How to Organize Word Documents With Tags

Tags make finding and organizing your documents easier

Add tags, or keywords, to Microsoft Word documents to make documents easier to find. By default, when you save a Word document, there are no tags saved along with it, but you can add your own before or after you make the document.

Instructions in this article apply to Word 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010.

How to Add Tags to Word Files

Tags are useful when you have several related documents in a single folder or on a flash drive, for example, and each document has a non-descriptive or nearly identical file name like project.docx, otherproject.docx, and otherproject1.docx. To quickly find related files in a folder, categorize each file by applying a tag. Then, search the folder for a specific tag to find documents with that tag.

Here's how to add tags to a Microsoft Word document:

  1. Go to File > Save As.

    File screen in Word with the Save As option highlighted
  2. Select Browse.

    In Word 2010, skip this step.

    Save As screen in Word with the Browse option highlighted
  3. Choose where to save the document and enter a name for the file.

  4. In the Tags text box, enter the desired keywords. Word automatically places a semi-colon at the end so you can add multiple tags.

    Word might recommend tags as you type. Select an autosuggestion, if one matches your needs, and use your custom tags.

    Save window in Word with the Tags field highlighted
  5. Save the document.

How to Add Tags Using Windows Explorer

You can add tags to a Word document even if you don't have the app installed. Here's how:

  1. Open Windows Explorer and find the Word document.

  2. Right-click the file and choose Properties.

    Options menu on a Word document with the Properties option highlighted
  3. Go to the Details tab.

    Properties window in Windows with the Details tab highlighted
  4. In the Tags text box, enter the keywords.

    Properties window in Windows with the Tags field highlighted
  5. Select OK to save the tags and close the dialog box.

    Properties window in Windows with the OK button highlighted

How to Edit or Remove Word Document Tags

Once you've added tags, edit or remove tags using the method described above. You can also choose to remove all tags from a Word file using the following steps:

  1. Locate the document in Windows Explorer.

  2. Right-click the file, then choose Properties.

    Options menu on a Word document with the Properties option highlighted
  3. Go to the Details tab.

    Properties window in Windows with the Details tab highlighted
  4. Select Remove Properties and Personal Information.

    Details tab in Properties with the Remove Properties and Personal Information option highlighted
  5. Select Remove the following properties from this file.

    Remove Properties window with the "Remove the following properties from this file" option highlighted
  6. Select the Tags check box.

    Remove Properties window with the Tags option highlighted
  7. Select OK to save the changes and close the dialog box.

    Remove Properties window with the OK button highlighted
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