Using AutoText to insert often-used fields

OpenOffice.org 2.x Writer Guide

Chapter 14: Working with Fields

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• Quick and easy field entry
• 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

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If you use the same fields often, you will want a quick and easy way to insert them. Use AutoText for this purpose. To define an AutoText entry for a field:

1. Insert a field into your document, as described previously.
2. Select the field, and then click Edit > AutoText (or press Ctrl+F3).
3. On the AutoText dialog box, choose the group where this new entry will be stored (in this example, it is going into My AutoText), type a name for the entry, and change the suggested shortcut if you wish.
4. Click the AutoText button and click New to have the entry inserted as a field. Do not choose New (text only) because the AutoText entry will be plain text, not a field. Click Close to close the AutoText dialog box.
5. Now whenever you want to insert this field at the cursor position, type the shortcut, and then press F3.

Creating a new AutoText entry.