ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Vol. 5: Inserting dates in Microsoft Word

Why does it (not) change when I re-open the document?

New this month! - Word Shortcuts. Although I was a Mac user for years, I still have a strong preference for keyboard shortcuts and function keys. You can't use them, though, if you don't know them. I will try to give you a few each month. This month's are associated with today's topic; in the future they may be unrelated. First, though, let's look at how to make a date with Word.

The easy (but probably wrong) way to put a date in your document is Alt-Shift-D or

Insert => Date.

If you don't check "Update Automatically" this is the same as typing the date yourself (except harder). If you do check "Update Automatically" it will update when you print (if you have the setting under printer options as "Update Fields" which is the default). Alt-Shift-D just inserts this DATE field for you. Unfortunately, it is the wrong field, at least for me. The field inserted on my computer with Alt-Shift-D is:

{ DATE \@ "MM/dd/yyyy" }

which looks like

09/11/2001

in a document. The exact layout of this default will depend on your language settings in Word as well as on your keyboard and international settings in Windows or on the Mac. I use it so seldom that I'm not even sure where to go to change it. (The "\@ 'MM/dd/yyyy'" is a formatting picture and we'll look at what it means later.) When I said that it is the wrong field, I was talking about the DATE part. You see, that field is sort of like a clock, when updated, it tells you what the date is, now. I prefer to use a calendar for that purpose, thank you.

If you want to see this field press Alt-Shift-D and then put your insertion point inside of the date. Press the Shift-F9 key combination and the field will show up in place of the date.

You can manually force an update by putting your insertion point in the date and pressing the [F9] key. I dislike this "today" date so much that I removed the Insert ==> Date from my Insert Menu altogether!

If you want to put a date in a template that updates to the current date when a document is created based on the template, or want to change the format or do other things with the date field, you want to use Insert --> Field --> Date and Time instead. Using the options here, you can either pick a format or type your own characters (called a picture) for the format. The options for the type of date include:

{ DATE } - The date you are looking at the document. Always today (although it may not show on screen as today until you update the field).

{ CREATEDATE } - The date the document was created (or saved using Save As).

{ PRINTDATE } - The date the document was last printed.

{ SAVEDATE } - The date the document was last saved.

The above are the field codes that will be inserted for you using Insert Field Date and Time without using any options. If you choose options, they can include the following pictures:

Picture	Displayed Date
\@ "MMMM d, yyyy"	August 1, 2001
\@ "MMM dd, yyyy"	Aug 01, 2001
\@ "MM/dd/yy"	08/01/01
\@ "dddd, MMMM d"	Tuesday, August 1
\@ "ddd, MMM. d, yyyy"	Tue., Aug. 1, 2001
\@ "MM/dd/yy hh:mm:ss am/pm"	08/01/01 10:36:12 PM
\@ "d" \* ordinal	1st

example: { CREATEDATE \@ "MMM dd, yyyy" } = Aug 01, 2001

If you don't like the pictures you are offered, pick the one that is closest to what you want and then modify it in the Insert Field dialog box (or in the codes themselves using Toggle Field Codes). Remember, though, that these particular codes can be Case-Sensitive. With "MM" you will get a two-digit month, with "mm" you will get two-digit minutes.

You can also break a date into multiple fields. This can be done to use special formatting or if you use the F11 key (next field) for manually editing. Example of the former reason:

{ CREATEDATE \@ "dddd" }, the { CREATEDATE \@ "d" \*ordinal } day of { CREATEDATE \@ "MMMM" } in the year { CREATEDATE \@ "yyyy" } = Tuesday, the 1st day of August in the year 2001.

Remember that fields in headers and footers don't get updated quite as predictably. They work fine with CREATEDATE but can have the same problem as page numbers (see that topic) with DATE.

For more on "pictures" and formatting dates see: Fields Switches. For more on fields, follow the links on my Word Web Resources page.

If you want a menu that gives you different kinds of date fields that can be inserted into documents, download the LegalToolbars from http://www.addbalance.com/word/download/. This is a self-documenting global template and includes the following fields in different formats on a menu that can be used without the rest of the legal toolbar:

Create Date (probably the one you will want to use in most forms)

Saved / Modified Date

Date Printed

Always today (changes whenever document is opened / printe

It is also possible to use VBA or complex field codes to have date fields that give you a date two weeks from now. That is way beyond the scope of this column, though. If you have a need for such, please take a look at Calculated Dates in Word.

Keyboard Shortcuts of the Month for Word

Date and Field Keys

Windows Keys	What	Macintosh Keys
F9	Update/Refresh Selected Field	F9
Shift-F9	Display/Hide Field Codes (selected field) *	Shift-F9
Alt-F9	Display/Hide All Field Codes (all fields in document) **	Opt-F9
Ctrl-F9	Create Empty Field (Insert { }Braces)	Cmd-F9
Ctrl-Shift-F9 or Ctrl-6	Unlink Selected Field (delete all field coding and replace with field result) - turn field into text	Cmd-Shift-F9
F11	Go to (Select) Next Field	F11
Shift-F11	Go to (Select) Previous Field	Shift-F11
Ctrl-F11 or Ctrl-3	Lock Field (prevent manual or automatic update)	Cmd-F11 or Cmd-3
Ctrl-Shift-F11 or Ctrl-4	Unlock Field (allow updating)	Cmd-Shift-F11 or Cmd-4
Alt-I, F	Insert Field (Dialog Box) (Alt-I followed by F)	Opt-I,F
Alt-Shift-D	Insert Date Field ***	Ctrl-Shift-D

* It is possible to have fields inside of fields (nested fields). If this is the case, the Shift-F9 Toggle will not show all the field codes, only the outermost layer. To see all the field codes, use Alt-F9 instead.

** Alt-F9 is the same as checking / unchecking Field Codes in Tools => Options => View. Unlike a field code toggled using Shift-F9, if you update a field while all field codes are being displayed, the new field result will still be hidden and you will see the field codes.

*** Probably not the field you want to insert, though.

For more about fields, see the links list on my Word Web Resources Page under fields.

If you want to try getting the keyboard shortcuts all at once, you can take a look at the Microsoft Knowledge Base for Word 97, Word 98, or Word 2000. You can also print the keyboard shortcuts on your computer (including your custom keyboard shortcuts) by picking keyboard commands on the Print dialog box under Print What? (instead of document).

That's it for this issue. If there is something you would like to see addressed in this column, please send me an email to let me know.

Chas Kenyon is a trial lawyer concentrating in criminal defense with a long interest (obsession?) with making word processing work well in the law office. Visit his home page

Chas' Word World
~~Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.

How Do I Insert a Date in Word?

Why does it (not) change when I re-open the document?

Picture

Displayed Date

Keyboard Shortcuts of the Month for Word

Date and Field Keys

Chas' Word World ~~Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.

How Do I Insert a Date in Word?

Why does it (not) change when I re-open the document?

Picture

Displayed Date

Keyboard Shortcuts of the Month for Word

Date and Field Keys

Chas' Word World
~~Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.