How to avoid '\*MERGEFORMAT' from being added to edit field?

[Sujeeth]

When I edit any field already present in a document such as make a simple
font change, it adds a ‘ \*MERGEFORMAT ’ to the end of the field.
Field before edit :-
{ USERADDRESS }

The field after edit ( a font change) :-
{ USERADDRESS \* MERGEFORMAT }

I am using Word 2003 and I presume this gets added automatically by Word
whenever I edit a field in the document. Is there a setting that can be made
to avoid the addition of ‘\*MERGEFORMAT’?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Word automatically inserts this switch when you use Insert | Field, and I'm
guessing that if you're using the Edit Field command on the shortcut menu,
it is opening this dialog. But you can edit the field "by hand" just by
pressing Alt+F9 to display the field code and then making any desired
changes.

 

[bcarsto]

This also happens if the font of the reference is changed. We use reference
fields in our application all the time and always have the show field codes
option turned on when designing our documents. The addition of this extra
text greatly affects the appearance of tables.

We want to know if there is an option we can set which tells word not to
insert the \* MERGEFORMAT into reference fields when the font of text
including a reference field is changed

thanks
Bob

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I'm guessing Word thinks if you've applied font formatting to the text, you
want that formatting to be preserved during updates.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Bob,

If the purpose is to apply formatting to the field result, you may want to
make use of the \* CHARFORMAT switch instead.

Here is some additional information on the \* CHARFORMAT and \*
MERGEFORMAT switches (from Word Help):

***************************
\*Charformat This switch applies the formatting of the first letter of
the field name to the entire result. The result of the following example has
bold formatting because the R in REF is bold.
{ REF chapter2_title \* Charformat } displays Whales of the Pacific in bold
text.

Note To add this switch, type it in the field code or in the Field codes
box in the Field dialog box.

\*MERGEFORMAT This switch applies the formatting of the previous result
to the new result. For example, if you select the name displayed by the
field { AUTHOR \* MERGEFORMAT } and apply bold formatting, Word retains the
bold formatting when the field is updated to display a new author name.
Note When you insert fields by using the Field dialog box , the
\*MERGEFORMAT switch is included by default. You can turn this option off by
clearing the Preserve formatting during updates check box in the Field
dialog box.
***************************