PDF & Documents
How to See Who Wrote a Word Document: Author and Last Modified By
Find the author, last modified by, company and revision details in a Word file you received — in Word itself or with a free metadata viewer.
· 4 min read
Quick answer
Word files store an Author, a Last modified by name, often a Company, plus created and modified dates and a revision count. In Word, open File > Info and look under Properties. Or upload the .docx to our free metadata viewer to see everything in one report without an account.
Method 1: check in Microsoft Word
- Open the document.
- Select File > Info.
- Look at Related People for Author and Last Modified By, and Related Dates for Created and Last Modified.
- Select Properties > Advanced Properties for more fields such as Company, Manager and statistics like revision number and total editing time.
Microsoft documents these fields in View or change the properties for an Office file.
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Method 2: check without opening Word
On Windows, right-click the file in File Explorer, choose Properties and open the Details tab. You will see Authors, Last saved by and dates. On any device, uploading the file to the upload box shows the same core details plus anything else we detect.
What the fields tell you
- Author is set when the document is first created, usually from the Office account or computer name. If someone made the file from a template, the author can be the template's creator.
- Last modified by is the most recent person to save it.
- Company often comes from the organisation's Office setup.
- Revision number and editing time hint at how much the file was worked on.
Comments and tracked changes can also reveal reviewers' names. Our guide to author names and track changes shows where they hide.
Limits
These fields can be changed in a few clicks, and Microsoft's Document Inspector can remove them. A blank author means only that the field is empty. Use the details as a starting point, not as proof.
Sending Word files yourself
Before you send a contract, CV or report, check what it says about you. Our step-by-step Word metadata guide covers manual removal; MetaClean Pro lets you clean and download one file free — once per account, with Pro at $14.99/year. Spreadsheets have similar fields: see Excel author and hidden data.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Author field the person who wrote the text?
Not necessarily. It is usually the account that first created the file, which may be a template or a colleague.
Can I check a Word file without Word installed?
Yes. Upload it to the MetaClean Pro metadata viewer, which is free and needs no account.
Sources & further reading
Every factual claim above is traceable to a primary source. Check them yourself:
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