WD: Using the ASK Field with the IF Field in Word

ID: Q193194

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a

SUMMARY

To use the ASK field conditioned upon the value of another field, include the IF statement inside the ASK field instead of including the ASK statement in the IF field.

MORE INFORMATION

Example 1: Entry of "None" for No Spouse

The following example asks if you are married. If you respond with "Yes," it then asks for your spouse's name. If you respond with "No", it will then ask you to type "none." (The \*Firstcap switch is included so the response can be "yes" or "Yes".)

   {ASK Married "Are you married?" \*Firstcap}
   {ASK SpouseName {IF Married = "Yes" "What is your Spouse's Name?"
   "Type 'none'"}}
   {REF Married}
   {REF SpouseName}

In this example, the second ASK field has an IF statement that determines if the bookmark "Married" is equal to "Yes." If it is, the IF field has the value "SpouseName." If not, the field has no value. The ASK field is not updated if it does not have a valid bookmark name as the first element; therefore, it does not ask the question.

Example 2: No entry for No Spouse

The following example asks if you are married. If you respond with "Yes," it then asks for your spouse's name. If you respond with "No," it will enter No for the reference to the bookmark of "Married" and no question will be asked about the spouse. No entry will be made to the bookmark called "SpouseName."

   {set SpouseName ""}
   {ask Married "Are you married?" \* firstcap}
   {ask{if{Married}="Yes" "SpouseName"}"What is your Spouses's name?"}

Additional query words: fill in conditional fillin

Keywords          : kbdta wordnt winword ntword macword word6 word7 word95 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a; WINDOWS:1.0,1.1,1.1a,2.0,2.0a,2.0a-CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999