Dynamic Fields

[defaultip60qmy7n7mz]

Hi there–is it possible to create a field in InDesign that updates in all similar instances throughout a document? I regularly use forms that I have created in InDesign that have clients' names and addresses in multiple locations, can I type it in once and have it auto-populate everywhere else? Thanks

[BobLevine]

Make sure the form fields have identical names.

[Joel Cherney]

Easiest way to do that within InDesign is a text variable, I think. I like to use the Running Head style; when I define a new variable, I make a brand new paragraph or character style for my text (were I in your shoes, it'd be called "ClientName") and then I Define a new variable and choose the Running Head in the "Type" dropdown. That way, I can mark my client's name the first time with the correct character style, and for all subsequent appearances of the client's name, I can just insert the variable from the Type menu. Then, if I change the client's name in the initial styled appearance, all instances of that variable will also change. 

There are plenty of ways to do this (identically named form fields in a PDF & the Content Collector tool spring immediately to mind), but Text Variables are the first easy one that occurs to me.