Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Grabbing a User's Name from Excel.

Grabbing a User's Name from Excel

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated June 23, 2018)

8

Mark has a worksheet where he wants to record the name of a user, but rather than asking the user to fill in a form, he wants to automatically grab their username from Excel.

The username that a person sets in Excel when first installing the software or when changing the general options for the program cannot be accessed via formula. Instead, you need to use a macro to access the information and then make it available to your worksheet. This is possible through the use of a user-defined function. Consider the following simple example:

Function GetUserName()
    GetUserName = Application.UserName
End Function

Note that the macro does nothing more than to access the UserName property of the Application object. You use this function in your worksheet in the following manner:

=GetUserName()

With this simple formula in a cell, the username is displayed in the cell.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3289) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Grabbing a User's Name from Excel.

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

No Space Before at the Top of a Page

Want to make sure that Word handles space before a paragraph correctly when the paragraph is at the top of a page? Check ...

Discover More

Changing AutoFilter Drop-Down Arrow Colors

The drop-down arrow used at the top of columns by AutoFilter can be difficult to see. Here's a way you can reduce the ...

Discover More

Adding Addresses To a Set of Address Labels

Got a bunch of pages labels and you need to insert a label into the middle of the bunch? This isn't easy to do in Word, ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Slowing Down Mouse Selection

Ever tried to select a range of cells using the mouse, only to have the cells scroll by so quickly you can't make the ...

Discover More

Taskbar Setting isn't Sticky

Understanding how Excel sets the taskbars upon opening.

Discover More

Changing Your Name

One of the many pieces of information that Excel keeps track of is your name. If you want to change your name for Excel's ...

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}] 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 five more than 4?

2019-09-17 03:49:33

Rahul Takalikar

Formula in Cell H1 "=INFO("DIRECTORY")"

Formula in Cell H2 "=LEFT(RIGHT(H1,LEN(H1)-9),LEN(RIGHT(H1,LEN(H1)-9))-11)"

This should work

2019-07-29 09:35:56

Lisa

Very helpful, I find myself referring to your site quite a bit as I am learning more and more about programming in Excel. The above command to grab the username works nicely, is there a way to incorporate this with an IF statement? Say a user has typed an X in cell D23, I would like to display that user's username in cell C23. if there is no X I don't want their username...

2017-10-19 07:46:22

mahdiar

hi.how i get users group name from excel vba?

2017-03-21 14:54:13

Kathleen

I receive the same error as Nomka - "It did not work for me showing error #Name?"

2016-09-30 10:19:54

Raj

it's helpful..thanks.

2016-04-12 18:08:18

Brenda

it works but when I give the workbook to a co-worker, their name - sometimes appears.?? Sometimes it still displays my name.

2015-11-03 09:25:22

awyatt

Nomka: You would get that error in the workbook if you didn't create the macro (GetUserName) in a regular module in that workbook.

-Allen

2015-11-03 05:31:44

Nomka

It did not work for me showing error #Name?

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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 AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.