Embed the file path in your Word documents

This next tip is for you if you've ever looked at a printed Word document and wondered, "Where is the file for this?"

It's a simple task to embed the file path directly into your Word files so you can tell at a glance where you saved them - whether it's on your hard drive or a remote file share. This also is helpful when providing printouts to team members, so they know where to find the "soft copy" of the document after your meeting.

To add this detail to your docs in Word 2007 or Word 2010, go to the Insert tab, click Quick Parts and select Field:

Insert Field

Scroll through the field names until you find FileName. Select it and then check Add path to filename under Field options:

FileName

The best place to insert this field code is the footer so that it appears on every page - that way you only need to find one sheet of paper to track down the full document:

Displaying file path

If you move the file, the path will need to be refreshed. Select your path, right click it, and choose Update Field:

Update Field

Suzanne