Fixing an Auto Date

[Wooding]

I've made a letter-heading template that contains a date field that is
automatically filled with the current date when the letter is written.
The trouble is, if I need to look at the soft-copy some time later, the
date field is updated to the new date. How can I get the date to be
inserted automatically when the letter is created, but then stay the
same when examined several days/weeks later?

 

[TF]

Change (in the template) the date field to the CreateDate field. In the
template, the field will display the date the template was created: when you
open a document based on the template, it will display the current date
(because the document has just been created) and will remain that date
forever.



: I've made a letter-heading template that contains a date field that is
: automatically filled with the current date when the letter is written.
: The trouble is, if I need to look at the soft-copy some time later, the
: date field is updated to the new date. How can I get the date to be
: inserted automatically when the letter is created, but then stay the
: same when examined several days/weeks later?
:
: --
:
: Regards, Gary Wooding
: (To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address)

 

[Graham Mayor]

You can change the field in your old documents also to restore their
creation dates.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Wooding]

Change (in the template) the date field to the CreateDate field. In the
template, the field will display the date the template was created: when you
open a document based on the template, it will display the current date
(because the document has just been created) and will remain that date
forever.

Thanks guys.
I changed the template to CreateDate and new documents now get an
indelible date inserted exactly as required.
I misread your riders though; I got the impression that the template
would display its own creation date after the change, but it now shows
the date it was changed. Its not a problem, just unexpected after
reading the rider.

 

[Graham Mayor]

The date shown in the template is irrelevant. Open the template and update
the field to show when it was created.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

But consider that the "creation date" may be the date it was saved on your
computer, not the date it was created by the person who sent it to you.

 

[Wooding]

Change (in the template) the date field to the CreateDate field. In the
template, the field will display the date the template was created:

Its amazing how easy it is to give the wrong impression. The information
I got from Terry and Graham solved my problem and the template then
worked exactly as I originally expected, which was to display the date I
changed to CreateDate. Documents based on the revised template now work
as wanted.
It was the snippet quoted above that fooled me. I read it literally and
it seemed to say "Change (in the template) ... the CreateDate ... will
display the date the template was _created_:". It didn't, of course. It
displayed the date the template was _changed_. That's all. I'm happy.
Everything is now working fine.

 

[TF]

That's correct. If you open a document (or template) and save it with a
different name, it becomes a newly created document (or template) so the
CreateDate will update too.

Terry

: TF wrote:
: > Change (in the template) the date field to the CreateDate field. In the
: > template, the field will display the date the template was created:
:
: Its amazing how easy it is to give the wrong impression. The information
: I got from Terry and Graham solved my problem and the template then
: worked exactly as I originally expected, which was to display the date I
: changed to CreateDate. Documents based on the revised template now work
: as wanted.
: It was the snippet quoted above that fooled me. I read it literally and
: it seemed to say "Change (in the template) ... the CreateDate ... will
: display the date the template was _created_:". It didn't, of course. It
: displayed the date the template was _changed_. That's all. I'm happy.
: Everything is now working fine.
:
: --
:
: Regards, Gary Wooding
: (To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address)