Using placeholder fields

OpenOffice.org 3 Writer Guide

Chapter 14: Working with Fields

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• Using document properties to hold information that changes
• Using other fields to hold information that changes
• Using AutoText to insert often-used fields
• Defining your own numbering sequences
• Using automatic cross-references
• Using fields in headers and footers
• Using fields instead of outline numbering for chapter numbers
• Tricks for working with fields
• Developing conditional content
• Using placeholder fields
• Using input fields and input lists

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A placeholder field prompts you to enter something (text, a table, a frame, a graphic, or an object).

To insert a placeholder field into a document:

1. On the Functions tab of the Fields dialog box, select Placeholder in the Type column and select what the placeholder is for in the Format column.
2. In the Placeholder box, type the text that you want to appear in the placeholder field.
3. In the Reference box, type the text that you want to display as a help tip when you rest the mouse pointer over the field.

The figure below shows the results of inserting a placeholder field for a graphic.

Inserting a placeholder field.

Because the <Logo> field is a graphics placeholder, when you click on the field in the document, the Insert picture dialog box opens, prompting you to select a graphic (picture). When you select a picture and click Open, the picture replaces the field in the document.

Similarly, clicking on a table placeholder field opens the Insert Table dialog box, clicking on a frame placeholder field opens the Frame dialog box, and clicking on an object placeholder field opens the Insert OLE Object dialog box. The text placeholder field is different: you simply click on it and type some text in the Placeholder box, which replaces the field.