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: Locating Locked Fields.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 4, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Fields are very useful when working with a document—they allow you to place "dynamic" information in your documents. Sometimes you may want a field to remain static; to not change. You can do this by selecting the field and press Ctrl+F11. This "locks" the field so it does not update from its current value.
If you have a lot of fields in a document, and some of them are locked, you may want a way to quickly find out which ones are locked. Word has no special feature that allows you to search for locked fields, but you can create a macro that will search them out for you. The following macro, FindLocked, starts at the beginning of a document and finds locked fields. It selects each locked field, in turn, and asks you if you want to continue searching.
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:
Sub FindLocked()
Dim iField As Integer
Dim vResponse As Variant
For iField = 1 To ActiveDocument.Fields.Count
If ActiveDocument.Fields(iField).Locked Then
ActiveDocument.Fields(iField).Select
vResponse = MsgBox("Continue Searching?", vbYesNo)
If vResponse = vbNo Then Exit For
End If
Next iField
End Sub
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1367) 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: Locating Locked Fields.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!
One of the most powerful and useful fields provided by Word is the SEQ field. This tip describes how you can use the ...
Discover MoreAutomatically putting today's date at the top of a report is easy. Putting a different date, automatically, can be more ...
Discover MoreOne of the more esoteric ways to display data is with an "array," which is like a miniature inline table. This tip ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments