Format field switches. You can also add the formatting directly in the document.

Format field switches Hold “Alt” and press “F9” to display the field codes, which should look similar to this: { MERGEFIELD GIFT_DATE} Create switches in your Microsoft Word 2010 Mail Merge fields so that your merged data appears the way you want it to! This easy to follow tutorial will show Jan 2, 2025 · Although this dialog gives a number of formatting options, at this point, I will discuss field switches instead. Figure 11. Click Alt + F9 to view the field formats. Press Alt F9 to display all field codes in a document. To format a numeric merge field, use the \# switches. For date fields, enter '\@' as the format switch. But Excel uses special color codes in square brackets like [Red] which appear in the formatting string, but they don’t work in Word. Aspose. Volunteering to "pay forward" the help I've received in the Microsoft user community. I assumed that it is simply something that was typed. In addition, I would like to use the following formula ({MERGEFIELD Less_Goods_and_Services_Exchng 12. Various techniques using switches and conditional fields are demonstrated for tasks like formatting numbers, inserting text or images conditionally, and testing Jul 31, 2017 · Word 2016 is not recognizing format switches in page number fields. The quickest way to format a date is to use the Field Options dialog box The date switch \@ It is possible to format your dates in many different ways Jan 12, 2023 · Formatting fields with switches by Graham Mayor, MVP. Syntax ={ LISTNUM [“Name“] [Switches] } Name (Optional) The term ‘name’ isn’t very good in this context, it would be better called ‘format’. These are helpful when text or numbers need to be displayed and in a specific manner; for example, when a currency amount needs to be spelled out as on a check (ex: Five hundred twenty-one instead of $521. Overview Source of index entries: Jeeped's referred you to Microsoft’s 'CardText' field switch, but that doesn’t support decimal values. myField \* MERGEFORMAT} Updated field code: {MERGEFIELD myObject. Type (or copy/paste) the existing code, without the field brackets, into the Find What box. Add a new paragraph at the top of the page b. Field switches are field-specific, changing the behavior of the fields to which they are applied. ) For example, if the Annual Review merge field has a value of 100, changing the field to {MERGEFIELD "Name_DemoANNUAL_REVIEW \#$#,0. Jan 18, 2022 · Via the Format Page Number dialog, the page numbering can be set to Continue from that in the previous Section, or to start at a particular number in that Section. The solution to this problem is to add what is called a “Numeric Picture field switch” The switch uses symbols to represent the format that needs to be applied. Managing Mailmerge Graphics To insert variable images in a mailmerge, you need to embed the relevant mailmerge field in a INCLUDEPICTURE field. In the merged document, the number should appear in the switch format. Example of date switches: 6 days ago · When using mail merge tables in Word templates, you may run into the difficulty of formatting the date and currency fields. According to Microsoft docs only \* will override the \h switch but in our testing both \* and \# will ‘unhide’ the SEQ value. Oct 1, 2010 · The field doesn't actually display any result in the document, so I suspect it is there to help Word remember exactly which level each number in that "Enter formatting for number" box actually standas for (and/or, to allow users to copy/paste those numbers without the information about their level being lost. 8: Converting to text You’ll find a list of format switches and examples at Insert and format field codes Apr 30, 2013 · To apply specific font formatting to the text displayed in a field, toggle on the field code display and then format the first character in the field name the way you want the field result to be. I'm using this in conjunction with the document automation feature in the RocketMatter SaaS solution, and their merge fields are predefined and case sensitive. A field in a document can have formatting switches that specify how the resulting value should be formatted. Mar 12, 2025 · Hides the field result Use it to refer to a SEQ field in a cross-references without printing the number For example, you might want to refer to a numbered chapter but not print the chapter number The \h switch doesn't hide the field result if a Format (\*) switch is also present. Switches that apply to multiple fields are shown on the General Switches tab (Figure 16. In addition to text formatting, you can control the format of field results at the field level, with general switches that determine how data in the field is displayed. Nov 1, 2021 · I then show the fields and add \* charformat to each, and format the REF and PAGEREF text as I prefer - blue underlined. To add a numeric switch, perform these steps: Select the merge field whose format you want to change. Table A displays the date format codes. Jun 8, 2012 · Using Switches in MS Word 2010 to format merged fields. 00} Note:the '\# $,0. Cross-references will also be updated when you switch to Print Preview or when you print if the Word option File > Options > Display > Printing options: Update fields before printing is turned on. Jan 3, 2006 · The format is: \# switch argument If no switch is present, the result is formatted without leading spaces or trailing fractional zeros. Thanks, Cason Formatting Word fields with switches Word provides the means to format the contents of fields inserted into the document, by the use of masks. To format date fields. Please verify the feature works as desired outside of Nintex DocGen using sample data in the Word document as pictured Formatting switch. This dialog box can be displayed by pressing on the "Form Field Options" button on the Forms toolbar Jul 5, 2022 · All our examples will show ListNum fields in a short paragraph or list. All number switches must begin with \#. All the options include the day, month, and year. Switches allow formatting of numbers, text, and other field contents. Oct 23, 2019 · You can format numbers as currency, but it is not automatic. Since you don't say what format you want, all that can be done is to suggest a generic switch for your mergefield: \# "'('000') '000' '0000" To add the switch, select the mergefield and press Shift-F9 to expose its field code, which will initially look like: {MERGEFIELD Phone} Apr 1, 2025 · Formatting Dates. Press Fn + Shift + F9 on Mac. Previously, it was hard to find the format page settings. We’ve updated the format tab icon and added a descriptive subtitle to make it easier to find the Format pane. Please add the following formatting data \# $,0. To specify the type of numbering, use the \* switch followed by the appropriate code. Enter the switch in the field code. To apply the switch, in your mail merge document, right-click the field that needs formatting and select Toggle Field Codes from the shortcut menu. The problem is that the switches don’t seem to do ANYTHING at all as far as the currency values go. In Word 2000 and earlier, select one of the Date and Time fields and press the “Options” button. \* - Formats. Switches specify how to build the equation with the elements enclosed in parentheses. A numeric field switch argument is made up of a series of "picture items. The full Jan 2, 2025 · Although this dialog gives a number of formatting options, at this point, I will discuss field switches instead. It increments to the next sequence number. Notes The following is a list of some of the available format field switches for use in Word® templates. Mar 17, 2020 · Here, the SEQ field appears to "behave": If I want to restart a field in a sequence, using the \r switch, I can simply omit the format (\*) switch from that instance of the field and the field will be restarted and it will also be hidden, if the \h switch is also present. Switches within a Mail Merge merge field may be used to format the resulting output. For instance, you could use a general switch to select uppercase letters. This can be Date, Currency, Percent or some other field. (Hold ALT while pressing F9) A currency mail merge field will look something like {MERGEFIELD “fieldname” \* MERGEFORMAT \# $#,###,###. Word provides switches to format fields inserted into documents. 00 } as does this: { MERGEFIELD Amount2\b ", " } Aug 5, 2024 · Within Osprey’s standard documents, it is possible to use standard Word fields as well as formatting these and your Osprey merge fields in the way you want to. Minor reordering of the field wells within the Build pane to match the order of the new Format pane cards for pie chart, donut chart, and scatter chart. { REF chapter2_title \* Charformat } displays "Whales of the Pacific". Number switches apply rounding by Sep 12, 2023 · A numeric switch is a kind of mask that lets you format the contents of a field in a Word document the way you want. May 29, 2012 · That works. . After you press Alt+F9 so you can see the field codes, open the Replace dialog. To add formatting to a field, append the switch—including backslash—after the field name: {MERGEFIELD fieldName \ [Formatting here]} Jul 16, 2013 · Use Alt+F9 to toggle on the display of the field codes in your mail merge main document and inside the closing } or the currency field, add the following switch: \# "$,0. Workaround. Create the file name a. 00" For more on "Formatting Word fields with switches" See the following page of fellow MVP Graham Mayor's website: There are two format switches that can be added to fields that affect font formatting. To format a merge field, complete the following steps: In the template document, while the merge field is selected, do the following to display the field code: Press Shift + F9 on Windows. Use a switch to format the results of the MERGEFIELD. Some of the merge fields are numeric and they show up with 8 decimal places. For detailed information about how all types of fields are updated, see my article Updating Fields in Word – How it Works . I want to show only 2 decimal places. Open the Template in Microsoft Word. The formatting is controlled by field switches in Word. All the above fields can be formatted as you choose. In the header or footer, insert a StyleRef field to pick