Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Locking a Field.

Locking a Field

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


3

Many of the tips featured in WordTips rely on the use of the special fields available in Word. Many times, these fields are updated, automatically, when you make changes in a document or actually print the document. There may be times when you want to make sure a field does not get updated. You can accomplish this by locking the field. Locking prevents a field from being updated; the last result is kept until you unlock the field and then update it. To lock a field, perform these steps:

  1. Select the field you want to lock.
  2. Update the field, if desired, by pressing Shift+F9.
  3. Press Ctrl+F11.

If you later want to unlock the field, follow these steps:

  1. Select the field you want to unlock.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F11.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5980) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Locking a 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

Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines

Want the gridlines in your worksheet to be a different color? You aren't limited to stodgy black; Excel lets you make ...

Discover More

Deleting Multiple AutoText Entries

AutoText is a great feature in Word; it helps you put together documents quickly. If you need to delete multiple AutoText ...

Discover More

Determining If a Number is Odd or Even

If you need to know whether a particular value is odd or even, you can use this simple formula. Designed to be used in a ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing Paragraph Borders

Word allows you to easily add borders to a paragraph of text. If you want, you can even change each side of the border to ...

Discover More

Deleting Paragraph Borders

Got a document that has a border around some paragraphs? Here's how you can get rid of the border using the tools on the ...

Discover More

Setting the Distance between Text and Borders

Add a border around a piece of text (such as a paragraph), and Word makes some assumptions about the placement of that ...

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 7 - 7?

2021-09-29 14:34:29

JP

F9 by itself is the shortcut for updating an unlocked field in Word 2016, not Shift+F9.


2019-02-13 11:13:38

Andrew

Einat: Look at https://word.tips.net/T001367_Locating_Locked_Fields.html


2019-02-12 03:30:55

Einat

This is great! never known this is possible.

I have 3 questions about it:
1. Is it possible to access the command from the menus? anything from the right-click menu? (I searched, bet haven't found a way).
2. Is there any indication for a locked field, other then right-clicking it and seeing that the "update" option is grayed out?
3. Is it possible to lock (and later to unlock) all fields, or all fields of a certain type (like all "table num..") or all within a selected range?

Thanks!
(-:


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.