How to modify and hide the name of the annotator in Word

Key points of this article

The name of the annotator is taken from the user name setting of Word. Changing the user name only affects newly created annotations. The names of existing annotations will not change automatically.
If you want to hide a person's name, you can turn off the display of comments or use the "Delete Personal Information" function, and the comment content itself will be retained.
Modifying the author name of an existing comment requires changing the internal data of the file. Be sure to save a backup before operation.
Check the document before sending it to others to make sure the names have been processed as needed before exporting it to PDF or sending it.

Many people discover that someone else's name or an unfamiliar username appears next to their comments when they review a Word document. When the document is handed over to leaders, customers or partners, the name seems very abrupt; sometimes the team shares a computer, and other people's names are left in the comments. This article explains clearly where the annotated names come from, how to modify them, how to hide them, and why already annotated names often cannot be changed.

Let’s talk about the conclusion first: the name of the commenter is not the text that can be directly edited in the comment box, but the user information recorded by Word at the moment the comment is created. Therefore, changing the user name will only take effect on newly created comments; if you want existing comments to display the new name, or to prevent the name from appearing in the document, you need to use other methods. The following will be dealt with separately according to your actual situation.

How to modify and hide the annotation name? One sentence conclusion

First answer in one sentence: first change the user name to ensure that future comments are correct, and then choose to turn off the display, delete personal information, or modify the internal data of the file depending on whether you want to keep the existing name.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
I will continue to annotate later and want the new annotation to display the correct name.	Modify username and abbreviation in User Information in Word Options	The setup is simple and only affects new comments, leaving existing content untouched.
There are already comments made by others in the document. I want to hide the name but retain the comment content.	Turn off the display of comments or do not display marks when printing or exporting	The name is still in the file, but it is not displayed and is suitable for internal viewing.
The document is ready to be sent externally, and everyone’s name needs to be removed.	Use the "Remove personal information" in the document inspector before saving.	The author information in comments and revisions will be cleared, but the comment text will still be retained.
The author name of the existing comment must be changed to the specified name	After backup, save it as .docx and manually modify the internal data.	There is no button on the Word interface to batch change the author of existing annotations, and there is a certain threshold for operation.

Before you start: Confirm these points first

First confirm whether you want to "rename" or "hide". Changing the name will change the name to another person, which is suitable for unified signature of the team or correcting errors; hiding will not let the name appear, suitable for cleaning before sending to the outside world. The goals of the two are different, and choosing the wrong one will leave wrong responsibility records.

Confirm whether this document needs to retain revision responsibilities. In scenarios such as contracts, audits, academic reviews, etc., the author information of comments and revisions may be part of the record. At this time, it is not recommended to delete the person's name. It is only recommended to hide the display and retain the original version.

Back up original files in advance. Whether it is deleting personal information or modifying internal data, the operation is irreversible. It is recommended to save a copy first.

Confirm your Word version and document source. The interface location of different versions is slightly different, and the functional scope of the web version and desktop version may also be different. When you cannot find an option, you can search for keywords such as "username" and "delete personal information" in the help.

Make it clear who is using this computer. The name of the annotator usually comes from the currently logged in Office account or local settings. When sharing a computer, it is easy for other people's names to be included in comments. Before changing it, check to see if the current user name is correct.

Modify the author name of new comments: follow these steps to set

Open Word, go to Options, and find the section related to your account or user information.
Enter the name you want to display in the username field, including any abbreviation settings.
Save the settings and close the dialog. If necessary, restart Word to take effect.
Open the document you want to annotate, select a passage of text, and insert a new comment.
Check the name at the top of the comment box and confirm it has changed to the newly set name.
If the name still isn't correct, check whether you are logging in with another account or under a shared Office account.
After confirming everything is correct, continue reviewing to avoid adding the wrong name in subsequent comments.

How to change the name of an existing annotation: General method

Modifying the username cannot change existing comments. If you really need to change the author name of an already annotated author to a specified one, you can do so by modifying the internal data of the file. This method requires caution and is recommended to operate on backup copies.

