Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word

By

Have you ever wanted (or needed) to be an incognito editor, a covert reviewer, or a clandestine collaborator? If so, this post is for you—or for your secret identity—because it demonstrates how to change your user name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word on a PC.

Are you on a Mac? Please visit “How to Change Your Name for Track Changes in Word for Mac.”

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 100 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010. However, your interface may look slightly different in those older versions of the software.

How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Word

Important Note: These steps must be completed before you use Track Changes because they don’t change the name associated with existing edits or comments. Word doesn’t have a straightforward way to change user names connected to existing edits or comments.

However, you can replace user names with the default label Author for all existing and future edits and comments, as shown in “How to Remove User Names from Existing Track Changes in Microsoft Word.”

1. Select the Review tab in the ribbon.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Review Tab | Step 1 in How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Word
Figure 1. Review tab

2. Select the dialog box launcher in the Tracking group.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Tracking Group Dialog Box Launcher | Step 2 in How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Figure 2. Dialog box launcher in the Tracking group

3. Select the Change User Name button in the Track Changes Options dialog box.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Track Changes Options Dialog Box Change User Name Button | Step 3 in How to Change Your Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Figure 3. Change User Name button in the Track Changes Options dialog box

4. Change the user name and/or the initials in the Word Options dialog box.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Word Options Dialog Box User Name and Initials | Step 4 in How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Figure 4. User name and initials in the Word Options dialog box

Pro Tip: You can also open the Word Options dialog box by selecting the File Tab followed by Options in the backstage view.

5. Check the box in front of “Always use these values regardless of sign in to Office” if you want to save these changes for future documents.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Always use these values regardless of sign in to Office" Option in the Word Options Dialog Box | Step 5 in How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Figure 5. “Always use these values regardless of sign in to Office” checkbox in the Word Options dialog box

6. Select the OK button to save your changes.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Word Options Dialog Box OK Button | Step 6 in How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Figure 6. OK button in the Word Options dialog box

Your updated user name should now appear when you add new comments and edits.

Further Reading

How to Change Your Name for New Comments and Markups in Adobe Acrobat DC

How to Stop Microsoft Word from Calling You “Author” in Track Changes

Updated November 22, 2021