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Document Title in Your Document One of the pieces of information you can store with a document is the title of that document. Using fields, you can then insert that title anywhere in the document you desire. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Edit Time One of the things that Word keeps track of is how long, in minutes, you’ve been editing your current document. This information can be inserted into the document using the EditTime field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Name of the Last Person to Save the Document One of the pieces of information that Word maintains for documents is the name of the last person to save the document. This tip explains where this information comes from, where it is stored, and how to use that information in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Subject in Your Document One of the properties you can specify for a document is a subject. You can then use a field code to insert this subject, dynamically, into your document. This tip explains how to access the subject in your documents. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Template Name in Your Document Templates are a powerful part of the Word experience, as they allow you to create and format documents based on patterns. Every document has an associated template, and you can insert the name of that template in the document itself by using a special field designed for that purpose. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the Total Number of Characters in Your Document One of the things that Word keeps track of regarding your document is the number of characters it contains. Using the NumChars field, you can insert this number anywhere in your document that you’d like. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Total Number of Pages in Your Document Word keeps track of many statistics for each of your documents. One statistic is the total number of pages in the printed document. You can insert this information anyplace you want, using the NumPages field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the Total Number of Words in Your Document Fields allow you to place all sorts of information in your documents. The field discussed in this tip inserts the total number of words your document contains. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Inserting the User's Address If you enter your address into Word, you can insert that address anywhere you want in a document by using a single field. This tip introduces the UserAddress field and shows how easy it is to use it within a document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the User's Initials One of the pieces of information tracked by Word are your name and initials. You can insert your initials by using the UserInitials field, described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Inserting the User's Name Word, upon installation, is customized for you. It even includes your name, which you can instruct Word to automatically place within a document. This is done with a special field, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Jumping Between Fields Fields allow you to insert all sorts of dynamic information in your document, but it is sometimes hard to figure out where they are. This tip presents a keyboard shortcut you can use to jump from one field to another in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Letters and Numbers in Page Numbers How to combine letters and numbers in your page numbering Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Locating Locked Fields A field can be locked or unlocked, and its condition controls whether it is updated automatically or not. If you want to search for only locked fields in a document, you’re going to need the macro presented in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Locking a Field Fields are meant to be dynamic in nature—their results change to reflect the conditions when the field is updated or when a document is printed. If you want to, you can “lock” a field so that it is no longer dynamic and doesn’t update. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Maintaining Fields in a Merged Document When merging documents, you may want to include some fields in the merged documents. For some fields this is impossible, as to include them would make no sense. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Merging Graphics from Access An Access database can store all types of data, including graphic images. Merging most data from Access into Word is relatively easy, except when it comes to graphics. This tip explains why this is the case and ways you can work around the problem. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Numbering With Sequence Fields You can use sequence fields for reliable numbering. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Overlining Characters You know how to underline, but do you know how to overline? Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Printing Copy Numbers Do you need to print numbered copies of a document? A great discussion on how to do this. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Printing Field Codes Fields are a powerful tool in Word. Normally you don’t see the field code behind the result, because in most instances it is only the result that you are interested in. You can, however, configure Word so that the field codes are actually printed. This is great if you want a printed record of what fields are actually used in the document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Printing Portrait Page Numbers on Landscape Pages Word allows you to specify whether different parts of a document are printed in portrait or landscape mode. If you mix and match these modes in a document, you will appreciate this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95

PRIVATE Fields in WordPerfect Documents Did you ever convert a document from WordPerfect and see PRIVATE fields in it? Here's what those fields mean. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Protecting Fields Fields are very helpful for inserting dynamic information or standardizing the information that appears in a document. Unfortunately, users can inadvertently delete fields, thereby ruining your careful planning. While fields cannot be protected in Word, there are some steps you can take to minimize the chances of fields being deleted accidentally. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Quickly Inserting the Date Your Way Tired of messing with inserting the date and then changing it to a format that is more to your liking? There’s a quick way you can set up Word to allow you to enter dates in just the manner that you want, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Searching for a Specific Field Fields can be a great boon to document development, as they allow you to insert different types of dynamic information in the body of the document. If you want to search for a specific type of field, you can do so using the techniques presented here. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Security Flaw in Word Traced to Fields How to fix the security flaw traced to the fields in Word. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002

