I have a purchase order form that is in Microsoft word and came from the template section under new document.  The PO number has to be manually entered each time a new document is created.  Is there a way to make that purchase order number automatically change without having to type it myself? I have Windows XP with Microsoft Office 2007. Currently, I just open the last document, save as, then manually change the number. However, sometimes I forget so I end up with 2 POs with the same number.  When I manually add them into an excel spreadsheet is when I catch the error.
 

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Answer from Richard Rost:

Sorry, but without tying this form to a database or some other kind of programming in VBA, you really can't automatically increment this number. You might be able to create a number based on the current date and time (like 20101115120102) but even that would involve a little programming.

Your best bet is to develop a purchase order in Microsoft Access. You can tie it to a table and the numbers would automatically increment for you. Again, this takes a little more work, but it's WELL worth it.