Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Getting Information About Fields.

Getting Information About Fields

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 4, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


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 not 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. Choose Field from the Insert menu. Word displays the Field dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  2. Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

  3. In the left column, choose a category of field in which you are interested. (In Word XP, you use the Categories drop-down list to select a category of field.)
  4. In the right column, make sure you can see the field about which you want more information. (In Word 2002 and Word 2003 you use the Field Names list, which is at the left of the Field dialog box.)
  5. Click on the question mark icon in the upper-right corner of the Field dialog box.
  6. 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.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (384) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) 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

Printing Return Address Labels

Want an easy way to create your own return address labels? Word provides the tool as a feature of the program.

Discover More

Changing How Changes are Noted in Word

Do you want to modify how Word marks changes in your document? It's easy to do, if you know where to look.

Discover More

Specifying Index Section Dividers

When adding an index to your document, you can use one of the available field switches to specify how the index should be ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Locating Locked Fields

A field can be locked or unlocked, and its condition controls whether it is updated automatically or not. If you want to ...

Discover More

Inserting the Total Number of Characters in Your Document

One of the things that Word keeps track of regarding your document is the number of characters it contains. Using the ...

Discover More

Removing Specific Fields

Word allows you to place all sorts of fields in your documents. If you want to search for only specific types of fields, ...

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 7 - 7?

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.