Troubleshooting Persistent Previous Name Display in Word 2021

Are you experiencing an issue where Microsoft Word 2021 continues to display an outdated name, despite updating your Microsoft account details? This can be frustrating, especially when your documents reflect old information even after multiple attempts to correct it. In this article, we’ll explore the common causes of this problem and provide effective solutions to ensure your document reflects your current information.

Understanding the Issue

Many users encounter situations where, after changing their display name on their Microsoft account, Word documents still reference the previous name. This inconsistency can manifest in various ways:

• The “Press ENTER to insert” prompt displays the old name when typing.
• Your profile picture or account sign-in information shows the updated name.
• Document properties continue to list outdated information.
• Custom dictionaries or autocorrect settings still suggest the old name.

If you’ve already tried signing out and back in, removing the old name from dictionaries, and verifying document properties, but the issue persists, further troubleshooting is necessary.

Common Causes

1. Cached Data in Office Applications: Office apps cache profile information, which may require manual clearing.
2. Profile Synchronization Delays: Changes made to your Microsoft account may take some time to propagate across all services.
3. Local Document Metadata: Certain document properties or templates may retain outdated information.
4. Autocorrect and Dictionary Entries: Customized entries may interfere with suggested corrections.

Step-by-Step Solutions

1. Update Profile Information in Microsoft 365

Ensure your account information is fully updated:

• Sign into your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com.
• Navigate to your profile and confirm that your display name reflects the desired change.
• Change your display name if necessary.

Note: Changes might take some time to sync across all Microsoft services.

2. Clear Office Cache

Clearing cached Office data can resolve discrepancies:

• Close all Office applications.
• Navigate to %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache (for Office 2021).
• Delete all files within this folder.
• Restart Word and check if the name updates.

3. Update Document Properties Manually

Sometimes, document metadata holds onto outdated information:

• Open your Word document.
• Go to File > Info.
• Under Properties, click Show All Properties.
• Manually edit the Author and **Last Author