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 a Document's Location.

Inserting a Document's Location

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 12, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


It is often handy to insert the location of a document into your document itself. For instance, you may want the footer of your document to include an indication of a document's file name, along with the full path for the file. You can do this easily by following these steps if you are using Word 2002 or Word 2003:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the file name inserted.
  2. Choose the Field option from the Insert menu. Word displays the Field dialog box.
  3. Choose Document Information from the Category list (top left corner of the dialog box). (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

  5. Select FileName from the Insert Field Type list.
  6. Click on the Field Codes button. Word modifies the display of the dialog box.
  7. Click Options. Word displays the Field Options dialog box.
  8. Click on the Field Specific Options tab. (See Figure 2.)
  9. Figure 2. The Field Specific tab of the Field Options dialog box.

  10. Choose the \p option. (This causes the path of the file name to be included in the field results.)
  11. Click on Add to Field.
  12. Click on OK to close the Field Options dialog box.
  13. Click on OK to close the Field dialog box and insert the field.

If you are using Word 97 or Word 2000, the steps are slightly different:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the file name inserted.
  2. Choose Field from the Insert menu. Word displays the Field dialog box.
  3. Choose Document Information as the field category (left side of the dialog box).
  4. Select FileName from the Insert Field Type list.
  5. Click on Options. Word displays the Field Options dialog box.
  6. Click on the Field Specific Options tab.
  7. Choose the \p option. (This causes the path of the file name to be included in the field results.)
  8. Click on Add to Field.
  9. Click on OK to close the Field Options dialog box.
  10. Click on OK to close the Field dialog box and insert the field.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1085) 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 a Document's Location.

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. ...

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