Reading old letters - date changes to current date

[Guest]

When I open an old letter/document that I have inserted the date, the date
changes to the "current date". How do I sop this happening. The box is not
checked in update date and time in the Tools menu.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Your letter/document contains a DATE or TIME field. Press Alt+F9 to reveal
the field code and change DATE or TIME to CREATEDATE. Alt+F9 to toggle back
to field results and F9 to update the field. The date will then reflect the
date the document was created.

The setting of the box in the Insert | Date and Time dialog is relevant only
when you are inserting a date through that dialog. If you use the
Alt+Shift+D shortcut or the Insert Date button on the Header and Footer
toolbar, you will always insert a DATE field.

For more, see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/DateFields.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Jay Freedman]

When I open an old letter/document that I have inserted the date, the
date changes to the "current date". How do I sop this happening. The
box is not checked in update date and time in the Tools menu.

Change the DATE field to a CREATEDATE field. See
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/tblsfldsfms/DateFields.htm.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

You are using a DATE or TIME field rather than a CREATEDATE field. This
field should be put in the original template if possible (instead of
inserting using the keyboard shortcut or header/footer toolbar button).

In the document in question, press Alt-F9 to display field codes. Then
change the field to a CREATEDATE field, press F9 and then Alt-F9.

See http://addbalance.com/word/datefields1.htm for information on the
different kinds of datefields and how to format them.

--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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[Guest]

Thanks to those who responded. All is now well.

 

[LurfysMa]

When I open an old letter/document that I have inserted the date, the date
changes to the "current date". How do I sop this happening. The box is not
checked in update date and time in the Tools menu.

You have been given several suggestion all having to do with using the
creation date. Personally, I prefer another soluition. I insert a
normal date field just as you are doing. I leave it as a field until I
finish the letter or document. I rarely finish a document the same day
and I want it to reflect the date I completed the document, not the
date I started it.

When it is finished and I am ready to send it, I then use Ctrl+6 to
change it from a field to normal text. It don't change after that.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

You can do the same thing using the CreateDate field.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

No, you can't, Charles. If you work on a letter for several days, the
CreateDate is no longer the current date, which is what LurfysMa wants.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Ah, I change the date to the current date using the keyboard after I freeze
the field.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I do the same thing (because in most cases the CreateDate *is* what I want,
so I don't want to change my template), but LurfysMa's method would really
be more practical for the letter template I use for a client who almost
never sends letters on the day he writes them (he's an artist and often
forgets about them for weeks).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Ah, I change the date to the current date using the keyboard after I freeze
the field.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Tim]

This is all very well but surely the user wants the date set at when he/she
uses the function. Why would Microsoft set it up this way. I use it for
lectures and use the same document week in week out. Now all my lectures look
like they're on the same day. Crazy.

 

[Graham Mayor]

When you use the insert date function, you have the option to insert the
date to update automatically or not. It is not Microsoft's fault that you
didn't select the option you required. If you want to create a template with
automatic date insertion, use a CreateDate field.

If the lectures are individual documents, what you need to do is change the
date fields for createdate fields - ALT+F9 change {DATE \@ "d MMM yyyy"}or
{TIME \@ "d MMM yyyy"} to {CREATEDATE \@ "d MMM yyyy"} then F9 and ALT+F9.
The switches \@ "d MMM yyyy" may be different at your location.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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