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Summary

In Microsoft Word, certain actions may update fields in the header or footer of a document, but these same actions do not update the fields in the main body of the document.

NOTE: Automatic updates are not retained until you save the document.

The "More Information" section of this article describes field update behavior.

More Information

Open the Document

Opening the document does not update all fields in the main body of the document. Opening the document updates the fields in the header and footer of the document, with a few exceptions.

NOTE: To manually update the fields in the main body of the document, press F9 from within the field.

Open the Document While in Print Layout View

When you open a document in print layout view, the document is automatically repaginated. As a result, all fields that are updated at repagination are updated when you open the document in print layout view.

Switch to Print Layout View or Print Preview

When you switch to print layout view or print preview, the following fields are updated:

  • The TIME and DATE fields in the main body of the document are updated (unless you previously unlinked these fields by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F9).

  • The fields in the header and footer of the document are updated, including FILLIN and ASK fields.

  • The document is automatically repaginated. As a result, all fields that are updated at repagination are updated.

Paginate or Re-paginate the Document

When you paginate or re-paginate the document, the DATE, TIME, PAGE, and PAGEREF fields in the main body of the document are updated.

In addition, all fields in the header and footer of the document are updated, including FILLIN and ASK fields.

Print the Document

When you print, Word paginates the document, so that all fields in the header and footer and all fields that update at pagination are updated.

NOTE: To update all fields when you print the document, select the
Update Fields check box on the Print tab (on the Tools menu, click Options).

For more information about field updates, click the following article numbers to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212054 Some fields are updated while other fields are not

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