up the style you created (see Figure 12). WordWriter supports most text, date, and time formats available in Microsoft Word. Field Switches - These are field specific and change the behaviour of the field. For instance, if today is September 18, 2021, and you wanted to display the date as 18 Sep 2021, you would use the following syntax for the DATE field: { DATE \@ "d MMM yyyy" } Aug 22, 2022 · The \h switch will still show the result if a formatting switch (\* or \# ) is present. Follow the link to the field code you're interested in, in the alphabetized list below. Omit page numbers The annotations shown in Figure A are the result of applying a custom style to the TOC’s Aug 1, 2018 · Switches override the settings from the format dialog. ) For example, with the {Ref} example For example, you can set a merge field's format to "Uppercase" to display the field's value in uppercase letters. I am using field switches to format them as I like in word. 00). Formatting switches ate covered in some depth elsewhere on this site. Put the code you want into the Replace With box. When I go live, I Get hands-on with field codes - find out what field codes are, insert some standard field codes, find out how to show and hide them (i. Choose the options you want and click OK to insert the field. 00 for the result. general formatting - applicable to a variety of numeric or text results. Applies the formatting of the first letter of the field type to the entire result. The Text Form Field Options dialog for a form field with the bookmark “Name” Apply the style to the form field. The easiest way to set a numbering type is in the Field dialog box; it provides a list of the available types. The format is: \* switch argument See General Formatting Field Switches for details. Apr 1, 2025 · Now you can use switches to specify which text is printed before or after the field results (provided that the field contains data). In Microsoft Word. Now add the date format switch after field name in the following fashion: MERGEFIELD MyDate \@ “d MMMM yyyy” Click OK and the format of your field should get changed to the one whose switch you’ve just used. (Note that the general formatting switches also have formats that apply to numeric fields. May 16, 2014 · To learn more about using field switches, see 10 Power Tricks for Using Word Fields. A switch argument is made up of a series of "picture items. This page concentrates on a user friendly add-in that allows the formatting switches 'Charformat' and 'Mergeformat' to be added, changed or removed, selectively by field type. Format Switches. Apr 1, 2025 · General Switches - These determine how to format the result, for example what number format or whether to capitalise. " The most commonly used are below. In addition to text formatting, you can control the format of field results at the field level, with general switches that determine how data in the field is displayed. If you format the data in the data source, the formatting is not retained when you merge the data into the main document. With the mail merge main document open, press Alt + F9 to view the field codes. I followed an automatic procedure to omit those data, then I controlled the code in the field, so I discovered those extra optional switches. 3) and switches specific to the selected field appear on the Field Specific Switches tab (which you will see later in this chapter, in Figure 16. To ensure correct formatting, a Picture Switch is applied to the merge field. 00} displays $100. To Round numbers to 2 decimal places when using Word Mail Merge follow the steps: 1. { MERGEFIELD mynumber } 3. Date-Time format switch Word provides the means to format the contents of fields inserted into the document, by the use of 'switches' or masks. F9 each to show the field content and update it - the PAGEREF shows the blue underline - and the REF field doesn't. I've used field switches to format data before but this time I I want to format the some fields as currency and conditionally insert a comma infront of it should the field be populated. The following tips are intended to cover some of the less obvious issues. Format switches also The Format field switch (\*) defines how to display field results. You can modify a switch by using the appropriate switch options. If you are trying to produce a special format for a date in an online formfield, take a look at How to Create Ordinal (Legal) Dates in Form Fields (KB) To delve even further into the field’s coding, click the Options button to display the Field Options dialog box. You can use any of the number format switches used with fields by inserting your field through Insert > Field (Word 97-2003) or Insert > Quick Parts > Field (Word 2007-2013). How to add a “switch” to any merge field on your document: Right click your mouse on the mail merge field and select the Toggle Field Codes option from the popup menu. Feb 25, 2014 · I found that CITATION field has other optional switches: "\n", "\y" and "\t", to omit respectively the author's Name, the book Year and the Title. The field code will look something like. Use these options with Word fields that return a number like