Selecting a Field Do you need to select a field? It is as simple as selecting a single character, as this tip explains. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Sending Printer Commands You can use the PRINT field to send commands directly to your printer, bypassing any processing by Word. This tip explains how to use the field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Sequentially Numbering Elements in Your Document How to sequentially number figures, tables, or illustrations in your Word document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Setting Up an Array with Fields You can create an array (a miniature table) in the middle of a sentence using fields. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Setting Your Default Document Directory If you’ve got your documents organized well on your hard drive, you probably have them all accessible through a particular directory. You can configure Word to recognize that directory as your default for any file operations. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Special Characters in Fields How to place special characters in your field information. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Starting Chapters on Odd-Numbered Pages You can use various breaks and formatting settings in Word to start a heading on a new page. Starting the heading on an odd page, using only formatting and no breaks, is much more problematic. This tip provides a field you can use that will help in this formatting effort. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Stopping Automatic Changes from Being Tracked Fields provide a way to add dynamic data to your document. The information presented by fields is regularly (and automatically) updated, which can cause problems when you have Track Changes turned on in a document. This tip discusses the problem and some potential solutions. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Superscript and Subscript at the Same Place Do you want a superscript and subscript character to appear directly above each other without using the Equation Editor? There are multiple ways you can accomplish this task, and this tip examines all of those ways. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Table Numbers are Skipped What do you do if you add numbered captions to an element of your document (such as tables) and Word skips a number? There are a couple of things you can check to discover where the problem lies, as discussed in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Tools to View Field Codes Different ways you can view field codes in Word. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Understanding DATE Field Formatting The DATE field is used to insert the current date into your document. You can use special formatting codes with the field to specify how you want the date to appear. This tip explains how you can get just the type of date you want. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Understanding Default DATE Field Formatting The DATE field is one of the most commonly used fields for placing dynamic information in your document. It is helpful to understand how formatting is done within the field. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Understanding the ADVANCE Field You can use the ADVANCE field to position elements in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Understanding the COMPARE Field Want to compare values? Here's one way to do it. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Unwanted Page Breaks in Cross-References You can use fields to cross-reference different text in a document. If you get unwanted results from the cross-referencing (like a page break you don’t want included), then you need the information in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Updating Calculated Fields in a Form Using a macro to determine if the Calculated Fields in your document calculate correctly. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Updating Fields in Locked Forms If you create a form in Word and then lock it, you may notice that regular fields don’t get updated in the locked document as you might expect. If you want to update the fields, you must first unlock the document. This tip provides a quick macro you can use that will unlock, update, and relock the form—quite a timesaver! Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Consistent References Some text references need to be consistent in many places throughout a document. Learn different ways you can ensure that your references are consistent. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Continued Lines If you combine a couple of conditional fields with the regular footer capabilities of Word, you can create some rather unique continuation lines in your document. This tip explains exactly how you can do that. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Fields for Fractions Want a quick way to create fractions? You can do it by using fields, as described in this tip. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Using FIM Barcodes Adding a Facing Identification Mark (FIM) barcode to your envelopes. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Last-page Headers and Footers Want to change exactly what is displayed in a header or footer based on the page it appears upon? This tip explains a nifty way to make headers and footers automatically change for the last page of the document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Mandatory Form Fields Form fields can be used to create specialized forms in Word, which are very handy for collecting information. This tip explains some techniques you can use to ensure that some of your form fields are filled in by the user. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote How to insert more than one reference to the same footnote. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using TC Fields for Notes The TC field is normally used in constructing manual Tables of Contents. The way the field works, however, makes it a natural for pulling together a handy “to do list” for a document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

Using the GotoButton Field You can use a field to insert a “button” in your document. When someone clicks that button, the macro specified in the field is automatically executed. Adding the field is easy, and it provides a way for users to easily access macros that may be stored with the document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using the INFO Field Place document summary information anywhere in your documents. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Using the SYMBOL Field The SYMBOL field allows you to insert virtually any character in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

View Field Codes and Results at the Same Time Word lets you view either field codes or the results of those codes. Seeing them both at once can be a great help, however. Microsoft Word versions: 6 | 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

Word and Character Count Information Using fields you can easily add information to you document concerning the number of words and characters in a document. This tip even provides a way that you can calculate and display the average word length in your document. Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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