Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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 Date Your Document was Last Saved.

Inserting the Date Your Document was Last Saved

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 8, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Every time you save a document in Word, some of the document properties information is automatically updated. Part of the information is the date on which the document was last saved. You can insert this date into your documents and have it updated automatically, if you so desire. To insert the last date your document was saved in your document, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the date to appear.
Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click Quick Parts (in the Text group) and then click Fields. Word displays the Field dialog box.
Choose Date and Time from the Categories drop-down list at the left of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

Select SaveDate from the field list at the left side of the dialog box.
Choose a date format from the Field Properties column of the dialog box.
Click on OK to insert the field.

There is an important caveat to remember when it comes to the last date field—it may not always appear to update. This is because Word doesn't typically update fields—any fields—until it absolutely has to. When does that occur? Normally when you go to print the document. So, the SaveDate field will update when you print, and not before. The way around this is to force Word to update the field, which is done by right-clicking it and choosing Update Field from the resulting Context menu.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9719) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting the Date Your Document was Last Saved.

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

Pasting Multiple Paragraphs Into a Single Cell

Copying information from one program (such as Word) to another (such as Excel) is a common occurrence. If you want to ...

Discover More

Setting Program Window Size in a Macro

The macro programming language used in Excel gives you a great many tools that allow you to modify the way that Excel ...

Discover More

Strip Trailing Spaces

If you get tired of documents that always seem to have extra spaces at the end of lines, here's a quick way to get rid of ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Monday's Date on Friday's Report

Automatically putting today's date at the top of a report is easy. Putting a different date, automatically, can be more ...

Discover More

Inserting a Cross-Reference to an Item in a List

When you create a list using the SEQ field, you may want to create a cross-reference to an item in that field. You can do ...

Discover More

Displaying Blanks when Summing to Zero

If you use fields to sum the information in your table columns, you might want to display a blank when the sum is zero. ...

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 five minus 0?

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.