Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Embedding Your Phone Number in a Workbook.

Embedding Your Phone Number in a Workbook

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

1

Excel is used quite extensively in corporate environments. It is often desirable to know exactly who created a workbook, particularly if it has been months since a workbook was last reviewed. Excel keeps track of non-workbook data that can be used to help identify an author. One piece of data that could be very helpful is the phone number of the workbook's author. To specify a phone number, follow these steps if you are using Excel 2010 or a later version:

  1. Display the File tab of the ribbon.
  2. Make sure the Info option is selected at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Click the Properties link near the right side of the dialog box and then click Advanced Properties. Excel displays the Properties dialog box for your workbook.
  4. Make sure the Custom tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Custom tab of the Properties dialog box.

  5. In the list of properties at the top of the dialog box (listed in the Name control), choose Telephone Number.
  6. In the Value box, enter the phone number you want associated with the workbook.
  7. Click on Add.
  8. Click on OK.

If you are using Excel 2007, the steps are slightly different, with the biggest difference being in how you display the Properties dialog box:

  1. Click the Office button, click Prepare, and then click Properties. Excel displays an abbreviated set of properties just above your worksheet.
  2. Click the down-arrow next to Document Properties and choose Advanced Properties. Excel displays the Properties dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Custom tab is selected.
  4. In the list of properties at the top of the dialog box (listed in the Name control), choose Telephone Number.
  5. In the Value box, enter the phone number you want associated with the workbook.
  6. Click on Add.
  7. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9727) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Embedding Your Phone Number in a Workbook.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Unlinking an Excel Chart Automatically

When Excel charts are linked in a Word document, they update every time the document is opened. Here's how to unlink the ...

Discover More

Determining Differences Between Dates

Macros are often used to process the data in a worksheet. If that data includes dates that need to be processed, you'll ...

Discover More

Can't Set Custom Format in VBA

You can, in a macro, specify a custom format for a range of cells. If the custom format doesn't seem to "stick" (so to ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Speeding Up Large Worksheets

If your worksheet gets large enough, you may notice a severe slowdown when it is recalculated. This tip provides some ...

Discover More

Relative Worksheet References

Copy a formula from one place to another and Excel helpfully adjusts the cell references within the formula. That is, it ...

Discover More

How Excel Stores Dates and Times

Excel stores dates and times internally using what is called a serial number. This tip explains how that serial number is ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 + 2?

2024-10-07 10:16:43

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes the following function to set the text, numeric, logical, date/time, or error value of a workbook's document property and return confirmation:
    =SetDocProperty(Name, Value, [AsDate], [Delete])
Name's case is ignored if built-in or custom document property Name exists; in this case it will be set to Value. Otherwise, a new custom document property Name/Value pair are added; in this case Name's case is retained.
If AsDate is TRUE, Value is treated as date/time; default is FALSE.
If Delete is TRUE, custom document property Name will be deleted; default is FALSE. A built-in document property cannot be deleted.
For example, this formula will set the "Telephone number" custom document property as text:
    =SetDocProperty("Telephone number", "123-456-7890")
The following function returns the value of a workbook's built-in or custom document property:
    =GetDocProperty(Name, [Approx])
Name's case is ignored. If optional Approx is FALSE (default), then Name is considered explicit; otherwise, the value of the first document property containing Name is returned. Text values are returned directly. A logical, date/time, or error value will be returned as equivalent text; any other number is returned as a number.
For example, this formula will return the first document property containing "telephone" in its Name (case ignored):
    =GetDocProperty("telephone", TRUE)
The following dynamic array function lists the workbook's built-in and custom (if any) document properties with 2 columns and N rows:
    =ListDocProperties([SkipNull], [SkipCustom], [SkipHeader])
There are currently 34 built-in document properties in an Excel workbook; many of these normally have a null value. Custom document properties do not exist until set; the Names in the Tip's Figure 1 are merely suggestions.
Each worksheet can have custom properties independent of a workbook's custom properties. The following functions set or return the value of a custom worksheet property:
    =SetCustomWSProperty(Name, Value, [Sheet], [Delete])
    =GetCustomWSProperty(Name, [Sheet])
Name's case is ignored if custom worksheet property Name exists; otherwise, its case is retained when the new Name/Value pair are added.
Value is always converted to equivalent logical, date/time, numeric, error, or other text and returned as text.
If optional Sheet is omitted, the custom property applies to the formula cell's worksheet; otherwise, it applies to the specified Sheet (case ignored) in that cell's workbook.
If Delete is TRUE, custom worksheet property Name will be deleted; default is FALSE.
The following dynamic array function lists any custom worksheet properties:
    =ListCustomWSProperties([AllSheets], [SkipHeader])
If AllSheets is FALSE (default), only the formula cell's worksheet will be evaluated; otherwise, all worksheets in the workbook are included.
The SpillArray function (described in UseSpillArray.pdf) simulates a dynamic array in older versions of Excel.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.