Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Searching for a Specific Field.

Searching for a Specific Field

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 10, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


Other issues of WordTips have featured ways in which you can search for field codes in general. You may be wondering how you can search for a specific type of field code. You can do it by following these steps in Word 2007:

  1. Make sure field codes (the actual codes, not the results of the codes) are showing in your document. If not, press Alt+F9 to display them.
  2. Press Ctrl+F. Word displays the Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Find tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  4. In the Find What box, type either ^d or ^19. This is the code to find the opening field brace.
  5. Type a space followed by the field name.
  6. If available, click the More button.
  7. Make sure no formatting is being searched for, and that no other check boxes in the dialog box are selected.
  8. Click on Find Next.

As an example, if you wanted to find a DATE field, after following steps 3 and 4, you would be searching for "^d DATE" (without the quote marks, of course).

Simple searching in Word 2010 and later versions is different than in earlier versions of Word. You can, if you desire, follow the above steps, but in place of step 2 make sure that you display the Home tab of the ribbon, click the down-arrow next to the Find tool, and then choose Advanced Find. An alternative, though, is to use the simplified Navigation pane:

  1. Make sure field codes are showing in your document. If not, press Alt+F9 to display them.
  2. Press Ctrl+F. Word displays the Navigation pane at the left side of your document.
  3. In the box at the top of the pane, type either ^d or ^19. This is the code to find the opening field brace.
  4. Type a space followed by the field name.

Now the Navigation pane should show all matches for your desired field. Click the one that is the one you want, and Word jumps to that location in the document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1430) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Searching for a Specific Field.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Rubbish In Your File

Do your files look garbled when you open them? Here's one possible reason.

Discover More

Limiting Lines in a Table Cell

When creating tables, Word automatically sets the size of the cells. But what if you want to make sure each cell is a ...

Discover More

Calculating the Average of Five Values Near the End of a Range

It is relatively easy to calculate an average of values in a worksheet. If, however, you want an average of just a subset ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Word and Character Count Information

Using fields you can easily insert both the word and character counts for a document into the document itself. Here's how ...

Discover More

Field in Footer Won't Update

Word provides a handy shortcut that allows you to update the fields in any text you've selected. When you select your ...

Discover More

Using the GotoButton Field

Need to jump from one place in your document to another? One way to do this is through the user of the GotoButton field, ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight minus 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.