How to Change the Creation Date on a Word Document

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It's surprisingly difficult to change the creation date on Word document formats. You can simply start a new document, but the new document will display the current date. Inserting a custom date into the document is a more involved process. The need to change file time stamps is rare and not often considered by the average Microsoft Word user, but making the change is possible with some technical know-how.

Access the File Data

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The key to change file time stamp is through the file itself and not the actual document. You don't work within the Word system to change file creation date settings. Your computer stores the date on the file itself to organize and classify the file within your file settings. When you retrieve files on your hard drive or any external storage device, the option to organize by creation date is available. This is the feature you are changing rather than the text or document settings. Open the folder where your file is stored without actually opening the Word document. You'll see the creation date here. Right-click to open a menu of options and select "Change Attributes." This will generate a window with the file properties where you can change the file creation date and other custom settings.