Update all field in word

Update Fields in Your Microsoft Word Documents Manually or Automatically

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 6, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 or 365 (Windows)

If you have inserted fields in your Microsoft Word document, you can choose to update them manually or have them update automatically. For fields you update manually, you can update just one field or update all the fields in your Word document at once. Some fields, such as page numbers, will automatically update when you preview your document. Many fields are set by default to update when you open a document but you can also set an option in Microsoft Word to update fields when you preview your file.

You can insert fields in several ways in Word. Some fields are created when you use Word’s built-in features (such as inserting a table of contents, a cross-reference, a bookmark or a page number). Other fields can be inserted using the Field dialog box or can be entered using keyboard shortcuts.

Recommended article: How to Insert Built-in and Custom Fields in Microsoft Word

Updating a single field

You can update a single field manually in two ways:

1. Right-click the field and select Update Field. Depending on the type of field, another dialog box may appear where you can select other options (this occurs for example, with a tables of contents).
2. Click the field and press F9.

Update field appears in the drop-down menu when you right-click a field:

Updating all fields in the body of a Word document

To manually update all fields in the body of a Word document:

1. Click in the body of the Word document.
2. Press Ctrl + A.
3. Press F9.

Updating fields in headers, footers or text boxes

Some fields in headers, footers or text boxes must be updated separately.

To update fields in headers, footers or text boxes:

1. Click in the header, footer or text box.
2. Pess Ctrl + A to select all.
3. Press F9.

Page fields do not need to be updated manually.

Updating a table of contents field

If you update a table of contents, another dialog box appears. In the Update Table of Contents dialog box, select Update page numbers only if no content has changed. Select Update entire table to update page numbers and content.

Updating fields before printing or previewing

You can set an option in Microsoft Word to ensure that all fields are updated automatically before previewing (to preview, click the File tab in the Ribbon and then click Print):

1. Click the File tab in the Ribbon and click Options at the bottom. A dialog box appears.
2. Click Display in the categories on the left.
3. Scroll down to the Printing options area in the panel on the right.
4. Ensure the check box for Update fields before printing is checked.
5. Click OK.

The Word Options dialog box where Update field before printing has been checked appears as follows:

Preventing field updating

You can prevent fields from updating by locking them.

To lock a field so that it is not updated, click the field, and then press Ctrl + F11. To unlock a field so that it can be updated, click the field, and then press Ctrl + Shift + F11.

Displaying fields with grey shading

You can change your options in Microsoft Word so that all fields are displayed with grey shading (the shading does not print). This can be helpful to determine where you have fields in your document.

To display fields with grey shading:

1. Click the File tab in the Ribbon and click Options at the bottom. A dialog box appears.
2. Click Advanced in the categories on the left.
3. Scroll down to Show document content area in the panel on the right.
4. Select Always from the drop-down menu for Field shading.
5. Click OK.

The Word Options dialog box with Field shading set to Always appears as follows:

You may not want to display field shading permanently. The default setting is Field shading when selected.

Fields are a very powerful way of using variable content in Microsoft Word documents. However, if fields do not update, your document can display errors or inaccurate content.

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I want a way of updating all fields in a Word 2013 document. (If it works in other versions, all the better; I originally had this problem with Word 2007, and nothing seems to have changed since then.) This includes cross-references, page numbers, tables of contents, indexes, headers, etc. If it can be updated by pressing F9, I want it updated.

(In theory updating fields can cause other fields to need updating, e.g. a longer table of contents changes some page numbers in the main text. Taking care of the common cases is good enough for me. In fact, it’s ok if I have to run the macro two or three times before it stabilizes. I just want to have a single macro that finds everything.)

My attempt so far doesn’t update fields in text boxes inside figures. How do I update them, and what else have I missed?

EDIT: Combining the answer given with what I already had gives a macro that seems to update everything (with a known defect).

'' Update all the fields, indexes, etc. in the specified document.
Sub UpdateAllFieldsIn(doc As Document)
    '' Update tables. We do this first so that they contain all necessary
    '' entries and so extend to their final number of pages.
    Dim toc As TableOfContents
    For Each toc In doc.TablesOfContents
        toc.Update
    Next toc
    Dim tof As TableOfFigures
    For Each tof In doc.TablesOfFigures
        tof.Update
    Next tof
    '' Update fields everywhere. This includes updates of page numbers in
    '' tables (but would not add or remove entries). This also takes care of
    '' all index updates.
    Dim sr As range
    For Each sr In doc.StoryRanges
        sr.Fields.Update
        While Not (sr.NextStoryRange Is Nothing)
            Set sr = sr.NextStoryRange
            '' FIXME: for footnotes, endnotes and comments, I get a pop-up
            '' "Word cannot undo this action. Do you want to continue?"
            sr.Fields.Update
        Wend
    Next sr
End Sub
'' Update all the fields, indexes, etc. in the active document.
'' This is a parameterless subroutine so that it can be used interactively.
Sub UpdateAllFields()
    UpdateAllFieldsIn ActiveDocument
End Sub

Update all fields in a document

1. Press Ctrl + A.
2. Press F9.
3. If your document has tables with fields or formulas, you might need to select each table separately and press F9.

