Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Inserting the User's Name.

Inserting the User's Name

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When you install Word, you are asked for your name. This information is stored with Word, and you can later access it. For instance, Word allows you to use your name in the return address of an envelope. If you want to automatically insert the user's name in your documents, you can follow these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the user's name to appear.
Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click the Quick Parts tool (in the Text group) and then choose Field. Word displays the Field dialog box.
In the Categories list, choose User Information. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

In the Field Names list choose UserName.
Click on OK.

The advantage of using a field to add this information to the document is that it is dynamic. This means that if you change the username in Word itself, the name returned by the field is updated as well.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9353) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting the User's Name.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inserting a Bullet

Need to place a bullet in the middle of a sentence? There are a couple of easy ways you can do this, as described in this ...

Discover More

Understanding the Gutter Margin

Most everyone knows that Word allows you to set top, bottom, left, and right margins for your document. There is another ...

Discover More

Displaying Highlights for Commented Text

Word provides quite a bit of flexibility in what markup is displayed on-screen and how that markup appears. This tip ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Field in Footer Won't Update

Word provides a handy shortcut that allows you to update the fields in any text you've selected. When you select your ...

Discover More

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the Last Style on a Page

It is often helpful to reference a specific heading in the header or footer of a page and have that reference change on ...

Discover More

Calculating Page Count for a Range of Sections

When adding page numbers to a header or footer, you may find it helpful to modify how Word determines its "Page X of Y" ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is three more than 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.