inserting fields is: Insert -> Fields -> (choose a field, or "other..." and choose lots more)
In the LO that's on my machine, there is no "Fields" (or hyperlink) on the Insert menu and the "Other" choice doesn't show anything useful. It's possible that the (censored) at the computer shop loaded an obsolete (or defective) version, so I'll have to look for a current one, and/or a manual.
It does a lot more than early Word for Windows How early are you talking about?
Although there have been a few "tweaks," Word for DOS ca 1991 did everything that current Microsoft Word does. (I didn't think you were that ancient.) Some of my current documents using lots of the "tricks" are imports from the DOS version, and all the functions that I put in the originals still work. As is probably the case with the other programs, you have to know, at least vaguely, what you want to do in order to find that you can do them, and Word 2007 and later have made it extremely difficult to look up anything other than the frippery that was added. (I don't find the 800+ "buttons" on the top 8 menues (the "ribbons) helpful, especially since each of those leads to ~50 or more "toy presets" that I have to skip past to get to - parts of - a real menu.)
Bonnie: In most wp programs I've used (5 or 6 different ones) ragged columns were usually caused by overlapping the columns through multiple paragraphs, some containing different tab settings. In MWord, selecting the whole bunch and Format|Tabs|Delete All (Alt-o, T, Alt-A) and then setting one set of tabs for the whole selection usually cleaned it up.
Different "paragraph styles" applied to paragraphs (each line is usually a paragraph) within the columns could sometimes cause the problem, but I haven't looked deeply enough at LO or OO to get to styles, so cant say if that's a possibility. If you've been rearranging formats, it's possible that some "style confusion" has crept in?