automatically updating date

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anne - 06 Jan 2004 20:29 GMT

When opening an existing file, the date is automatically
updated to today's date. Under Insert, Date & Time
the "update automatically" box is NOT ticked off. Also,
the format for the date will not hold once Word has been
closed. We go into Insert, Date & Time to choose the
format and check off the Format default box. This
changes the format for the current file and any other
files created while Word is open. Once Word is closed
and re-opened the default format has gone back to the top
choice. HELP!

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Pat Garard - 07 Jan 2004 00:03 GMT

What matters is whether that box WAS checked, AND
what format WAS selected BEFORE 'Ok' was clicked
when the date was FIRST inserted!

When the box is checked, a DATE field is inserted. That
DATE field also includes the selected format:
{ DATE \@ "d MMMM yyyy" }

Delete the Date and re-type it in THAT Document!

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Regards,
Pat Garard
Australia

Anne & Pat Garard.
apgarardATbigpondDOTnetDOTau
_______________________________________________

> When opening an existing file, the date is automatically
> updated to today's date. Under Insert, Date & Time
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> and re-opened the default format has gone back to the top
> choice. HELP!

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Graham Mayor - 07 Jan 2004 07:53 GMT

There are two unconnected issues here.
1. The date in your existing document has been inserted as a field. Toggle
that field (ALT+F9) and change it from a date or time field to a createdate
field, then toggle back (ALT+F9) and update (F9) This will then show the
date the document was created.
2. The insert date list always has the top item highlighted when you open
Word. This does not mean that this highlighted item is the default format of
the date. That is the format you had selected when you clicked the default
button.

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Suzanne S. Barnhill - 07 Jan 2004 14:43 GMT

There is some confusion about the "default" format for the date (not the
user's fault, but the fault of Word's developers). The highlighted format at
the top is the default you have set in Control Panel | Regional Options. The
default that you are setting when you click the Default... button in the
dialog is the format that will be inserted when you press Alt+Shift+D (which
inserts a DATE field and therefore is of very limited usefulness unless you
plan to either (a) immediately unlink it or (b) change it to CREATEDATE).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)

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Words into Type
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> There are two unconnected issues here.
> 1. The date in your existing document has been inserted as a field. Toggle
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> > and re-opened the default format has gone back to the top
> > choice. HELP!

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Graham Mayor - 07 Jan 2004 15:52 GMT

As well as ALT+SHIFT+D, it was my understanding that it should also be the
format you get when you insert any date field without a mask, however, while
it affects this, it is not the whole story :(

eg setting the default date format to 7 January 2003 (not the setting in
regional settings here) produces the required format with ALT+SHIFT+D (field
or text), but CreateDate now adds the time?

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP
E-mail gmayor@mvps.org
Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>

> There is some confusion about the "default" format for the date (not
> the user's fault, but the fault of Word's developers). The
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>>> and re-opened the default format has gone back to the top
>>> choice. HELP!

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