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 Author Name.

Inserting the Author Name

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 24, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

It is possible in Word to keep track of quite a bit of summary information for a document. One of the pieces you can track is the author of a document. This originally is set to be the same as the Word user name, but you can change the author name at any time. Word allows you to insert the author's name directly in your document, and have it updated automatically if you should ever change the author's name. This is done by following these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the author name inserted.
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.
From the Categories list select the Document Information category. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

Select Author 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 (9136) 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 Author 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

Setting Superscript Height in the Equation Editor

The Equation Editor makes it easy to create and add equations to your documents. Here's how to adjust where the ...

Discover More

Intelligible Names for Macros

The names you use for macros can affect what you see when you add those macros to a toolbar. This tip explains how you ...

Discover More

Formatting All Headings At Once

If you need to apply a common formatting change to all the headings in your document, a quick way to do it is to use the ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Date Last Edited

You can insert several dynamic dates into your document. One you may want is to add the date when the last edit was ...

Discover More

Inserting the User's Address

If you enter your address into Word, you can insert that address anywhere you want in a document by using a single field. ...

Discover More

Unwanted Page Breaks in Cross-References

You can use fields to cross-reference different text in a document. If you get unwanted results from 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 7 + 9?

2022-07-27 04:22:57

Giang

I have a list of authors whose characters are longer than allowed. What should I do to insert all author names?

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.