Inserting the Date

Your computer has a clock that keeps track of the date and the time. Instead of typing the entire date yourself, you can have Word take this information from the computer and insert it for you.

Begin typing today's date. After you type the month and a space after it, a ScreenTip containing the completed date appears (see Figure 12.13).

Figure 12.13. A ScreenTip appears after you type the month in the current date.

Press Enter to let Word fill in the rest of the date for you.

As soon as you type the fourth letter in a month that is longer than five letters , a ScreenTip containing the completed month appears. Press Enter to insert the month quickly.

You can also insert the date as a field , which lets Word update it to the current date for you when you open the document in the future. Inserting a date as a field is useful in documents that you open frequently because the date is always current. This is a good technique to use when you don't need the date within the document to verify when the document was first created and saved. The previous date will always be replaced with the current date when the file is opened.

If you want to insert the date as a field, follow these steps:

1. Choose Insert, Date and Time to display the Date and Time dialog box (see Figure 12.14).

   Figure 12.14. The Date and Time dialog box enables you to insert the date as a field.

   

2. Mark the Update Automatically check box.

3. Click the date format that you want to use.

4. If you want to use this format all of the time, click the Default button and then click Yes in the message box that appears.

5. Click OK in the Date and Time dialog box.

To delete a date that you've inserted as a field, select it first and then press Delete or Backspace.

If Word inserts the wrong date in your document, you have to correct your computer's clock. Double-click the time at the right end of the taskbar to display the Date and Time Properties dialog box. Specify the correct date in the Date & Time tab, and click OK.