I want users to be able to type a date into the footer on the first page of a doument and have the date flow through a doument with several section breaks and landscape and portrait sections, using Word's StyleRef field in subsequent sections. The sections are not linked to previous.

In this document, there is a meeting date, with a StyleRef field in the header, but there's another date in the footer, the date the document is delivered to the customer. We don't want to put the delivery date in th document body.

After testing, I've learned that the style referenced by the field must be in the body of the document for the field to find it. Linking the field to a character style in the footer did not work.



Is there another way we could accomplish putting a date in the first footer and havng it flow through out the other sections?

STYLEREF can't see paragraphs in headers or footers; that is correct.

You can enclose the date in a bookmark and use a cross-reference to bookmark text in the footer(s) where you want it to repeat.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

You could use an ASK field to get the information into the bookmark if you want.

Thank you both. I tried the ASK/Bookmark/Ref field, but couldn't get it to work. To test it first, created all items in the document body.

1) Created bookmark "DeliveryDate"
2) Created Ref field referring to the bookmark
3) Created ASK field

ASK field opened upon creation and I entered a date. Nothing happened. Also tried it with Ref field in footer and bookmark and ASK in body.

Questions?
Would anything in the bookmark be visible on the screen?
How would a user access the ASK field? I couldn't get it to open again.
Does the ASK field need to be linked to text in the document body or to a button? If so, I'm not sure this is for us. The document in question is a meeting summary that we distribute to our customers, and we wouldn't want them to see an internal tool we use for our own convenience.

I still want to know how to make this work -- I might use it somewhere else.

I haven't used as ASK field for a long time. Userforms are far less cumbersome in use even if they take a bit more to construct. However, a userform, by definition involves macros.

When triggered, as ASK field gets information and inserts it into the document in a bookmark. This is not visible, but is as fragile as any bookmark. So, you do not create the bookmark, the ASK field does.

Here is the reference for the ASK Field on the MS Site.
Here is a link to my tutorial on ASK and FILL-IN fields.

Note, if you put an ASK field (not the REF to it) in a header or footer, it will be triggered every time you print (actually every time you view the print preview).

If it is in the body of the document, you can use Ctrl-A, F9. This updates all fields in a document and will trigger the ASK field.

Unless you want your customers editing your documents, you should not be sending them in Word format but rather in PDF.

You have to save it as a template if I remember.

I have attached a document (.docx) with a wrapped bookmark around the Fillin Field.
Then I have put in a page break (the doc has Different 1st Page) and in the footer on page 2 I have inserted a Cross Reference to the Bookmark "DeliveryDate".

When the user answers the Fillin Field on page 1 the Ref Field will show the data entered.

You have to use File New to create a copy of the Template and the Fillin Field should prompt the user for the Document Delivery Date. So you have ot save the .docx file as a .dotx (template) file first.

The only trouble is it will also prompt the user for the Date when you try and print. You need a macro to convert the field to text or just OK through the Fillin Field as it is only one field.

Hope this is a little clearer.

Kind regards
Janine

Attached Files

FillinField.docx (45.5 KB, 10 views)

Have downloaded Charles' ASK tutorial. Very helpful. Tested in my document and (of course) works well.
It looks as if the only way to update after entering the ASK data is Print Preview (without a macro, which I don't want to use -- security flags). Correct? From the posts, there must be some special relationship between the footer and Print.

First, I would never put an ASK field in a header or footer. I would not want it triggered every time I print.

If you know where in the document your ASK field is located, you can select that area even with the field codes hidden and press F9 to update. You can display field codes to find it with Alt-F9. Be sure to toggle back to hidden, though, or the codes will print instead of the result.

If you don't have other fields where updating would be a problem, and if your ASK field is in the body of your document, you can simply press Ctrl-A to select the entire body of the document and then F9 to update fields.

If you can get your users to enter the required date as a document property, you could use a field wherever you need to see that date in the document.

"Can get" – I have inherited some documents prepared by a more experienced Word user that prompt for properties when I open them; no idea how this works. When I need to set properties myself, I just go to the File tab.

You can cross-link some of the new content controls directly with document properties. See Mayor & Maxey "Content Control, Variable, Bookmark and Document Property Tools" Add-In

Also see Repeating Data (Populating Multiple Like Fields) for ideas on user prompts.