If you regularly send out weekly status reports, daily invoices, or standardized corporate letters, you likely use a Microsoft Word template. A common frustration with templates is forgetting to manually change the date at the top of the document before exporting it as a PDF, resulting in a document that appears outdated or unprofessional.
To completely eliminate this human error, Microsoft Word includes a dynamic “Date and Time” field. Once inserted, this field constantly monitors your computer’s system clock and automatically updates the date printed on the document every time you open it or print it.
How to Insert an Automatically Updating Date
Inserting a dynamic date field takes only a few clicks and requires no coding or macros.
- Open your Microsoft Word document or template.
- Click on the exact spot in the document where you want the date to appear (e.g., the top right corner of a letterhead).
- Navigate to the Insert tab on the main ribbon.
- Look for the “Text” group on the far right side of the ribbon. Click the Date and Time button (it usually has an icon of a small calendar with a clock).
A dialogue box will appear displaying several different formatting options.
Choosing Your Formatting and Activating the Feature
Inside the dialogue box, you will see a list of formats. The list will change slightly depending on your computer’s regional settings.
- You can choose a short, numerical format (e.g., 12/04/2023).
- You can choose a formal, written format (e.g., December 4, 2023).
- You can even choose formats that include the exact hour, minute, and second.
Select the format that best suits your document’s tone.
The Most Important Step: Before you click OK, look at the bottom right corner of the dialogue box. You must check the box labeled Update automatically.
If you do not check this box, Word will simply paste today’s date as static text, and it will never change. By checking the box, you are instructing Word to insert a dynamic, self-updating field code.
Click OK.
How to Force a Manual Update
Once the date is inserted, it will look like normal text. However, if you click on the date, it will be highlighted in a grey box, indicating that it is a live field rather than static typing.
Word is designed to automatically update this field whenever you open the document. However, if you leave a document open on your computer overnight, the date will not magically roll over to the next day while you are looking at it.
If you need to force the date to update to the current second without closing the document:
- Click on the date so it highlights in grey.
- A small “Update” tab will appear above the text. Click it.
- Alternatively, simply click the text and press the F9 key on your keyboard to instantly refresh the field.
A Warning for Legal Documents
While this feature is brilliant for templates and daily reports, you should never use it on legally binding contracts, signed agreements, or official affidavits.
If you insert an auto-updating date into a contract, save it, and open it three years later to review the terms, the date at the top will change to today’s date, destroying the historical record of when the contract was actually drafted. Only use this feature for living documents and templates.