Wrong Suggested Date

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 15, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Andy writes proposals that, naturally, include the current date. He's recently noticed that if he starts to type today's date, he gets an AutoText tip above his typing that shows yesterdays date, not today's. This occurs even though the Windows system date and time are correct. When Andy chooses Insert | Date and Time, Word gives the correct date, but if he chooses Tools | AutoCorrect and selects the AutoText tab, uncheck Show AutoComplete Tip for AutoText and Dates, selects OK then goes back and re-checks it, the correct date will appear when he starts typing.

The behavior being noticed by Andy is due to the way that Word sets its dates. When you first start the program, Word retrieves the system date from Windows and then stores that date in the AutoText/AutoComplete area. This is the date that appears when you start to type a date into your document. The date is only fetched from Windows once--at the start of your Word session--and then stored internally for use. If you leave Word open on your system, past midnight, then the AutoText/AutoComplete date will be incorrect; it still reflects the date when Word session started.

Andy actually noticed a couple of exceptions to this. First, when you use Insert | Date and Time, Word gives the correct date because this command actually goes and fetches the Windows date and time every time it is used. Further, when you turn off the Show AutoComplete Tip for AutoText and Dates checkbox, close the AutoCorrect Options dialog box, and then go back in and again choose the checkbox, you are forcing Word to again fetch the date from Windows--this is why it works properly after going through this process.

An easier approach is to simply exit and restart Word whenever you notice that the AutoText/AutoComplete date is incorrect.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (335) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Skipping Hidden Rows in a Macro

As your macro processes information in a worksheet, you may want to make sure that it skips over rows that are hidden. ...

Discover More

Viewing Same Cells on Different Worksheets

When switching from one worksheet to another, you might want to view the same portion of the new worksheet that you were ...

Discover More

Page Ranges in a TOC

It is easy to generate a table of contents for a document, and that TOC can contain page number references for each ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Storing AutoText Entries with a Document

AutoText entries can provide quite a bit of flexibility and power in a document. If you want to share those entries with ...

Discover More

Saving AutoText Entries with Each Document

AutoText can be a great way to add consistent, common text to a document. Unfortunately, you cannot save AutoText entries ...

Discover More

Table Borders not Stored in AutoText

Many people create tables and store those tables in AutoText entries for later use. If the formatting of those tables ...

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 6 + 5?

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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.