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How to See When a Microsoft Word Document Was Created Or Modified in Windows

Knowing when a Microsoft Word document was created or last modified can be very useful. Whether you are trying to determine the original author, sort documents by age, or simply want to know if a document has been recently updated, Word makes it easy to find this information. Here are several methods to see creation and modification dates for Word documents in Windows.

View File Properties in Windows Explorer

The easiest way to view basic metadata like creation and modification dates for a Word document is through Windows File Explorer:

Navigate to the folder containing the Word document
Right-click on the file and select Properties
Switch to the Details tab

Look for the Date created and Date modified fields

This method shows when the file was created/modified on your local storage. If the file was copied from another location, these dates will reflect that transfer date rather than original authoring dates.

Check Document Properties in Microsoft Word

To view original creation/modification metadata from within Word:

Open the Word document
Select the File tab
Choose Info from the left sidebar

View the Created and Modified fields on the right

The dates shown here indicate when the content was actually authored rather than file transfer dates.

View More Detailed Properties

For additional document properties not visible in the Info screen:

Follow the first 3 steps above
Click Show All Properties at the very bottom
A full properties panel will appear

Switch between the Summary, Statistics, and Custom tabs

The Custom tab is especially useful for viewing custom metadata added by the author.

Find Word Documents By Date Using File Explorer Search

You can also search for Word documents based on creation/modification date ranges right from File Explorer:

Open File Explorer and navigate to the target folder
Click in the search box at the top right
Enter a search query like: datecreated:1/1/2023..1/15/2023

This will show all files created between January 1-15, 2023
Replace datecreated with datemodified to search by edit dates instead

Tips for Accurate Dates

When checking creation and modification times for Word documents, keep these tips in mind:

Dates shown in File Explorer reflect file transfers, not original authoring dates
Open documents in Word to view original creation/modification metadata
Custom document properties contain additional creation details added by the author

Use File Explorer search to find documents within specific date ranges
If a file is copied or migrated, the shown dates will update to reflect the file transfer date

Knowing the full history of a document is invaluable. By using the correct methods outlined here, you can easily view accurate creation and modification dates for Word files. This information can help sort documents, confirm authors, ensure content is up-to-date, and more.