How to update all fields and Table of Contents in Word 2010, including headers and footers!

  1. Click on the ‘File’ tab then ‘Options’
  2. Select ‘Display’ on the left column, and make sure that ‘Update fields before printing’ is ticked.
  3. Click OK to save this setting. You only need to do this once and all documents will update field every time you print.
  4. So now to force an update of all fields, all you need to do is do a print preview and all is updated.
  5. I prefer to have ‘Print Preview’ available on the ‘Quick Access Toolbar’. If yours is not there then just click on the down arrow and select it from the list.

Tip – Manually update a single field:

To update just one field, click your mouse into it and press the F9 key on your keyboard.

Tip 2 – Manually update all fields:

To update every field in your document (other than in headers and footer), press CTRL+A to select all, then click F9

One thought on “How to update all fields and Table of Contents in Word 2010, including headers and footers!

  1. This does not work in 2012. The ‘Update fields before printing’ checkbox only causes header/footer fields to be updated. You must still manually Ctrl-A – F9 to get the body of the document to update.

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