Fix Word’s Reviewing Pane Showing Empty Author Names for Anonymous Users

When you open a document in Word and review comments or tracked changes, the Reviewing Pane may show blank author fields or the name “Author” instead of the actual contributor. This problem typically occurs when comments or changes were made by users who did not sign in with a Microsoft account or Office profile, leaving the author metadata as an empty string or a placeholder. The root cause is that Word stores the user name from the Office identity settings, and if that field was never set or was cleared during a sharing session, the author name appears blank. This article explains why the Reviewing Pane shows empty author names for anonymous users and provides three reliable methods to fix the display.

Why the Reviewing Pane Shows Empty Author Names for Anonymous Users

Word assigns an author name to each comment and tracked change based on the user name stored in File > Options > General. When a document is edited by someone who has not configured this field, or when a document is opened from a shared location where the user identity was not propagated, Word records the author as an empty string or the generic word “Author”. This behavior is by design — Word cannot display a name that was never provided.

Anonymous access can also occur when users collaborate via a guest link in OneDrive or SharePoint without signing in. In these scenarios, Word may treat the user as “Anonymous” and leave the author metadata blank. The Reviewing Pane then shows an empty author column, making it impossible to identify who left a particular comment or change.

Additionally, if the document was converted from an older format such as .doc or .rtf, or if it was exported from another application like Google Docs, the author metadata may be missing entirely. In these cases, Word cannot retroactively assign a name to existing comments unless you manually edit the document properties or reapply the user name.

How to Fix Empty Author Names in the Reviewing Pane

Use the following methods to restore author names for existing comments and to prevent future anonymous entries. The first method sets a default user name, the second method removes anonymous metadata, and the third method handles hidden reviewers.

Method 1: Set a Default User Name in Word Options

1. Open Word Options
   Click File in the top-left corner, then click Options at the bottom of the left panel. The Word Options dialog opens.
2. Navigate to the General tab
   In the Word Options dialog, select General from the left sidebar. This tab contains the Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office section.
3. Enter your user name
   In the User name field, type your full name as you want it to appear in comments and tracked changes. In the Initials field, type your initials.
4. Apply the setting
   Make sure the checkbox “Always use these values regardless of sign in to Office” is checked. This ensures that the name applies even when you are not signed in. Click OK to save.

After completing this method, all new comments and tracked changes will display the name you entered. Existing anonymous entries will not change automatically.

Method 2: Remove Anonymous Metadata Using the Document Inspector

1. Open the document with empty author names
   Open the document in Word that shows the blank author fields in the Reviewing Pane.
2. Access the Document Inspector
   Click File > Info. In the Info pane, click Check for Issues and select Inspect Document from the dropdown menu. The Document Inspector dialog appears.
3. Select inspection options
   In the Document Inspector dialog, ensure that Document Properties and Personal Information is checked. You may also check Comments, Revisions, Versions, and Annotations to clean all author metadata.
4. Run the inspection
   Click Inspect. Word scans the document for hidden metadata. When the scan finishes, a list of results appears.
5. Remove the metadata
   Next to Document Properties and Personal Information, click Remove All. This action clears all author metadata, including empty names. Click Close to exit the inspector.

After removing the metadata, the Reviewing Pane will show no author names at all for previously anonymous entries. You can then reapply your user name using Method 1 and add new comments or accept changes to restore visibility.

Method 3: Show All Reviewers in the Reviewing Pane

1. Open the Review tab
   Click Review in the ribbon at the top of Word.
2. Open the Show Markup dropdown
   In the Tracking group, click Show Markup. A dropdown menu appears.
3. Select Specific People
   Hover over Specific People in the dropdown. A submenu lists all reviewers in the document. Ensure that every reviewer name is checked. If any reviewer is unchecked, click it to check it.
4. Verify the Reviewing Pane
   Click Reviewing Pane in the Tracking group to open the pane. The author column should now display names for all visible reviewers. If a reviewer still shows as empty, that entry was created without a user name and must be fixed with Method 1 or 2.

If the Reviewing Pane Still Shows Empty Names After the Fix

Empty names appear only in a specific document

If the fix works for new documents but the same document continues to show empty author names, the document may have been created in an older version of Word or a third-party editor. In this case, the only way to assign a name is to accept or reject each tracked change and add a new comment with your user name set. Alternatively, copy the content into a new document: select all content except the final paragraph mark, paste it into a blank document, and reapply your user name.

Empty names appear after sharing via OneDrive or SharePoint

When a document is shared via a guest link, anonymous users see “Author” or blank in the Reviewing Pane. To fix this, ask all collaborators to sign in with a Microsoft account before editing. If the document already contains anonymous entries, use Method 2 to remove the metadata and then ask contributors to re-add their comments while signed in.

Empty names appear after converting from .doc or .rtf

Documents converted from older formats often lose author metadata. After opening the converted file, go to File > Options > General and set your user name. Then use Method 2 to remove all existing metadata. The Reviewing Pane will then show only the current user name for any new comments or changes you add.

Word Online vs Desktop: Author Name Handling Differences

Item	Word Online	Word Desktop
Author name source	Microsoft account display name	File > Options > General user name
Anonymous editing behavior	Shows “Anonymous” or blank for guest users	Shows “Author” or blank if user name is not set
Ability to set default name	Not available; uses account profile	Available via Word Options
Document Inspector access	Not available	Available via File > Info > Check for Issues
Reviewing Pane display	Shows author name if signed in	Shows author name based on user name setting

The table above highlights that Word Online relies entirely on the Microsoft account for author identification, while Word Desktop allows you to set a custom user name regardless of sign-in status. If you collaborate across both platforms, ensure that all contributors sign in to their Microsoft accounts before editing to avoid empty author names.

You can now identify the cause of empty author names in the Reviewing Pane and apply the correct fix based on whether the document was created anonymously, shared via a guest link, or converted from an older format. Next, verify that all reviewers have a user name set in Word Options and that the Document Inspector has removed any remaining anonymous metadata. For advanced management, use the macro ActiveDocument.DeleteAllComments in the Visual Basic Editor to strip all comments and reapply them with proper author names.