Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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 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 Word in Microsoft 365

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 Word in Microsoft 365. 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

Using Header Information as the Filename

Save a document for the first time, and Word helpfully suggests a filename you can use or change. If you want this ...

Discover More

Pasting a Comment into Your Worksheet

Excel allows you to not only put information into cells, but into comments attached to those cells. Here's how to copy ...

Discover More

Adjusting Formulas when Pasting

The Paste Special feature in Excel can be used to uniformly adjust values and formulas. This tip shows how powerful this ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Converting All DATE Fields to Text

Fields allow you to add a lot of dynamic information to your documents. One field you can add is the DATE field, which ...

Discover More

Moving Footnote References Using Find and Replace

When you are editing a document, you may need to modify where the author placed footnotes relative to surrounding ...

Discover More

Quickly Inserting the Date Your Way

Tired of messing with inserting the date and then changing it to a format that is more to your liking? There's a quick ...

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 two more than 7?

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.