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: Displaying Fields.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 24, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
Many of the tips provided in WordTips rely on the use of fields. The reason for this is simple: Fields allow the easy inclusion of dynamic data within your documents. Normally, Word hides the contents of fields (the "codes" that are intrinsic to the field), replacing them instead with their result, if they are the type of field that yields a result.
If you want to see the contents of your fields, then you can toggle the display so that those contents are visible. You do this by pressing Alt+F9. Any field contents should then be visible, and you can modify those field contents, if desired.
Remember that this shortcut functions as a toggle. When you are through viewing the field contents, just press Alt+F9 again. Word hides the field contents and replaces them with the field results, if any.
The Alt+F9 toggle affects all the fields in your document. If you want to affect only a single field (the one in which the insertion pointer is located) you can use Shift+F9 as the toggle. Other fields in the document remain unaffected by your action. You can also, if desired, right-click on a field and choose Toggle Field Codes from the resulting Context menu.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9083) 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: Displaying Fields.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!
You can place dynamic fields into many parts of your document. If your document contains a lot of fields, you might ...
Discover MoreFields provide a great way to add dynamic content to your documents. If you don't want those fields to update when you ...
Discover MoreIf you are creating a reference document of some type, you may want to include in the header of that document an ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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 © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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:
Comments