Magnetic field generation

Ank that's really a good q and I hope somebody else responds. I'm supposing that you can generate a field locally and that if it's strong enough there will be some residue at a distance unless by "targeted," you mean local at that distant spot

Magnetic fields are created by moving electric charges. Aligned electron spins are what allow physical magnets to work.

So you need an electrical current, or a physical magnet, to create a magnetic field.

DrewDad is correct. So, wrap a piece of wire around a pencil, apply a voltage at both ends, and you're good to go.

Technical notes: You want to make sure the wire is coated so as not to short-circuit the coil you're making. Also, you want a resistor between the battery and at least one end of the wire so as not to short-circuit the poles of the battery. But in principle, that's all it takes to create a magnetic field like that of a bar magnet.