Viewing and Inserting the Date a Document was Last Modified in a Word Document

Especially helpful when working with others

Each document you create in Word contains information about the document orProperties, such as the date the file was created, the author of the document, and the number of pages and words in the document.

When you save the document, some of these properties are updates, such as the date on which the document was last saved, or modified. You can insert this date into your document, and have it update automatically. First, we will show you how to view the document properties for Word 2010 thru 2016, Word 2007, and Word 2003 documents. Then, we will show you how to insert the last modified date into your documents for Word.

View Document Properties in Word

To view properties for an open document in Word, click theFiletab and click onInfo.

On the right side of the window, the document properties are listed, including theLast Modifieddate, the date the document wasCreated, theAuthor, and the number ofWordsin the document.

You can also show the document properties in a panel at the top of your document. To do this, click thePropertiesbutton and selectShow Document Panelfrom the drop-down menu. In newer versions of Word, the document panel has been removed, so you can only view advanced properties.

TheDocument Propertiespanel displays. From this panel, you can also access a dialog box displaying all the properties stored for the document. To do this, click theDocument Propertiesbutton in the top, left corner of the panel and selectAdvanced Propertiesfrom the drop-down menu.

NOTE:You can also selectAdvanced Propertiesfrom the drop-down menu on thePropertiesbutton on theFiletab mentioned above.

ThePropertiesdialog box displays. You can view various tabs showing different information about the document, including theCreated,Modified,Accessed, andPrinted(if applicable) dates, and theStatisticsabout the document, such as the number of words and characters in the document. ClickOKorCancelto close the dialog box.

You can also change some properties on theSummarytab. When you have finished viewing the document properties, clickOKif you have made changes you want to save, or clickCancelto close thePropertiesdialog box without saving changes.

View Document Properties in Word 2007

To view properties for an open document in Word 2007, click theOfficebutton.

SelectPrepare | Propertiesfrom theOfficemenu.

TheDocument Propertiespanel displays at the top of the document. To access thePropertiesdialog box, click theDocument Propertiesbutton, just like you did in Word 2010, and selectAdvanced Properties.

ThePropertiesdialog box is the same as it is in Word 2010.

View Document Properties in Word 2003

To view properties for an open document in Word 2003, selectPropertiesfrom theFilemenu.

ThePropertiesdialog box displays and is the same as it is in Word 2010 and Word 2007.

Insert the Last Modified Date into a Word Document

In Word, to insert the date the currently open document was last saved, or modified, click theInserttab.

In theTextsection of theInserttab, click theQuick Partsbutton and selectFieldfrom the drop-down menu.

If you are using Word 2003, selectFieldfrom theInsertmenu.

TheFielddialog box displays. SelectDate and Timefrom theCategoriesdrop-down list.

SelectSaveDatein theField nameslist and select a desired format for the date in theDate formatslist in theField propertiesbox. ClickOK.

TheLast Modifieddate is inserted into your document. If you put the cursor anywhere in the date, you will notice that the date has a gray background. That indicates it is a field.

When you save the file, the field does not automatically update. To manually update the field, right-click anywhere on the field and selectUpdate Fieldfrom the popup menu.

The field updates to the date (and time, if applicable, depending on the chosen date format) the file was last saved.

NOTE:TheSaveDate(orLast Modifieddate) field you inserted will automatically update each time you open the file.

You can also insert other date and time information from the document properties into your document using fields, such asCreateDateandEditTime. To insert other types of document properties into your document, selectDocument Informationfrom theCategoriesdrop-down list on theFielddialog box and select a property such asAuthor,FileName,Title, etc. Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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