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 User's Name.

Inserting the User's Name

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When you install Word, you are asked for your name. This information is stored with Word, and you can later access it. For instance, Word allows you to use your name in the return address of an envelope. If you want to automatically insert the user's name in your documents, you can follow these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the user's name to appear.
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.
In the Categories list, choose User Information. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

In the Field Names list choose UserName.
Click on OK.

The advantage of using a field to add this information to the document is that it is dynamic. This means that if you change the username in Word itself, the name returned by the field is updated as well.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9353) 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 User's 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...

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