Using Fields in Microsoft Word 2002 - University of Reading



Using Fields in Microsoft Word 2002

Introduction

Fields are used in a document to generate information which needs to be changeable. Whenever you add page numbering to a document, a page field is inserted into the header or footer. You might also add a date field, either in a header/footer (to indicate when the document was last printed) or to a letter template (to save you typing in today's date each time you want to send out a letter). Fields are also used to create an index or table of contents and in mail merge, to pick up information from a data source. You can also use fields to insert document information (such as the author or file name), to perform calculations, to create links and references to other documents or items, and to perform many other special tasks.

Normally you will not be aware that a field exists. They can be viewed by pressing , as you will see later. The special field code is then displayed enclosed by curly brackets {}, known as braces. Sadly, you cannot insert field braces by typing the characters on the keyboard, though you can generate them by pressing (if you are an expert and know what code to type within them). Most fields can also have switches or other options which extend their capabilities.

Simple Fields

A field code is inserted at the current typing position (the insertion point) in a document. You must position the insertion point before you insert the code (eg move to the very start of your document before you insert a Table of Contents). A few field codes are automatically inserted in the correct place for you, irrespective of the current typing position (eg page numbers).

As an introduction to fields, add page numbering to a new document:

1. Start up Microsoft Word with a new blank document

2. Open the Insert menu and choose Page Numbers...

3. Set the Position: to Top of page (Header) and the Alignment: to Right

4. Press or click on [OK] - the screen changes to Print Layout View

A little number 1 should have appeared in grey in the top right corner of your document (this only shows in Print Layout View). This isn't a fixed character - it needs to change for each page. To achieve this, Word has inserted a Page field in the chosen location. To see the field code:

5. Press and note how the number is replaced by the code {PAGE }

6. Press again and the code is switched back to a number

The key combination is used to display/hide ALL field codes. You will see later that can be used to display/hide a single field code.

Next, add a date and time to your document:

7. Open the Insert menu and choose Date and Time...

8. From the list of Available formats: select the second one - the day of the week plus the date

9. Tick on the Update automatically check box then press or click on [OK]

10. Press for a new line then repeat step 7

11. From the list of Available formats: choose the last one (the time, including seconds) then check that Update automatically is on - press for [OK]

12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 but this time turn off the Update automatically check box

13. Press to see the new field codes - note that Word doesn't use a field unless Update automatically is set on

14. Press again to turn off the codes

Updating Fields

Fields are updated each time you open a file containing them. They are also updated when you preview a document. An option also allows you to ask for them to be updated when the document is printed. If you want to update them at other times you can do so by forcing an update, either to a particular field or to all of them.

1. Note the time currently displayed by the (first) time field

2. Click on the [Print Preview] toolbar button then use the magnifier - you should find the time has been updated

3. Click on [Close] to return to your document - the time is updated again

If you were to save and close the file then reopen it tomorrow, the date field would also have changed (and the time field would show as the time you reopened it).

Fields can be manually updated any time, either individually or all at once. To demonstrate this, add an extra time field, as follows:

4. Either insert another time field in the same way you did earlier or [Copy] and [Paste] the one already in your document

5. Move the insertion point into the field - use the key or click on it using the mouse

6. Press to update just this field

If you want to update several fields then you must select them first. To update all the fields in a document, select the whole document before pressing :

7. Select the whole document by pressing - or use Select All from the Edit menu

8. Now press - everything which is a field is updated

To turn on the option which updates the fields each time you print:

9. Open the Tools menu and choose Options...

10. On the Print tab under Printing options: turn on the Update fields check box

11. Press or click on [OK] to turn this option on - otherwise click on [Cancel]

Locking, Unlocking and Unlinking Fields

Sometimes you don't want the information in a field to be updated; in this case you lock the field. You then have to unlock it when you do want it updated. You can also permanently unlink a field. In this case the field code is replaced by the displayed value, held as ordinary text.

1. Move the insertion point into one of the time fields using the arrow keys or a mouse click

2. Now press - the field is locked

3. Try pressing - you will find the time is not updated

4. Press (to unlock the field) and then - the time now does update

Next try unlinking the field:

5. Move the insertion point back into the field as in step 1

6. Press to reveal the field code

Note: Whereas displays all the field codes, displays just the one (or more than one if several have been previously selected).

