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: Setting the Return Address Used in Word.

Setting the Return Address Used in Word

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 16, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Every time Vicki opens Word to make an envelope, her return address is empty even though she asks Word to save the return address every time. The return address is retained for the current session, but as soon as Vicki exits Word it goes away and is blank the next time she starts the program.

The proper way to set the return address and make it stick is to follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the User Information tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The User Information tab of the Options dialog box.

  4. In the Mailing Address area, enter your return address.
  5. Click OK.

Whenever you want to print an envelope, your return address (the one you entered will appear as the default. If this does not work, it could be that you have a corrupted document template. Outside of Word (in Windows) locate and rename Normal.dot to something else, such as OldNormal.dot. Restart Word, follow the steps outlined above, and try to print your envelopes.

If this still doesn't work for you, then it could be that you have a more serious corruption problem. You can find a good description of how to track down and fix any corruption problems here:

http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/32641

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5888) 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: Setting the Return Address Used in Word.

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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