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: Getting Information About Fields.

Getting Information About Fields

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Many of the tips on how to get the most out of Word involve the use of fields. The proper and creative use of fields can increase your productivity with Word quite substantially. The problem is there is no printed information provided with Word that tells you how to use the fields. (The Word documentation is worthless in this area.) The best way you can get information about fields is to use the on-line documentation in the following manner:

  1. Make sure the Insert tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  2. Click Quick Parts in the Text group, and in the resulting choices choose Field. Word displays the Field dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

  4. In the left column, use the Categories drop-down list to choose a category of field in which you are interested.
  5. In the right column, make sure you can see the field about which you want more information.
  6. Click on the question mark icon in the upper-right corner of the Field dialog box.
  7. Click on the name of the field about which you want more information. Word displays detailed Help information about the field.

When you are through reviewing the help information on the field, you can close the Help window and continue with your use of Word.

Remember that if you are using Word included in Microsoft Office 365, step 5 above takes you to an online Microsoft Support page that lists field codes in Word. Scroll through the list until you find the field about which you want more information. Click on the link for that field code to display another page that describes that particular field code.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9741) 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: Getting Information About Fields.

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

Converting Word to German

Want to convert your usage of Word from one language to another? It's not as easy as one would hope, as you'll discover ...

Discover More

Entering or Importing Times without Colons

Enter a time into a cell and you normally include a colon between the hours and minutes. If you want to skip that pesky ...

Discover More

Spellcheck for Two Languages

Are you creating a document that mixes different languages? Word can handle the multi-language scenario, but it may take ...

Discover More

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!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Quickly Inserting the Date Your Way

Tired of messing with inserting the date and then changing it to a format that is more to your liking? There's a quick ...

Discover More

Date Last Edited

You can insert several dynamic dates into your document. One you may want is to add the date when the last edit was ...

Discover More

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the Last Style on a Page

It is often helpful to reference a specific heading in the header or footer of a page and have that reference change on ...

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 three more than 2?

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.