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: Removing Specific Fields.

Removing Specific Fields

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 18, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you use fields in your documents, you may need a way to delete a specific type of field, while leaving all the other types of fields untouched. You can use the ^d special character in the Find What box when doing a Find and Replace, but the ^d is non-discriminating: It finds all fields.

There are two ways you can approach this problem. First, when using ^d, you can follow it by the field code you want to search. Thus, if you search for ^d XE you can find all the XE fields in the document, ignoring the rest.

The second way is to search using the ^19 character. This is the code for an opening field brace. Follow it by the field you want to select, as in ^19 DATE, and only those fields are found.

Regardless of whether you use ^d or ^19, you should pay attention to what immediately follows. Word is very forgiving of the number of spaces that can follow an opening field brace. It is possible for there to be no spaces after an opening brace or two, three, or more spaces. For this reason, you will want to search for both ^dXE (no spaces) and ^d^wXE (multiple spaces, with the ^w representing white space). The same goes for the second method: you can search for ^19DATE and ^19^wDATE.

When searching for specific fields, you need to make sure that the field codes are displayed in the document. If you don't display them, then Word will ignore the codes. You can display them all by pressing Alt+F9. In addition, you should make sure that hidden text is displayed.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3825) 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: Removing Specific 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

Creating a List of Cross-References

Cross-referencing has long been a capability in Word documents. You can easily add and remove cross-references but ...

Discover More

Creating New Windows

If you need to look at different parts of the same worksheet at the same time, the answer is to create windows for your ...

Discover More

Searching Through Many Workbooks

If you have a folder that contains dozens or hundreds of workbooks, you may need to search through those workbooks to ...

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)

Using the GotoButton Field

Need to jump from one place in your document to another? One way to do this is through the user of the GotoButton field, ...

Discover More

Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document

Need to add the occasional zero with a slash through it? There are a couple of ways you can accomplish this task.

Discover More

Making Common Information Accessible

Got a bunch of info that is common to a lot of your documents? Here's a way to get that information standardized among ...

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 0 + 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.