Each time you create or leave a comment on a Microsoft Word document, it assigns a default Microsoft account name to your author name. When you share this document, recipients can easily see your name in the Info menu of the File tab.
In a situation where you can’t use your PC to create a Word document and you want your name to be shown as the author, you can still change it. Here’s how to do this:
How to Add, Change and Delete Author Name in a New Word Document
If you are creating a new document, you can change the author’s name before working on a document. However, changing the author’s name in Word also affects related settings in other Office applications such as PowerPoint and Excel. Check out the steps below to learn how to add, change and delete the author name in your new Word document:
Stage 1: Click on start menu, type word In the search bar and press Enter to launch Microsoft Word.
Step 2: Click the File tab.
Stage 3: When you click on the info menu, you should see the author’s name under Contacts.
Step 4: To add a new author other than yourself to the list of authors, place your mouse cursor in the Add author field and enter the details of the new author.
Step 5: To change or delete the author’s name, click the More menu and select Options.
Step 6: On the General tab of the Word Options dialog, go to ‘Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office’ and type the name in the boxes next to Username and Initials.
Step 7: If you want to use the new name in the near future, check the box next to Always use these values regardless of signing into Office and click OK.
Step 8: Click the File tab and select Info to confirm if the changes are in place.
How to Add, Change, and Delete an Author Name in an Existing Word Document
If you want to change the author’s name for existing documents, follow these steps:
Stage 1: Click the start button, type word and press Enter to start Word.
Step 2: Click the File tab to view the current author name in the Word document.
Stage 3: When you click on the info menu, you should see the author’s name under Contacts.
Step 4: Right-click the author name, and then click Edit Property.
step 5Go to the dialog labeled : Edit contact and enter the new author name.
Step 6: To remove the author, right-click the Author name and select Remove person.
How to Change and Delete the Author Name of a Comment in Word
We regularly add comments to Word, especially when collaborating with colleagues and customers. These comments make it easy to perform revisions and explain different parts of the document. You must have noticed that every comment carries a user or author name.
Different scenarios may require you to add, change or delete the author’s name in a comment. You can follow the previously described methods when adding a new author name for the comment. However, if you want to change or delete the author’s name to hide personally identifiable information, you can do so by:
Stage 1: Start the Microsoft Word file with comments.
Step 2: Click the File tab.
Stage 3: Click the Info menu and select Check for Issues under Inspect Document.
Step 4: Click Review Document from the drop-down menu.
Step 5: In the Document Inspector dialog, make sure the checkbox next to Document Properties and Personal Information is selected.
Step 6: Click Review.
Step 7: Once the review check is done, click Remove All next to Document Properties and Personal Information and this should change the name shown in comments to Author.
Step 8: Click the close button.
Using Comments in Microsoft Word
Leaving a comment on a Word document is a great way to let another party know your thoughts and monitor changes. If it’s a shared document, it makes a lot of sense to have the name of the author accompanying the comment identify you.
