Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Updating Fields in Locked Forms.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, and 2013
If you are creating a form in Word, it is possible to use two types of fields in the form: regular fields and form fields. Form fields, and how they are updated, are covered in other issues of WordTips. If you are creating a form that utilizes other types of fields that must be periodically updated, it can be frustrating to do so. Why? Because Word doesn't always update regular fields as you are filling in a locked form.
Unfortunately, the only way to update such fields is either to print the document (which normally forces all fields to be updated) or to force updates through the use of a macro. If the latter is the desired course, the macro must accomplish the following:
This is a relatively easy task to do using VBA. You can use a macro such as the following:
Sub UpdateFields() Dim OneStory as Range Dim OneField as Field ActiveDocument.Unprotect Password:="YourPassword" For Each OneStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges For Each OneField in Stories.Fields OneField.Update Next OneField Next OneStory ActiveDocument.Protect Type:=wdAllowOnlyFormFields, _ NoReset:=True, Password:="YourPassword" End Sub
To ensure this macro works for you, you'll want to make sure that you change the verbiage "YourPassword" (two instances) to whatever the password is for your document. If your document doesn't use a password, simply delete the Password parameter in both the Unprotect and Protect methods.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8258) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Updating Fields in Locked Forms.
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!
One of the things that Word keeps track of is how long, in minutes, you've been editing your current document. This ...
Discover MoreYou can use fields to cross-reference different text in a document. If you get unwanted results from the ...
Discover MoreThe most common way of adding symbols to a document is to use the Symbol dialog box. There is another way, however, that ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-05-20 01:17:39
Jason Young
I have done as recommended in this article, but it says Object Required when it gets to the line OneField.Update!!
2016-05-20 00:59:51
how do I do this when the field is in the header and footer?
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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:
Comments