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Question

Deadline date in precedent

  • January 27, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 13 views
D

Hi,

Is there anyway you can create an auto filling due date within a precedent? I know I can include todays date or the document creation date but is there any way to create a precedent that auto fills in today + 7 days for example?

Thanks

1 reply

J
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  • JKibler
  • Smokeball Genius
  • January 30, 2026

Not without work on your part in Microsoft Word.

While Word does have a formula calculation feature (accessed via Ctrl+F9) with functions like SUM(), AVERAGE(), and PRODUCT(), these are primarily designed for table calculations. Word strictly lacks native calendar functions like DATEADD() or WorkDay().

Because of this, you cannot simply write a formula like { = <<AskDate>> + 14 }. 

To obtain a new date in Word you have to use a complex nested field code that breaks the date into Day, Month, and Year integers, performs the math, and then reassembles them.

  • Step A: Insert your Smokeball "Ask" field for calendar date. Highlight that inserted field and insert a Word Bookmark (e.g., named SBDATE) so the field code can target it.

  • Step B: Use a pre-built field code. Since the logic for leap years and month-ends is tedious to write from scratch, you should use the "Macropod" (Paul Edstein) field codes.

You can find some specific syntax for these calculations in this discussion: Previous Business Day Calculation using Field Codes in an Ordinal Date Format - Microsoft Q&A

Word fields do not always auto-calculate when the Smokeball data first populates. You may need to instruct users to press Ctrl+A (Select All) followed by F9 (Update Fields) after the document generates to see the calculated date.

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