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: Making Common Information Accessible.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 26, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
You may have a lot of common information that needs to appear in many different documents. For instance, you may need your address, phone number, or similar information to appear in lots of different documents. The problem is that addresses, phone numbers, and other information can frequently change. Thus, if you want to change this common information in a bunch of files, you must resort to making tedious changes, or you must use a macro or a third-party solution.
One way to potentially save time when including common information in a file is to store the common items in their own file and bookmark them. Then, in the main document files you can use the INCLUDETEXT field to refer to the bookmarked item. The field, when it is updated, automatically grabs the current values of the bookmarked items and inserts them in the document. This approach allows you to update the address, phone number, or what-have-you in the single file, and have the change propagate through your other documents.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10050) 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: Making Common Information Accessible.
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!
Word includes a command-line syntax that you can use to open files and do other operations. If you want to load a text ...
Discover MoreSaving documents on a network drive can be convenient. It can also be frustrating if it seems like your changes aren't ...
Discover MoreWord allows you to specify where it should start looking for your documents. This setting can come in handy if you store ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-04-10 06:21:36
Brian Crane
I use Quick Parts in my Word 365 where my address details are logged, then all one has to do is insert into the document where you want it.
2022-04-09 16:15:22
John Mann
But I wonder how to insert the standard info, if once the files have been made they are to be static - not updated - so as to record the info as it was at the time the files were created.
I'm somewhat rusty on my Word knowledge.
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