📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
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In this article
A field is a small instruction Word calculates: a page number, today’s date, the document title. Type the title once in the file properties and it appears, and updates, everywhere you put the field.
| Field | Insert via | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Title, Company, Author | Insert > Quick Parts > Document Property | Values from File > Info > Properties |
| DATE / SAVEDATE | Insert > Date & Time (tick Update automatically) | Today / last saved |
| PAGE and NUMPAGES | Page Number > Page X of Y | Page 2 of 3 |
| FILENAME \p | Quick Parts > Field > FileName, add path | Full file path in the footer |
See and edit the codes
Alt+F9 shows all field codes, e.g. { DATE \@ "d MMMM yyyy" }. Edit the format switch, Alt+F9 back, F9 to update. Shift+F9 toggles just one field.
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\@ "d MMMM yyyy" gives 5 October 2026; \@ "dd-MM-yyyy" gives 05-10-2026. Capital MM is month, small mm is minutes.Common mistakes
- Typing { } with the keyboard: field braces must be inserted with Ctrl+F9.
- DATE in a letter you’ll keep: it changes every time you open it. Use CREATEDATE, or type the date.
Practice
Download the practice document below: the task list is at the top, the content to work on underneath.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📘Practice documentA 3-page document for header and footer fields.⬇ DOCX · 36 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
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