SEQ, REF, PAGE, SECTION, SECTIONPAGES, AUTONUM, EDITTIME, FILESIZE and MERGEFIELD . Depending on the field code, there are three types of general switches: Format switch. Remove "\*MERGEFORMAT" from the field code. However: This works: { MERGEFIELD Amount2\# £#,###. In the Field dialog in Word 2002 and above, you can select the desired format from the same list you saw in the Date and Time dialog (see Figure 2). Add a switch. Frankly I am not convinced the switch does anything useful as the results are apparently the same with or without it. Optional: After a. Insert Merge Field (s) to create the unique filename c. The following are examples of mail merge number fields formatted using switches. What is your build number? I am looking at my updated Word 2016 and having no problems using or seeing page field switches. But there isn't an option for the field to insert just the year only. \# "$0. * If you must change the field name specified in a merge field, edit the field name in the MERGEFIELD field codes. e. 0} Update the field: Press F9 on Windows. To update a field code (like AUTOTEXT) you have to remember to select the entire message body then press F9 to update all fields. Numeric format switch. I have tried formatting as 'date' and as 'custom', and again both dates have identical formatting, but one remains different. Jan 16, 2021 · Run the merge by selecting Edit Individual documents from the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click OK in the dialog box. \n. 0 Oct 22, 1995 · To format merged data, you must format the merge fields in the main document. The 'DollarText' field switch does, but it doesn’t express a value as ‘X dollars and Y cents’ – it returns ‘X and Y/00’. Typically, date formatting problems occur when the source document for the mail merge is an Excel workbook or Access database. About mail merge date and currency formats . If you are trying to produce a special format for a date in an online formfield, take a look at How to Create Ordinal (Legal) Dates in Form Fields (KB) Numeric Picture Field Switch. Apr 3, 2022 · In this article we’ll look at the named formatting codes which start with \* like \* Arabic and \* Ordinal and even \* Hex . Number formats — for example, whether 9 is displayed as ix (roman numerals) or ninth (ordinal text) character formats Aug 29, 2016 · If you would like Excel to automatically format the cells as a fax number, you can select “Special” and choose “phone number”. All switches begin with a backslash. Mail merge date fields can only be changed using switches. The Format field switch (\*) defines how to display field results. Dec 9, 2015 · For a complete list of TOC switches, read Field codes: TOC (Table of Contents) field. 00}. Oct 11, 2020 · General switches help you format the data. The date merge fields can have formatting added to them in the same way as currency merge fields. I am looking at the Microsoft support page about this field and see no changes for Word 2016. See Numeric Field Formatting Switches for details. Number field formatting examples. The most common question we are asked is why numbers or currency fields in Osprey standard documents display with 4 decimal places. Other possibilities include: Specifically, this means applying the desired number format code to the Merge Fields in the Word document. A date switch is a field code that changes the format of a date field (such as mm/dd/yy). The screenshot below is from my web page on pagination switches. The \* MERGEFORMAT switch is applied to field results (the text displayed by the field), and the \* Charformat switch is applied to the field itself. Use this switch to specify number formats, capitalization, and character formatting; prevents changes to the format of the field results when a field is updated. A date and time field switch argument is made up of a series of "picture items. For this exercise, make it small and gray. It is supposed to (in the case of the REF field) insert the cross reference with the same format as the item referenced. An alphabetized list of field codes available for mail merge, forms, and other uses in your documents. , how to toggle fiel How do I change the format of a date field? Answer. I examined the fields again, and they are both fine. Note: For detailed information about inserting and editing field codes, using switches, setting and changing properties, displaying results vs. For instance, the date in Figure F is the result of the following field and formatting switch: { DATE \@"dddd, MMMM d, yyyy" } Figure F A formatting switch displays this long date format instead of the default mm/dd/yy. Is Jan 3, 2023 · Microsoft Support - Fields Switches : Microsoft Support - Insert and Format Field Codes in Word 2010: Working with Fields and Forms (in Word 2013) by Faithe Wempen : Inserting Fields : Selecting the Right Field : Updating and Editing Fields : Formatting Fields Nov 1, 2024 · Word will insert the field { FORMTEXT } into the document These field codes cannot be modiifed manually. Formatting Date Fields. Conditional fields can be used to conditionally format or display fields based on their values. The format instructions determine the following: The use of uppercase and lowercase letters; Number formats — for example Jul 29, 2024 · Formatting currency and number properly during mail merge in Word. " The most commonly used for numeric values in US English are below. General Text Formatting Options; Date and Time Formatting Options; Formatting Options Not Supported in WordWriter 1. The format instructions determine the following: The use of uppercase and lowercase letters Number formats - for example, whether 9 is displayed as ix (roman numerals) or ninth (ordinal text) character formats. 