How do I update all fields in Word for Mac?

Updating cross references in word for MAC

1. Right-clicking an individual field & selecting Update Field from the contextual menu.
2. Selecting the field then pressing F9 to update that field.
3. Using Command+A then pressing F9 to update all fields in the document.

How do I update all caption fields?

Click anywhere in the document and press CTRL+A to select the entire document. Right-click, and then choose Update Field on the shortcut menu. All of the captions in the document should now be updated.

How do I update all fields in Word without F9?

To add to what Paul and Charles have said, many fields can be updated if you repaginate the document, which you can do if you switch to Print Preview and then go back to your previous view. You can press Ctrl+F2 (or Ctrl+P) and then ESC.

How do you select all fields in Word?

Put cursor in “Find what” text box and enter “^d” to find all fields. Next click “Find In” and choose “Main Document”. You will see all fields are in selection now. You can choose to highlight them as to stand out.

How do you insert a field that will automatically update in Word?

Insert a date that updates automatically

1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Date & Time.
2. In the Date and time dialog box, select the format you want.
3. Select the Update automatically check box. The date is inserted as a field and will update automatically.

How do I edit fields in Word?

1. Right-click the field, and then click Edit Field.
2. Do one of the following: If Field properties and Field options are displayed, select the formatting options that you want. If only the field code is displayed, click Options, and then select the formatting options that you want.

What does Ctrl Shift F9 do in Word?

To do so, select the entire field or expression and press Ctrl + Shift + F9. Word will remove the field code, leaving only the text. If you want to retain the field code, but prevent automatic updates, lock the field by selecting it and pressing Ctrl + F11.

How do you edit a caption in Word?

Editing Caption Style

1. Go to the “Styles” section of the “Home” tab and find “Caption”
2. Right click “Caption” and select “Modify” to open a new window. The “Styles” menu.
3. Pick the font and formatting options required.
4. Click “OK” to apply the new style. Modifying the “Caption” style.

Why is F9 not working in Word?

A hardware problem
The past F9 etc troubles usually include suspecting a Windows / Office bug … but it turned out to be the hardware. In one case it was a BIOS setting for the Function keys which reset the Fn keys on startup.Some keyboards have a Function/Fn shift which could be locked on without your knowledge.

How do you update toggle fields in Word?

To update a single field, select it (or click anywhere in it) and press F9, or right-click the field and choose Update Field. If you have toggled on the display of the field code string, updating the field toggles it back to displaying the results.

To update fields in headers, footers or text boxes:

1. Click in the header, footer or text box.
2. Pess Ctrl + A to select all.
3. Press F9.

How do I turn off update fields in Word 2010?

File>Options>Display and uncheck the “Update fields before printing” may do it. Or, it may be necessary to use Ctrl+A (to select everything) and then Ctrl+F11 to Lock the fields, or Ctrl+Shift+F9 to Unlink them. Hope this helps.

What is Shift F7?

Shift+F7: Open the thesaurus. If you have a word selected when you press this combo, Word opens the thesaurus and looks up the selected word.

What is Alt F11?

Ctrl + Alt + F11 sort of puts the GUI to sleep, and puts you into a virtual terminal mode, something like the old fashion ttys. Once in this mode you can choose between 6 different tty input screens. Each acting like it is an old-fashion tty.

What does Alt F4 do in Word?

Alt + F4 is a Windows keyboard shortcut that completely closes the application you’re using. It differs slightly from Ctrl + F4, which closes the current window of the application you’re viewing. Laptop users may need to press the Fn key in addition to Alt + F4 to use this shortcut.

How do I update all figure numbers in Word?

Instead of searching and replacing all the figure numbers in the text, click “Edit” -> “Select All” (or, Ctrl + A), which select the entire document, then, press “F9”. This updates all the figure number automatically.

How do you update cross references in Word?

To update all references in a document, select Edit – Select All (or press Ctrl A), then press F9 or right-click and select Update Field. You can set Word to always update cross-references before printing your document.

How do you reference a caption in Word?

From the References tab, in the Captions group, select Cross-reference . In the Cross-reference dialog box, select the reference type and other options. In the For which caption section, select the item you want to reference and select Insert .

What is F mode key?

The FnLk, F-Lock key is a toggle key on a PC compatible keyboard used to enable or disable the F1 through F12 keys’ secondary functions (hotkeys).Pressing the F-Lock key again toggles off (disables) the F1-F12 key standard functions, and turns on the ability to use the secondary functions on those keys.

How do I unlock my F keys?

For example, on the keyboard below, the Fn Lock key appears as a secondary action on the Esc key. To enable it, we’d hold Fn and press the Esc key. To disable it, we’d hold Fn and press Esc again. It functions as a toggle just like Caps Lock does.