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: Inserting Fields.

Inserting Fields

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 20, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word provides a powerful capability to insert special information in your documents through the use of fields. There are a number of fields that are available within Word and are covered in other issues of WordTips. Inserting a field in your document is very easy; you can use the following methods:

  • Choose the Field option from the Insert menu, then choose the field name from the list of fields presented. When you click your mouse on OK, the field you requested is inserted in your document.
  • Press Ctrl+F9. (This is the easiest method, regardless of your version of Word.)

Any of these methods will work, but the last method only inserts a pair of field brackets—you must enter the information and keywords for the actual field. The other two methods provide a more user-friendly method of inserting fields.

While these methods work fine for inserting single fields, both of them won't work properly if you want to insert a field within a field. To nest fields (put one field inside another), you must use the Ctrl+F9 shortcut key to enter the field within the other field.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1317) 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: Inserting 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. ...

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