00" \* MERGEFORMAT }) in a way that if there is no currency value entered in the goods or services field from the Excel spreadsheet, that the field would remain blank and not show the "$0. New pivot icons. 4). Inserting a cross reference (or REF field) here does not add the switch. For numeric fields, enter '\#' as the format switch. Microsoft Word Field Maths Tutorial by Paul Edstein (macropod) Microsoft Word Date Calculation Tutorial by Paul I'm aware of doing { DATE }, and then right clicking that field and selecting "edit field," and that shows me a list of options to choose from for the date formatting. You can also add the formatting directly in the document. Date-Time format switch Security Because field codes can be visible to anyone reading your document, be sure that the information you place in field codes is not information that you want kept private. The full range of these switches can be found at the end of this page. There are a number of formatting switches that you can use to control the results. Here’s a more sophisticated approach: Dec 13, 2024 · If it is a field, see Formatting fields with switches by Graham Mayor, MVP. Apr 6, 2021 · You can change the format of a date field in a Microsoft Word mail merge document using switches in field codes. Alternatively, you can use switches in the field code, as in Table 16. 00' in the field is referred to as a numeric picture switch. Right-click the field and click Update Field. Word provides the means to format the contents of fields inserted into the document, by the use of 'switches' or masks. \n: Inserts the next sequence number for the specified items A general formatting switch specifies a variety of formats for a numeric or text result. 3. Words supports the following format switches: \@ – date and time formatting \# – number formatting \* Caps \* FirstCap \* Lower \* Upper \* CHARFORMAT – format result according to the first character of the Sep 11, 2024 · How to format Salesforce Data using Word Switches in the Generated Document. On top of that, neither switch supports values of 1 million or more. field codes, locking fields, and other common tasks, see Insert, edit, and view fields in Word . You can use three formatting switches to format field results: Format switch (\*) Numeric format switch (\#) Date-Time format switch (\@) Format switch(\*) The Format field switch (\*) defines how to display field results. I am working on a mail merge template for a legal document, and need to apply the UPPERCASE format, however, I'm running into a problem because the name of the merge field is case sensitive. Many examples plus a guide to the formatting codes. Change 24 to currency: { = 24 \# "$#,##0. 2. You could also use a macro but you would have to have a way for the macro to determine which numbers you want to change. All about the \# formatting switch in Word field codes lets you change the look of numbers in many different ways. myField \# ###,###,###,#00. The excel document contains data such a date and currency values. See below for examples. You must always use the Form Fields Options dialog box to make your changes. Insert the date or numeric format between quotation marks. But ListNum fields can appear throughout a document with each ListNum field/number many pages apart. The format in the Excel worksheet is also identical. Tip To edit existing merge fields, select the entire merge field which is shown enclosed in chevrons «NLSField» and press Shift + F9 to reveal the field code (or right click on the merge field and select Toggle Field Codes ) which will then be shown enclosed Jan 2, 2025 · For more on "pictures" and formatting dates see: Fields Switches and Formatting fields with switches by Graham Mayor, MVP. Been asked to help set up a load of mail merges. plus any formatting switches you might want for the date format. In addition, when you create a cross reference to a number or to a date or time with a Date-Time format switch that displays only a single number from the date or time, such as the day of the month or the hour, as the literal text inside a QUOTE field, you can also use the \* CardText format switch to display the number (more precisely, the Apr 10, 2022 · There’s confusion because in Excel, the cell formatting is similar with positive;negative;zero options with semi-colon separator. Nov 27, 2016 · For example, an AUTOTEXT field code won’t show anything when you make a new email (strangely AUTOTEXTLIST will appear correctly). To work around this problem, use one of the following methods. General field formatting switches have the following format: \* switch argument. May 