7. Press again, to hide the field code

8. Now press to unlink the field

9. Display all the field codes by pressing - you will find that this particular time is no longer a field but is now ordinary text (which no longer updates)

10. Hide the codes by pressing once more

More Complex Fields and On-line Help

There are numerous other fields which can be inserted into a document, as you will see in a minute. You can also add switches to the field codes (including page, date and time fields) to set certain attributes. This next exercise shows you how to add such fields to a document. Example exercises using some of the fields are given at the end of this document.

No matter which field you want to add to a document, you must first move the insertion point to the position required:

1. Move to the end of your document (press ) then press for a new line

2. Open the Insert menu and choose Field...

The Field dialogue box will open:

[pic]

Currently, all the available fields are listed in the Field names: box. If you do not want to see the entire list, but only want to see fields in one category, for example Date and Time, then you can choose the required category from the Categories: box (above Field names:.

If you click on a field name, a brief description of what the field does is shown towards the bottom of the box. Below that, the [Field codes] button can be used to help you with the syntax (precise format) of the field - you will see how this works later.

3. Open Categories: and choose Date and Time - then select Date in Field names:

4. Click on the [Help] button - the ? to the left of the [Close] window button (the mouse cursor then becomes a question mark)

5. Click in the Field names: box and help will activate for the selected field - ie Date

The help window gives you much more detailed information about how the Date field works. In particular it tells you what switches can be added to the field code and what effect these have. The \@ "Date-Time Picture" is the important switch - it determines the date format (eg whether it is shown in full or abbreviated). To get further help on this:

6. Click on Switches button at the bottom of the Help information

7. Now click on the Learn more about date-time picture switches link

You now have further links to Month(M), Day(d), Hours(h) etc. Explore some of these links to see how the codes work.

8. Once you have finished reading, [Close] the Help window

9. In the Field window in Word, click on Field Codes then on Options... - the following window appears:

[pic]

9. On the General Switches tab, select the dd MMMM yyyy code then click on [Add to Field] - if you inadvertently select the wrong code just click on the [Undo Add] button

10. Press (or click on [OK]) twice to add the field to your document

The date will appear in the chosen format.

Typing in and Editing Field Codes

Microsoft Word lets you type in the field codes directly but only if you use the special insert empty field key combination of . You can also edit the field codes, if you need to.

1. Press for a new line at the end of your document

2. Press - field code braces should appear

3. Inside the braces type date

4. Press and today's date should appear in the default style dd/MM/yy

To edit the date field code and add a switch:

5. Press to display the field code

Note: Normally you would now type in the switch, but as you are not familiar with these, display all the codes and use them as examples:

6. Press to display all the field codes

7. Move the insertion point to the end of the new date field, immediately before the final brace

8. Type \@ "ddd dd-MM-yy"

9. Press to hide the field codes then to update the new date field

The date should now be displayed in the specified format, starting with the abbreviated weekday followed by a numeric date separated by dashes. This format is not one which can be found in the standard list - you have created your own customised one. For practice, try modifying it again:

10. Press to display the field code

11. Edit the current switch to read \@ "dddd, dd'th' MMMM yyyy

12. Press to update the field result

Not only is the month spelt out in words and the year shown in full but you have also added th to the date. Anything enclosed in single quotes within the Date-Time Picture code appears as typed.

Displaying Fields with Shaded Backgrounds

Some people like to distinguish between normal text and field-derived text in a document. You can, if you want, arrange to have fields displayed with a shaded background. To do this:

1. Open the Tools menu and choose Options...

2. On the View tab, under the heading Show, set the Field Shading option to Always

3. Press or click on [OK]

You will now find that any text in your document which is based on a field code has a shaded background. To turn the shading off again:

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 as above but at step 2 set Field Shading to When selected

The other option, Never turns shading off completely but is generally not recommended.

Examples of using Fields

Example 1: Counting the Number of Words in a Document

When you are writing an essay and have a word limit, you may or may not be aware that you can find out from Word how much you have written. This can be obtained using the Properties command in the File menu. It's also available as a field code, which can be added to your document. This can then be updated whenever you want a fresh word count. A good place to position this is a couple of blank lines below the end of your typing:

1. Using any existing document, move to the end () then press twice

2. Type Word count then open the Insert menu and choose Field...

3. Select the Category: Document Information and then the Field name: NumWords

4. Press or click on [OK] and the current word count will be shown

5. Move up to the end of your text and type some more words

6. Move the insertion point into the word count number and press for an updated count

When you have finished writing your essay, you can delete the line giving the word count.

