Date in Word Document Changes Unexpectedly

Q: Whenever I open an old Microsoft Word document, it replaces the original date in the document with the current date. How can I prevent Word from automatically changing the date when I open a document?


A: When you choose Insert | Date and Time from the menu (or click Date and Time in the Text panel of Word 2007's Insert ribbon), you get a Date and Time dialog that lets you choose the desired format. There's a tricky little box at the bottom labeled Update automatically. If you check that box, Word inserts a date field rather than a static date. This field updates to the current date every time you open the document. When you click on such a date it gets a gray highlight—that's a clue you're looking at a field.
Going forward, be sure that box is not checked when you want to insert a static date. For your old documents, you'll have to delete the date field and replace it with the date that should be there. Not sure of the correct date? It's probably the date that the document was created or last saved. In Word 2003, choose Properties from the File menu to find the Created date.
Word 2007 users will have to jump through a few hoops to reach this same Document Properties window. Click the Office Orb at top left, choose Prepare, and choose Properties. Click the down arrow next to Document Properties in the panel that appears. Choose Advanced Properties. When you've noted the document creation date, close the properties panel by clicking the small x-icon at its top right-hand corner.