Keeping Documents Organized With Document Properties

Using Word’s Document Properties feature is a good way to store information about your documents. You can put information such as document title, author, comments, and keywords in the Document Properties dialog box.

Later, you can search for particular documents based on values in the Document Properties dialog box.

Whether or not you use the Document Properties feature, Word stores information in the Document Properties box. This includes the author’s name and statistics about the document, such as the number of revisions, time spent editing, and word count.

To access Document Properties, click File>>Properties.

You cannot change information on the General tab. It contains the file name, size, and location. It also shows when the document was created and last accessed. Additionally, you can view file attributes.

The Summary tab will be most useful to you. Here you can specify the document title, the subject, and edit the author name. You can assign the document a category and add keywords and comments. You can also opt to include a preview picture of your document so you can view it in dialog boxes.

The Statistics tab contains data about the document. You’ll see when it was last opened and printed. You can also view a word and paragraph count. Data on this tab cannot be changed.

The Contents tab contains an outline of your document. Again, it can’t be edited.

The Custom tab allows you to add more information about your document. You can select a name from the top scroll box. Then, add a data type – this can be a data, a yes and no box, or text. Then, you can add a value.