Fields are special codes inserted into your document that perform various tasks.

The important thing about Fields is that they are dynamic, in other words they change based on how your document changes.

A simple example of a Field is the auto date insert command.

Many fields are insert indirectly in Word including page numbers, footnotes, and headers.

Others are accessed from the Insert>>Field command.

From this menu you can insert many time saving fields.

To modify a field, click on the options button.

By default the field result is displayed when you insert a field. However, it is possible to see the coding that Word is using.

Place your cursor in the filed and right-click and choose Toggle Field.

If you have several Fields you can move quickly between them by using Alt F1.

You can also lock a Field’s contents so that it does not change or is not updated. You may wish to do this if for example you want to retain the original date of the document.

To lock a Field you must first unlock it. To unlock it use Ctrl+Shift+F11. To lock it use Ctrl+F11.

One of the most useful applications of Fields is in creating an form letter mailing.

There are two parts to a mail merge:

The main document, your letter

The data source containing your names and addresses

After you have those two parts, you merge the files together to produce individualized letters.

To create the main document choose Tools>>Mail Merge to activate the mail merge helper.

Click on Create, and choose Form Letters.

You can either use the document currently active or create a new document.

Choose Tools>>Mail Merge again to activate the Mail Merge helper.

This time click on Get Data Button and choose Create Data Source.

This wizard will help you in defining the Fields that you will specify to be replaced in your document.

Click and remove all the Fields that you do not need for your document.

Continue to fill in all the Fields in your data.

Once the data has been created you are ready to insert the fields into your Form letter.

Click on the Insert Merge Field button on the Mail Merge toolbar can choose the appropriate field to insert.

Once all the Fields have been inserted save your document.

To merge the two files click on the View Merged Data button on the toolbar.

Be sure to check through all your letters (if possible) for mistakes and strange addresses.

You are then ready to print your letters.