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 Name of the Last Person to Save the Document.

Inserting the Name of the Last Person to Save the Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 3, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When Word saves the properties related to your document, one of the items it tracks is who the last person to save the document was. This is particularly pertinent if you are working on Word documents in a networked environment where multiple people may be working on the same document. When a document is first saved, this name is set to the same as the Word user name.

Word allows you to insert the name of the person who last saved the document directly in your document and to have it updated automatically whenever the name changes. This is done by following these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the name inserted.
Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click the Quick Parts tool in the Text group, then click Field. Word displays the Field dialog box.
In the Categories list choose Document Information. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

Select LastSavedBy from the Field Names list.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7068) 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 Name of the Last Person to Save the Document.

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

Making Pictures Show in Word

What are you to do if you can't see all the pictures you know are in your document? The answer may lie in where those ...

Discover More

Can't Save Edited Document

Each day of using Word is filled with opening documents, editing them, and then saving those changes to disk. So it can ...

Discover More

Counting Words

Do you need to know how many words are in a range of cells? Excel provides no intrinsic way to count the words, but you ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Printing Field Codes

Field codes allow dynamic information to be included in documents and can be a great boon. At some point you may want to ...

Discover More

Showing a Dynamic Number Range in a Header

If you are creating a reference document of some type, you may want to include in the header of that document an ...

Discover More

Copying and Pasting Field Codes

Want to copy a field code and paste it in some other Windows program? This can be trickier than it sounds. Here's the ...

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 six less than 8?

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.