How to Change the Author of a Word Document

To change the author of a Word document in Windows, open File > Info, right-click the name beside Author, select Edit Property, enter the replacement name, select OK, and save. On Mac, open File > Properties > Summary, replace the Author value, select OK, and save.

These steps change the author stored in the current file’s properties. Your default name for future documents, names attached to existing comments and tracked changes, and a byline typed on the page are separate. Choose the method that matches the name you want to change.

Change the author on Windows or Mac

Open your document in Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 for Windows. Select File > Info, then find Related People. Right-click the name beside Author and choose Edit Property.

Enter the replacement name in Edit person, select OK, and save the document. This changes the current file’s author property without replacing the default name Word uses for future documents.

For another route to the same metadata, select File > Info > Properties > Advanced Properties, then open Summary. Replace the value in Author, or clear it to remove the name, select OK, and save. The former Document Information Panel is deprecated; use File > Info or Advanced Properties instead.

In Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac, open the document and select File > Properties. Open Summary, replace the Author value with the name you want, and select OK. Save the document to keep the change.

To leave the author property blank on Mac, clear the same field before selecting OK and saving. Clearing this value removes the file’s author metadata; it does not rename people attached to existing comments or tracked changes.

Open a web document in desktop Word

Word for the web cannot directly view or change document properties. At the top of the ribbon, select Editing > Open in Desktop App. Use the Windows or Mac properties steps above, then save in desktop Word.

This route requires desktop Word to be installed and permission to edit the document. If you need the desktop application, choose a plan that includes it through the Microsoft Word product page. Access to free Word for the web alone does not provide the document-property editing controls.

Set your default author name

To use a different identity for future documents in Windows desktop Word, select File > Options > General. Under Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office, edit User name and Initials. Select Always use these values regardless of sign-in to Office, then select OK.

The Windows setting also affects other installed Office apps and the identity used for new comments and tracked changes. It does not replace author properties in existing documents. Set the identity before you track changes in Word when you want subsequent revisions to carry the new name.

On Mac, select Word > Preferences > User Information, then edit Name and Initials. Select Always use this name regardless of how I’m signed in to Office and close the dialog. Subsequent comments and tracked changes use that identity; earlier review attribution stays separate.

Remove author information before sharing

For just the author value, clear Author in the document’s Summary properties and save. For broader removal in Word for Microsoft 365 for Windows, save a copy first, then select File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document.

Check Document Properties and Personal Information, then select Inspect. Beside that category’s results, select Remove All, select Close, and save the copy. Document Inspector can remove considerably more than an author name, so choose its categories carefully.

Selecting the separate Comments, Revisions, Versions, and Annotations category for removal deletes that content. Removing review content is different from removing personal attribution. Keep the original copy when you still need its review history.

Word for Mac does not have Document Inspector. To remove personal attribution when saving a Mac document, select Tools > Protect Document. In the dialog that opens, check Remove personal information from this file on save, select OK, then save, close, and reopen the document.

Change the author from Windows File Explorer

Windows 11 File Explorer can also edit a document’s author when its file properties are writable. Close the document in Word, select the file in File Explorer, then right-click and select Properties. You can also press Alt + Enter to open that dialog.

Open Details, edit the value beside Authors, and select OK. Editing depends on the file format and installed file-property handler; use Word’s document-properties method when the field cannot be edited. Direct editing in the redesigned Windows 11 Details pane was removed, so use Properties > Details instead.

Handle names on existing comments and changes

Editing Author in file properties does not rename authors attached to existing comments or tracked revisions. Changing Word’s default user name affects subsequent review activity, rather than rewriting earlier attribution. Decide whether you need a replacement name or want personal attribution removed.

For a chosen replacement name on existing reviews, you can use Author Changer for Comments and Tracked Changes in Windows desktop Word. Open its Microsoft Marketplace product page and select Get it now. Your organization may restrict add-in installation, and you should check compatibility before choosing it for Mac or Word for the web.

Open Author Changer with the document in Editing or Reviewing mode. Choose whether to rename all authors or specific ones, enter New author and New initials, and choose whether to apply the change to comments, tracked changes, or both. Then complete the add-in’s renaming workflow.

When combining unmarked edits instead, Windows Word can assign a reviewer label to newly identified changes. Select Review > Compare > Combine, choose Original document and Revised document, then enter a name in Label unmarked changes with. Select More, choose New document under Show changes in, and select OK.

That label does not universally rename existing tracked revisions. If you want to see what differs before combining copies, compare the two Word documents first. Save the combined result separately from the originals.

Update an author name displayed on the page

A byline typed on the page is separate from the file’s author property. Changing metadata does not guarantee that ordinary typed text changes with it. Edit that byline separately when you need the visible name to match.

In Windows Word, you can insert a linked author control through Insert > Quick Parts > Document Property > Author. Replace the text inside that control and save. Unlike an ordinary typed byline, this control is linked to the document’s author property.

You can also replace the property through an author field in Windows desktop Word. Press Ctrl + F9 to insert field braces, then type AUTHOR "Replacement Name" inside them, substituting your chosen name. Select the field and press F9 to update it, then save. Microsoft says the optional quoted name replaces the author in document properties.

Set the document author with a macro

If you need to automate the change, desktop Word’s VBA APIs can set the active document’s author property and save the file. In the Visual Basic Editor, create the following macro, replacing the example name with your chosen author before running it.

Sub SetDocumentAuthor(): ActiveDocument.BuiltInDocumentProperties(wdPropertyAuthor).Value = "Replacement Name": ActiveDocument.Save: End Sub

Run the macro with the document you want to change active in Word. It changes document-level author metadata, so it does not rename existing comment or revision authors. VBA is unavailable in Word for the web.

Keep Word from removing the new name

If author information disappears each time you save in Word for Microsoft 365 for Windows, open the affected document and select File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options. Uncheck Remove personal information from file properties on save, select OK, and save.

This setting applies to the affected document. Turning it off does not restore names that were already removed, so enter the desired author again through the document-properties controls. Save once more after setting the replacement name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing your Microsoft account name change the author in existing Word files?

Changing your Microsoft account display name does not replace editing an existing document’s Author property. For a personal account, select Edit name in your Microsoft account, enter the new name, and select Save. Microsoft says the account-name update can take up to 24 hours.

How do you correct the display name on a work or school account?

Ask an administrator with the appropriate role to open the Microsoft 365 admin center and select Users > Active users. The administrator selects your user account, opens Account > Manage contact information, updates the display name, and selects Save changes. This corrects your directory identity without rewriting existing document metadata or historical revision attribution.

Can LibreOffice remove author attribution from a Word document?

Yes, open a copy in Writer and select Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Security > Options; on Mac, begin with LibreOffice > Preferences. Check Remove personal information on saving, select OK, then select OK again. Save in Word format and review the result because conversion can affect layout or features. LibreOffice replaces comment and change authors with generic names and resets their time values.

Are old macros that assign Comment.Author still a supported solution?

Microsoft marks the Comment.Author interop member deprecated and says it is not intended for use in code. That deprecation concerns comment-renaming automation, rather than the document-level author metadata property. The Revision.Author property is read-only.

Does changing the Word author also change SharePoint attribution?

No, SharePoint’s Created By and Modified By columns are separate from Word’s Author property. Editing the embedded author name does not make those columns the same property.