Auto-replace / Variables - is this possible?

JaoUSA · Newbie Joined: 18 Jan 2007 Posts: 1

Hi all, I'm very new to OO, and have a (hopefully) easy question:

What I want to do is make a custom vairable... such as %t%, and have it auto-replaced (or replaced upon F9)...with the predefined function YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS, but I have no idea how / if it's possible....

The "Fields" looks like it can do the trick, but after toying with it for two hours now and having no luck... The most I've come up with is Insert -> Fields -> Date/Time, which isn't customized and requires using the dropdown to use (vs %var%/F9)...

If you have any ideas/suggestions I'd be grateful!

Thanks!

acknak · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject:

Can you tell us exactly what you want to accomplish?

You can define a variable field, which can hold any number or text you like. You can place one instance setting the variable at the beginning of the document, followed by instances of a field showing the variable, with a specific format if you like. If you edit the first "set variable" field to change the value, all the others will show the new value.

Variables can hold only plain text or numbers, but the field instance can be formatted as needed; the displayed value will receive the formatting.

Alternatively, you can define "Autotext"s or Autocorrect replacements, where one string is replaced by another, either manually (Autotext; F3) or automatically as you type (Autocorrect).

I don't think there is any way to write something like "%var%" and then hit one button which causes all ocurrences to be replaced with something else. A macro to do that, I'm sure.

JohnV · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:29 pm Post subject:

I think of the methods suggested you want to use AutoText.

First go to Insert > Fields > Other (of Ctrl+F2) > Document tab > Time / Time (fixed) / Some Format. If you don't like the default format go to Additional Formats and define your own. Insert the field then select it and do Ctrl+F3 to get to AutoText to further set it up.

Never used AutoText – type dt followed immediately by F3 to insert some dummy text.

Fields don't seem to work correctly for me in AutoCorrect.