Inserting Initials and Date in a Comment

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 20, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Len notes that when he inserts a comment in a document, Word automatically puts his initials in the comment. He would also (in addition to the initials) like to have it insert today's date. Len wonders if there is any way to configure Word to do this.

Word does keep track of a comment's date. If you hover the mouse over the comment, by default the user's initials and the date are displayed. (The date displayed is the date the comment was last edited.) Unfortunately, the date won't appear on printouts and it doesn't appear if you have comments displayed but aren't hovering over it.

If you want to add a date to your comment, the easiest way is to use a macro, like the following:

Sub AddCommentDate()
    Selection.Comments.Add Range:=Selection.Range
    Selection.TypeText Text:=Format(Date, "dd Mmmm YYYY") & ": "
End Sub

This two-line macro first inserts a comment and then immediately types the current date. You can then continue typing your comment text, as desired. You should, of course, assign the macro to the Quick Access Toolbar or assign a shortcut key to it.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5839) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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...

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