How do I remove Field codes but keep the values?

Question

I am working on some figures and got Word helpfully to list the figures in an ms at the end. I simply want to copy and save the list to a new file and keep the page numbers but remove field codes so they don't throw an error. But how?

Answer 1

 Hi @Musinsky, Catherine, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

You can try converting the copied table of figures into static text like the suggestion above. This will preserve the captions and currently displayed page numbers while removing the field codes. 

In Word for Windows 

• Copy the table/list of figures and paste it into the new document. 
• Select only the pasted list. 
• Press Ctrl + Shift + F9. 

This unlinks the fields and converts the displayed results into ordinary text. 

However, please be aware of the limitation: the list in the new document will no longer be linked to the original file. If you later add, remove, rename, or move any figures in the original document, the pasted list and its page numbers will not update automatically. You will need to copy the updated list from the original document and repeat the steps above. 

A table of figures is normally generated and updated automatically from the figure captions and their page positions. Therefore, copying it into an unrelated document without unlinking the fields may cause broken references or field errors. 

Thank you again for your time and understanding. I really appreciate your patience, and I’m here to help. Looking forward to your response.    

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Answer 2

To keep the displayed values and remove the field codes, unlink the fields in Word:

1. Select the list you copied, or press Ctrl+A to select the whole document.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F9.

That converts fields to plain text so the current displayed values, including page numbers as shown at that moment, are kept and the field codes are removed.

Useful related shortcuts:

• Alt+F9: show or hide field codes
• Shift+F9: show or hide the selected field code
• F9: update selected fields

If field codes are currently showing instead of values, press Alt+F9 first so the values are visible, then use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to unlink them.

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