I don't use Word all that much and this may be a basic question.



If there a way that I can insert a date in a Word document so that everytime it opens it will automatically show todays date rather than having to update the date manually.

Excel has an =Today function that does this, and I wonder does Word have an equivalent command.

Edited to add I'm using Word 2000

Hello.

Please follow the steps below to insert date and time that will automatically update in your document.

1. Click where you want to insert the date or time.

2. On the Insert menu, click Date and Time.

3. If you want to insert the date or time in a different language format, then click the language in the Language box.

The Language box includes a list of the enabled editing languages. Additional date and time options may also be available, depending on the language that you selected.

4. In the Available formats box, click a date or time format.

5. Select whether you want the date to automatically update or to remain as originally inserted. Do one of the following:

a. To insert the date and time as a field that's automatically updated
when you open or print the document, select the Update automatically
check box.

b. To maintain the original date and time as static text, clear the Update
automatically check box.

Hope this helps.

A. Trivedi

Hi atrivedi,

I doubt anyone is still waiting on a reply to a post from 2006.

Besides, there's a simpler method:

Press Ctrl-F9 to create a pair of field braces '{ }'
Type 'DATE' between the braces, thus '{DATE}'
Press F9 to update.

You can control the DATE field's formatting via what Word calls a picture switch. Some of the possible date formatting switches include:
. \@ "d MMMM yyyy"
. \@ "dddd, d MMMM yyyy";
. \@ "ddd, d MMMM yyyy";
. \@ "d MMM yyyy";
. \@ "dd/MMM/yyyy";
. \@ "d-MM-yy"
You add these to the field after the 'DATE' string (eg '{DATE \@ "d-MM-yy"}).

Note: you can swap the d, M, y expressions around, but you must use uppercase 'M's for months - lowercase 'm's are for minutes.

If you need to edit the field, simply select it and press Shift-F9 to expose the code.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Sorry if this doesn't belong anywhere. I'm using Word 2002 (Works Suite 2004) and can't stop it from updating the date. I've checked and unchecked every box I can see but to no effect. Help!

Hi Peter,

Select the date and press Ctrl-Shift-F9.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Thanks - unfortunately that's one of the things I've tried!

Hi Peter,

What do you see where the date appears if you press Alt-F9?

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Where I typed it. Actually it seems to me that out of the ways to turn off the updating facility, the ability to do so might be missing.

Hi Peter,

IIRC, the Works version of Word is a fairly basic version, lacking some of the features of the fully-fledged version. The ability to create & modify fields may be one of those 'missing' features. So, If the document was originally created in a fully-fledged version of Word, the Works version might not be able to edit the fields - about the best you might be able to do is to delete & replace or overtype them with fixed dates.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Hi - I wondered about this. The only possibility is that if I click on the insert date icon (in customize) a series of symbols appears which "translates" to the current date. I can't display the symbols here because they do just that! I wonder if it's worth getting whatever the upgrade is for this version.

Sorry, I got that wrong. If I click on the "insert date" icon (customize) I get a series of symbols which then translate to the actual date. I can't do that in this message, however! I did wonder what the appropriate upgrade version would be - I can't see that there's one for 2002.

Hi Peter,

I'd be inclined to purchase a copy outright, rather than going for an upgrade. That way, you don't have to hang onto the old installation media. Depending on what you need, you can buy it for as little as US$149.99 (perhaps cheaper at some retail outlets). To see what's available, go to: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/bu...101825640.aspx

Do be warned, though, Office 2010 is completely unlike your old version. You might want to take a look at the trial version before committing to a changeover. If you really don't like the new version, a copy of Office 2003 would be a good alternative. It is far better than Office 2002 ever was (IMHO so too was Office 2000). You should be able to find a legit copy on ebay.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Hi Macropod,

Could be that the answer was in an earlier posting (ddMMyyyy between the two braces), but I think I'll take your advice and hunt around for a complete version. Thanks a lotm for your help.