Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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: Referencing Fields in Another Document.
Tierney is trying to link fields in two different documents. For example, in an application document the applicant enters their name, business, the initial date and several other simple pieces of information. She would like the information in these fields to automatically populate fields in a separate word document.
Perhaps the easiest way to accomplish this task is to use the INCLUDETEXT field. This field allows you to include text from one document in another. In Tierney's case, you begin by making sure that the text you want to include from the application document has bookmarks that define it. For instance, you could define a bookmark that notes the applicant's name (perhaps AppName) and another for the applicant's business (perhaps AppBusiness). If the application document is named Application.doc, then you could use the following field in the other document:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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: 
{ INCLUDETEXT "c:\\myfolder\\Application.doc" AppName }
The field indicates the absolute path to the application document, along with the name of the bookmark that defines the text you want to include. (You should replace "myfolder" with the name of the folder in which Application.doc is stored.) Note, as well, that the path to the document must include double backslashes instead of single backslashes.
You can include as many bookmarked fields from the application document in the other documents as you want, just use a separate INCLUDETEXT field for each piece of information you want to reference.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10803) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Referencing Fields in Another Document.
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2017-06-23 10:52:08
(Mr.) Cajun2core
A major flaw with this is that if you change the information in the "include" file, the bookmark in the include file is removed (as far as I can tell). Does anyone know a work-around for this?
Thanks!
2014-08-07 11:05:29
Sheldon
I write construction specifications, which are reused countless times for many projects. Each of the specification files has common information, such as the project title, project number, and issue date. I keep that common information in a separate document titled info.doc, in the same directory as the specifications. Each of the specifications has links to draw information from info.doc.
Example: This link looks in info.doc for the book mark "title".
{ INCLUDETEXT "info.doc" title * MERGEFORMAT }
I use relative, rather than absolute paths, which makes the entire folder portable. Using an absolute path will break the link if the source file is moved, or if the filename is changed.
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