Working with Fields


Fields can be one of the most confusing parts of a Word document. A field is a code that represents information stored somewhere else ”either somewhere else in the same document (for example, a field that returns the contents of a bookmark), on your computer, or on a networked computer ”or generated automatically (for example, a field that returns the date or the number of pages in the document).

When you insert a field in a document, Word typically displays the field result (the information the field returns) rather than the field code (text that details the information the field references). For example, the date field code {DATE \a dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy \*MERGEFORMAT} might display the field result Thursday, April 01, 2004 . You can toggle a field between displaying the field result and the field code.

To make sure a document contains the latest information available, you need to update the fields it contains. In other cases, you ll need to lock the fields in a document to prevent them from changing. When you want to freeze the current information in the fields and prevent it from changing again (even if its source is updated), you can unlink the fields from their sources.

Shortcuts for Working with Fields

Insert a page-number field at the insertion point

[Alt] - [Shift] - [P]

This shortcut is faster in most cases than using the Field dialog box (Insert Field) to insert the page number. However, if you re working in the header and footer areas, you may find it easier to click the Insert Page Number button on the Header and Footer toolbar. The Header and Footer toolbar also includes the Insert Number of Pages button, which lets you easily create Page 1 of 10 “style numbering.

click to expand

Insert a date field in the default format at the insertion point

[Alt] - [Shift] - [D]

The default date format depends on your Windows settings.

Insert a time field in the default format at the insertion point

[Alt] - [Shift] - [T]

The default time format depends on your Windows settings.

Toggle between field codes and field results

[Alt] - [F9]

This shortcut is the quickest way to toggle the display of field codes in the active document. You can also toggle the display of field codes by choosing Tools Options, selecting or clearing the Field Codes check box in the Show area of the View tab of the Options dialog box, and then clicking the OK button.

Lock the fields in the current selection

[Ctrl] - [3] , [Ctrl] - [F11]

Fields that you lock can t be changed until you unlock them.

Unlock the fields in the current selection

[Ctrl] - [4] , [Ctrl] - [Shift] - [F11]

Unlock locked fields when you need to be able to update them again.

Update the fields in the selection

[F9] , [Alt] - [Shift] - [U]

To update all the fields in a document, press [Ctrl] - [A] to select it all, and then press this shortcut.

Unlink the fields in the current selection

[Ctrl] - [6] , [Ctrl] - [Shift] - [F9]

Select the fields you want to unlink before pressing either of these shortcuts. To unlink all the fields in the active document, press [Ctrl] - [A] to select all the document, and then press one of these shortcuts.

Copy the modifications in a linked object back to its source file

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [F7]

This shortcut works only for fields that contain objects derived from, and still linked to, sources in other files.




Windows XP and Office 2003 Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows XP and Office 2003 Keyboard Shortcuts
ISBN: 0072255005
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 117

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