Date changes when opening word document

[embugge]

Hi, I'm having a problem using OpenOffice Writer to print a letter sent to me that is originally created as a word document. When I open the letter, OpenOffice automatically changes the date in the header to today's date. I've been googling this but I can't seem to get the autocorrect to stop doing this. This is extremely annoying as I need to print this letter soon for official documentation and need to have the correct date on it.

Thanks for your help.

[RoryOF]

I don't think that Autocorrect is the culprit. You may have to mark the document as Read-only at System level (no guarantee that that will solve the problem).

If using a date field in an OpenOffice document, /Insert / Fields / Date inserts a date that is updated on every open of the file. / Insert / Fields / Other : Document Tab, Date allows selection of Date or Date (Fixed) and sundry formats, Date (fixed) being unchangeable.

[embugge]

Thanks for the suggestion, but changing to read-only didn't work.
Any other ideas?

[RoryOF]

Perhaps Word will not update the Date field (can't remember, so long since I used Word), so it might be worth finding a computer running Word and trying a printout off it.

Another method, which can be risky, is to change your computer date to the desired date, do your printout (do enough of them so as not to have to do this again!) and then change computer date back. This can be risky, as sometimes time limited software detects the date changes, decides the User is trying to circumvent the time limit, and locks itself up. Of course, if you only use OOo after the date change, and change back immediately, there may be no side effects.

[embugge]

Wow, is there really no other fix?
Seems to me it should be a basic function to be able to open a document without Writer changing the content. :-\ I'm just a very basic user, I don't know anything about using date fields and such...

[Hagar Delest]

Have you tried the Date (fixed) field? This is usually the problem. Very often, users insert the date without noticing that it's the not fixed version that is inserted.

Please add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

[RoryOF]

Wow, is there really no other fix?
Seems to me it should be a basic function to be able to open a document without Writer changing the content. :-\ I'm just a very basic user, I don't know anything about using date fields and such...

The problem is not with Writer, which allows a choice of two date fields, one fixed, one variable, but with either the choice of field used in Word, or some adverse interaction between Word originated files and Writer.

Edit: @Hagar: this is an existing document, originated in Word

[RoryOF]

The quickest and easiest way is to delete the date field and insert the correct date. Note that you should disclose you have hand-entered the correct date for technical reasons, and be prepared to justify this.

MS Word date fields have an "automatically update" checkbox on an associated screen, checked by default as far as I can find out. This has most probably not been unchecked during creation of the original file.

[Hagar Delest]

I have no access to MS Word right now but I think there is the same fields for date (fixed and current).