WD: Certain Characters Do Not Display in Field Result

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

The backslash ( \ ) and quotation mark ( " ) characters don't display in field results as you intended.

For example, the field

   {FILLIN "Type "M" or "F" in the box."}

CAUSE

The backslash and quotation mark characters are special characters in fields. The backslash is used to indicate the next character as a switch command in the field. Quotation marks are used to enclose literal text strings (see below) within a field.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use a backslash (with no space) before the character you want to include. This tells Word that you want to include this character in the text string.

Preface a quotation mark with \ to make it display in a field code.

For example, the field

   {FILLIN "Type \"M\" or \"F\" in the box."}

   Type "M" or "F" in the box.

   {includetext "c:\\winword\\docs\\start.doc"}

   ARTICLE-ID: Q146648
   TITLE     : How to Use Quotation Marks in a Conditional Merge Result

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, Chapter 32, pages 731-741