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: Putting Document Names in Headers or Footers.

Putting Document Names in Headers or Footers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 17, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you print your document, it is often a good idea to include the document name in the header or footer. This allows you, at a later date, to recall the name of the file in which the document is stored. To include document names in the header or footer, follow these steps:

Choose Header and Footer from the View menu. You will see the Header and Footer dialog box.
Select either the header or footer, depending on where you want the document name to be, by clicking on the Switch button.
Position the insertion point where you want to include the filename.
Choose Field from the Insert menu. Word displays the Field dialog box.
From the Categories list select the Document Information category. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

From the Field Name list, select FileName.
Click on OK. The filename of the current document will be inserted at the insertion point; it will automatically change if you save the document under another name.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1080) 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: Putting Document Names in Headers or Footers.

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

An Unruly Ruler

Does the ruler in Word seem to have a mind of its own? If you have problems understanding why the ruler behaves as it ...

Discover More

Phantom Counts

Two common worksheet functions used to count things are COUNT and COUNTA. Not understanding how these functions treat ...

Discover More

Shortcut to Enter GMT

Entering the current time into a cell is easy, as Excel provides a built-in shortcut to accomplish the task. Here's a ...

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 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Headers and Footers

Editing what is in your page header or footer is fairly easy, and you can use the same editing techniques you already ...

Discover More

Floating Footer

Need some specific text to appear just below the end of the text on the last page of your document? You can accomplish ...

Discover More

Form Fields in Headers and Footers

When working with form fields, you may want to place those fields in the header or footer of a document. Word won't let ...

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 seven less than 8?

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.