Example 2: Creating a Drop-Down AutoText List

AutoText can be a very useful facility when you are typing documents in which the same word or phrase is repeated many times. Sometimes, you may have a document or template in which the words which appear at a particular place are from a fixed list. An AutoText List field allows you to select the required text from a pop-up list. To achieve this, you must define each AutoText list entry in a specially-named style.

Begin by defining the entries required. In this example, you are going to create a list of students:

1. Start with a new blank document (press )

2. Click in the [Style] box, after the word Normal, and type in a new style name eg students (or something similar) then press

3. Type in the first member of your list, eg Chris Smith, then drag through to select it

4. Open the Insert menu and choose AutoText followed by New... - or use

5. Press or click on [OK] to create the AutoText entry

6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for further members of the list - you'll need at least two entries

Having created the list of students, you can start to use it in an AutoText List field:

7. the list and check the [Style] is back to Normal

8. Start typing your document - eg Next week's seminar will be given by

9. Open the Insert menu and choose Field...

10. Under Categories: choose Links and References and in Field names: select AutoTextList

11. Click on [Field Codes] then, in the box provided, click after AUTOTEXTLIST and type "student name" (for a prompt)

12. Click on [Options...] and on the Styles tab select students and [Add to Field]

13. Click on [OK] twice to insert the field code - the student name prompt is displayed

Whenever you want to substitute the prompt by a member of the list:

14. Right click on the prompt to display the AutoText List and choose the required student

15. You can select a different student simply by right clicking on the field again

Example 3: Prompting Users to Enter Information

By adding Ask and/or Fill-in fields to a document or template you can insert information via dialog boxes. The main difference between the two is that Fill-in data can only be used once, whereas Ask stores the data in a bookmark, which can be used over and over again via a Ref field. Fill-in fields activate each time a document is opened; Ask fields have to be updated manually.

Ask and Fill-in fields are frequently used in mail-merge documents.

1. Start with a new blank document (press )

2. Open the Insert menu and choose Field...

3. Under Categories: choose Mail Merge and from the Field Names: select Ask

Note the format required by this field - you have to supply a Prompt and a Bookmark

4. In the Prompt: box type What is your name?

5. In the Bookmark: box type xxxx then click on [OK]

The bookmark acts as a variable (a place in the computer to temporarily store some information). You have named this one xxxx. A dialog box now appears, asking you to supply a value for the bookmark using the prompt you have just typed in.

6. Reply to the question then click on [OK] - the name is stored in the bookmark xxxx

7. Start typing your document, pausing when you need to insert the Ask field - eg type Dear

8. Now open the Insert menu and choose Field...

9. Under Categories: click on Links and References and from the Field Names: select Ref

10. Under Field properties select the Bookmark name xxxx

11. Click on [OK] and the name is displayed

12. Continue typing your document, repeating steps 8 to 11 each time you want the field shown

When you have finished your document you might want to print out a copy. You might then want a duplicate document but addressed to someone else:

13. Press or use Select All from the Edit menu to select your text

14. Now press to update the field codes

15. Supply a different name then click on [OK] - the new name will appear wherever a field code has been used

The above example offers you a controlled method of find and replace. Only where a field code has been used will the text be updated - where the same text is typed in directly it will not be replaced.

This next example uses a Fill-in field to supply additional data to a mail merge. It lets you supply an interview time for letters to be sent out to candidates held in a database.