Save a new copy of the original file and select .docx file format.
Temporarily change the copy extension to .zip, or open it with compression software and find the annotation data file (usually located in the Word folder, named comments.xml).
Open the file with a plaintext editor, find the old name you want to replace, and change the author attribute value to the new name. Note that only the author field is changed, not the main text of the comments.
Save the changes, then repackage the file into .docx and revert the extension.
Open a new file in Word and check whether the name and content of each comment are correct.
If the file cannot be opened or the contents are messed up, delete this copy and return to the backup file to start over.

If the number of comments in a document is small, a safer approach is to check each item in the original document, and for comments that need to be kept, add them directly in the new comment instead of changing the old author name.

Hide annotated names: Do not display or delete

There are two types of hiding: one is only hidden from the interface, and the other is clearing from files.

Hide Display Only: Turn off the display of annotations or revision marks in the review view, or switch to a view where the marker is not displayed. This method does not modify the file content; others can still open the tags to view the name, making it suitable for internal circulation.

Delete from File: Use the document checker, select Delete Personal Information, then save. This feature removes information such as author and name from files, including annotated and revised author names. It won't delete the main text of the comment, but it will change the file content, so be sure to back it up before running.

When exporting PDFs: If you only need to send the result, you can turn off the annotation display before exporting. Before exporting, please confirm that the annotations are still visible and avoid taking out names you don't want to disclose with them.

After completion, check each item one by one

Inspection items	How to see it	What should you do if there's a problem?
Newly annotated name	Create a new comment and check if the username matches the set username	Check your username settings and log in to your account, then restart Word and try again
Names with old annotations	Review each item to confirm whether it meets expectations	If the change does not succeed, restore the backup and resume the operation, or switch to a hidden method
Is the name still in the file?	Before sending externally, use the document checker to check again	Delete personal information again and save a copy
Check whether the main text of the annotations is complete	Compare backups and check the annotation content and location	If the content is lost, use a backup file to restore it
Whether the revision records meet the requirements	Check whether revisions are still retained and if author information is processed as needed	Decide whether to keep or remove according to contract or team rules
Export the results	Open the exported PDF or new file and confirm whether the name appears or hides as expected	After adjusting the display settings, export again

📊 Core Comparison

Method	Can the name be changed?	Can it be hidden?	Impact on content	Suitable for the scene
Change the username	Effective only for new annotations	No	None	Afterwards, the annotations continued
Turn off annotation display	No	Only hide the display	None	Internal viewing and printing
Personal information will be deleted	No	Delete from files	Delete author information	External Distribution
Modify internal data	and can rewrite existing annotations	You can't hide it directly	There are operational risks	A new name must be specified

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. After changing my Word username, why are the old annotations still the original name?

Annotated names are written into the annotation at the time of creation, and changing the username afterward will not be retroactively updated. To modify existing comments, internal data must be modified or annotated again.

2. Will deleting personal information remove annotated content?

Generally, the main text of comments will not be deleted, but personal information such as authors will be erased. Please back up before running and check that the saved comments are still complete.

3. Is it possible to delete all the comments at once?

Deleting comments and hiding personal names are two different things. If you only want to remove your name, it's recommended to delete personal information; If you want to delete the comment itself, you need to process it item by item or scope during review, and confirm that these content is no longer needed before deletion.

4. Will the names in the annotations disappear when converted to PDF?

It depends on whether annotations are displayed when exporting. Disabling annotation display before export can prevent names from entering the PDF; After exporting, you still need to open the file and check it again.

5. If the document contains content generated by machine translation or OCR, what should you pay attention to in the annotation?

If the annotation is based on machine translation or OCR recognition, it is recommended to verify the original and translated text paragraphs before sending, especially numbers, proper nouns, and dates, to avoid misunderstandings caused by recognition or translation errors.

📝 Summary

Word annotation names are determined by the user information at the time of creation; changing usernames only affects new annotations. When handling existing annotations, you can choose to hide or display personal information, delete personal information, or modify internal data, and back up before operation. By checking each item according to the checklist above, you can protect your privacy while keeping necessary revision records for your document.

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