Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Inserting Summary Information.

Inserting Summary Information

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 26, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word keeps track of summary information for a document. You can either use this summary information, or you can ignore it. Some of the summary information is automatically created for you while other parts need to be entered manually. One of the pieces of information maintained is the author of a document. This is originally set to be the Word user name, but you can change the author name at any time. Word allows you to insert summary information such as the author's name directly in your document, and have it updated automatically if you should ever change the information. This is done by following these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the author name inserted.
  2. Choose Field from the Insert menu. The Field dialog box is displayed.
  3. Choose Document Information from the Categories list. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

  5. Choose Author from the Field Names list.
  6. Click on OK.

There are many different bits of summary information you may want to include in your document. Here are a few:

Field Name Description
Author Name of the document's author
CreateDate Date the document was created
FileName Document's name and location on disk
FileSize Size of the document's disk file
LastSavedBy Word user name of the last person to save the file
NumChars Total number of characters in the document
NumPages Total number of pages in the document
SaveDate Date the document was last saved
Subject Subject of the document
Template Name of the document's template
Title Document's title

You should note that not all of these fields can be inserted by selecting the Document Information category (step 3). For instance, CreateDate and SaveDate are inserted, instead, by first selecting the Date and Time category.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (386) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Inserting Summary Information.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Tying Workbooks Together

If you work with multiple workbooks at the same time, you might wonder how to tie them together so they open and close ...

Discover More

Understanding the Control Panel

The Control Panel is the heart of Windows. It allows you to change how Windows operates and how it communicates with the ...

Discover More

Creating Unnumbered Endnotes

Endnotes are indispensable in some types of writing. You may want to create endnotes, however, that don't follow the ...

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 (menu)

Special Characters in Fields

If you try to add a quote mark or a backslash as part of a field parameter or switch, you may be surprised at what you ...

Discover More

Jumping Between Fields

Need to step through the fields in a document? It's easy using the shortcuts detailed in this tip.

Discover More

Adding a Dynamic Total in Your Document

You can use a few bookmarks and an equation field to add a dynamic total anywhere in your document. Once in place, you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 1 + 1?

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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.