23, 2023 · Format merge fields using Mail Merge switches. Press Fn + F9 on Mac. Date format strings begin with Jan 2, 2025 · For more on "pictures" and formatting dates see: Fields Switches and Formatting fields with switches by Graham Mayor, MVP. Amazingly, the field codes aren’t even updated when you click Send! Date and time field formatting switches have the following format: \@ switch argument. Enter the appropriate format switch after the merge field. Select the file name paragraph and format it. Sep 7, 2023 · In date field codes I have added the switch: \@ "dd MMMM yyyy" . The format instructions determine the following: The use of uppercase and lowercase letters. Figure 12. The fields work as expected in when the document is opened in Word 2013, but 2016 is ignoring the \\* CardText switch entirely. 00 into the merge file of currency, and the merge field of currency should look like this: {MERGEFIELD CURRENCY\# $,0. Sep 25, 2021 · When you insert today's date using a DATE field in Word, you can specify a format for how the date is displayed by using the \@ switch with the field. (The merge fields basically tell the Word document which column in the Excel table has the desired data. However, there are some issues with this that make the process less straightforward than one might expect. StyleRef field referencing the “Name” character style, which has been applied to the Name text form field Sep 6, 2012 · I am doing a mail merge using a word document and an excel sheet. Most fields use general switches although there are some exceptions Some fields use both kinds and other only Formatting Word fields with switches. Or right-click any field entry to toggle a single field code on or off. The following are character formatting switches and their results: \*Charformat. 00" } Field Switches and Pictures. However, when I toggle the field within the word document, it then shows as all caps - "DD MMMM YYYY. For example: Original field code: {MERGEFIELD myObject. Your merged field will Apr 20, 2024 · To edit or add formatting to a merge field, press Alt + F9 to reveal the merge field coding. * You must select the data source for the main document before you insert merge fields. Date-Time format switch (\@) Format switch. Jul 18, 2022 · Once you have built your Word Index using the Mark and Index method or by using a concordance, use the following 14 switches to control what information appears in the index and how it should look. Then, right-click on the merge field to edit the merge field. Microsoft Word Switches Help Instructions Word Switches are Word Fields with a specified action that will manipulate the data to the desired format. Other for values calculated using fields, it would be easier to simply change them manually. Formatting Word fields with switches Word provides the means to format the contents of fields inserted into the document, by the use of 'switches' or masks. In addition, field arithmetic can be used to produce additional results (which may require the bookmarking of one or more of the above fields. The result of the following example has bold formatting because the "R" in "REF" is bold. 00 " value from the formatting. Any help with this would be wonderful. Numeric field formatting switches have the following format: \# switch argument. There are various reasons why you might want to apply direct font formatting to a REF field. ) To apply a format to a field, you must include a numeric switch (formerly called a picture switch) in the field’s field code. Although the methods involved may not be immediately obvious (figuring out how the Table of Contents dialog works can require some trial and error, especially if you don’t consult the Help file), creating a table of contents in this way is so easy that many users, especially those unaccustomed to using fields, may be unaware that what they index field is created after the index entry fields are collected, sorted alphabetically, and duplicate entries from the same page combined; the formatting of the index and its entries is controlled by field switches and paragraph styles. Switch I am using is: Jan 22, 2018 · If you have this situation again, you can use the Replace dialog to change all of the merge fields at one go. Tip To edit existing merge fields, select the entire merge field which is shown enclosed in chevrons «NLSField» and press Shift + F9 to reveal the field code (or right click on the merge field and select Toggle Field Codes ) which will then be shown enclosed Jan 6, 2025 · Here’s the DATE field with formatting and other options: All the options in the Insert | Field dialog are available from the switches and settings in the field itself. Isn’t really necessary because this is the SEQ default. Aug 5, 2013 · If there is anything after the field name, just delete that. Word Template Instructions. (Font formatting in this context includes font, size, color, and attributes such as bold, italic, and underline. Form Field Options. Use the Insert Merge Field menu in the Write & Insert Fields group to add the fields where they need to be 5. tal sstvt bpqdwa buvo pnazj bwrtsyd qfuz bftvf gnhorekmd gkvomn pjeqiv iupu bxq ciqfkm kkhoe