1. Start with a new document - press , if necessary

2. Open the Tools menu and select Letters and Mailings then MailMerge Wizard... - the Task Pane appears

3. Under Select document type choose Letters then click on Next: at the foot of the Task Pane

4. Under Select starting document choose Use the current document - click on Next:

5. Under Use an existing list click on Browse

6. Open the file D:\user\advanced.xls by changing drives to User (D:), opening folder user, selecting advanced.xls and pressing for [Open]

7. In the Select Table window, choose Students.$ then click on [OK] twice to have access to all the data fields

You now have to type in your invitation to interview letter. First, turn on the MailMerge toolbar:

8. Open the Tools menu, choose Letters and Mailings then Show Mail Merge Toolbar

9. Type Dear then, using the [Insert Merge Fields] button, add Title and Surname

10. [Close] the Insert Merge Fields window then add a space to separate the two fields

11. Press then twice then type You are invited for interview at

12. Now open the Insert menu and choose Field...

13. Under Categories: choose Mail Merge and from the Field Names: select Fill-in

14. In the Prompt box provided, type Enter the interview time

Note: You can set a default value for this field in the Default response to prompt: box.

15. Click on [OK] twice, leaving the interview time value empty

16. Finish off the letter by typing a full-stop, and adding Yours sincerely on a new line

Your letter is now complete - a real one would be much longer. It's now time to mail merge:

16. Click on the Merge to New Document button on the Mail Merge toolbar

17. There's no need to merge all 390 records here, in the To: box type 3 - click on [OK]

18. For each candidate type in the time: eg 9:30 , 10:00 and 10:30

The mail merge will now be carried out, with the appropriate times inserted in the three letters.

Example 4: Keeping "Boilerplate Text" Up-to-Date

Boilerplate text is text which is used again and again in a document. Good examples are a carefully-worded conditions clause or a complex clause in a legal document. It is possible to use fields to keep this information up to date. These act rather like find and replace except that with complicated text they are much easier to use. Often such text needs to be reworded several times before it is finalised.

To create boilerplate text you use the AutoText facility linked to a special AutoText field:

1. Start with a new document - press , if necessary

2. Begin by typing the current wording: eg To be approved by the Head of Department

3. Select the current wording then open the Insert menu and select AutoText then New...

4. Name your AutoText entry - To be approved is fine, click on [OK] or press

5. the words used for the AutoText entry and start typing your document (rubbish text will do)

6. At the end of the paragraph, open the Insert menu and choose Field...

7. From Categories choose Links and References

8. In the Field names box choose AutoText

9. Under Field Properties and select the AutoText entry To be approved - press for [OK]

The special clause will be displayed in your document. Type some more paragraphs, adding the special clause where required:

10. Repeat steps 6 to 9 for further boilerplate text entries

Your document is now ready for the boilerplate text to be updated:

11. Display the current clause - start typing to be approved then when the AutoText appears press

12. Edit the text to read: To be approved by the Deputy Head of School or the Head of Department (or his secretary)

13. Select the amended text and redefine it as the AutoText entry - open the Insert menu, choose AutoText then New... and use exactly the same AutoText name (ie To be approved)

14. Click on [Yes] to redefine the entry then the new entry

15. Finally, select the document () and press to update the AutoText fields

Though you may consider it a lot of effort to achieve essentially a find and replace, some clauses in legal documents may extend to several lines of typing.

Note: If you plan to share this document with a user who does not have the same AutoText entries, you may want to lock the field results to prevent the text from being changed accidentally.

Example 5: Creating Dictionary-Style Page Headers

Using fields, you can print the first and last items that appear in a list at the top of each page - like in a dictionary or telephone directory. For example, if you were typing out a list of references, you could have the first and last reference that appear each page listed. This can be done as follows:

1. Start with a new blank document (press ) - unless you already have one suitable

2. Click in the [Style] box, after the word Normal, to create a new style - call it listitem (or something similar) then press

3. To speed up typing, press to double-space the list then type in a list which stretches over two pages - a single character per line is sufficient, eg a to z

You now need to add two special fields in the page header (or footer):

4. Open the View menu and select Header and Footer

5. Open the Insert menu and select Field...

6. Under Categories: click on Links and References and in Field Names: select StyleRef

7. Under Style name: select listitem

8. Press or click on [OK] to insert the field

The first list entry on the page should now be shown. Continue as follows:

9. Type the word to then repeat steps 5 to 8, as above

10. Under Field options turn on Search from bottom of page to top

11. Press or click on [OK] to insert the field code

12. If required, justify the fields by clicking on the [Align Right] or [Center] buttons

13. Finally, [Close] the Header and Footer

Note: If your new header shows no value after the word to, you have a blank line at the end of your list on that page - it or add another list item.

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