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: Understanding the Advance Field.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 27, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Fields allow you to control special features in Word, or to insert special information in your documents. One of the fields you can use is the Advance field. This field is used for positioning the text that follows the field. All text to the end of the paragraph is affected. For instance, let's say you wanted all the text after the field to be moved up by six points. You could use the following field:
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:
{ ADVANCE \u 6 }
This might not seem like such a big deal, since you can also move text up by using superscript formatting. However, the field can be cumulative, so that you can create some interesting effects. Let's say, for example, that you wanted each word in a sentence to move up by six points from the word before. In this instance, all you need to do is include the above field at the beginning of each word in the sentence. Word formats the text so it appears to be "stair stepping" upwards.
There are several switches you can use with the Advance field, as follow.
| Switch | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| \d | Moves text down a specified number of points. | |
| \l | Moves text left a specified number of points. (Text to the left is overwritten.) | |
| \r | Moves text right a specified number of points. | |
| \u | Moves text up a specified number of points. | |
| \x | Moves text a specified distance from the left margin of the column or frame. | |
| \y | Moves text to the specified vertical position relative to the current line position. The entire line of text that contains the field is moved. |
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (547) 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: Understanding the Advance Field.
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2016-08-09 09:48:28
Teresa
Word 97 the y advanced to a specific vertical position on the page, NOT specific to current line position. We used it to enter text on a specific line for each document. It doesn't work in Word 10
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