Removing metadata microsoft word 2007

When the Summary window opens I get a data entry window with the following fields: Summary Title Subject Author Category Keywords Comments I have hundreds of files I want to add my own information into.

I am willing to buy an application to do this work. So far my attempts to Google for an answer only get strange URL links returned for everything but the problem I describe. Suggestions please? This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. I have the same question 0.

Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. It even may still have your name attached to it. Even worse, changes you made to the document, although no longer visible to you, may still be in the document. If you wrote a paragraph about something specific to you but then removed it because it could be used to identify you, it still could be a part of the file in the form of metadata.

Following is a list of methods to see what metadata is attached to your Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. Metadata surrounding e-mail sent from Outlook is far more complex and beyond the scope of this article. Under that data, click on Show All Properties to see more data. If you used a template that has your name, or a company name in its filename, that could be tracked to you.

In the Properties window, click on the Details tab. It accompanies all kinds of files and Microsoft Office files are no exception. Change the extension of the file from. Yes, each Office filetype that ends in x is a compressed file containing XML documents. Click Yes. In the window that opens, it will ask you where you want to save the extracted files and if you want to show the extracted files when finished.

The default values are good. Click Extract. Explore in these files to see what information is stored there. It will look odd, but you should be able to make out what most of the information means.

There are two XML files that may contain your name: core. On the Info page, click on Check for Issues on the left, near the middle of the page.

Click on Inspect Document. The Document Inspector window will open. Make sure all the checkboxes in the Document Inspector are checked, then click the Inspect button. A green checkmark in a circle means it found no data of that type. A red exclamation mark means it found data of that type.

Click on that to remove all data of that type. There may be several of these buttons, so scroll down to ensure you get all of them. There is some information that the Document Inspector cannot remove, explained in the tables that accompany more details about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. An electronic copy of a Word document that you share with clients or colleagues often contains hidden data or personal information that is stored in the document itself or in the document properties or metadata.

Word documents can contain the following types of hidden data and personal information:. Comments, revision marks from tracked changes, versions, and ink annotations If you've collaborated with other people to create your document, your document might contain items such as revision marks from tracked changes, comments, ink annotations, or versions.

This information can enable other people to see the names of people who worked on your document, comments from reviewers, and changes that were made to your document, things that you might not want to share outside of your team. Document properties and personal information Document properties, or metadata, include details about your document such as author, subject, and title.

Document properties also include information that is automatically maintained by Office programs, such as the name of the person who most recently saved a document and the date when a document was created. If you used specific features, your document might also contain additional kinds of personally identifiable information PII , such as e-mail headers, send-for-review information, routing slips, and template names.

Headers, footers, and watermarks Word documents can contain information in headers and footers. Additionally, you might have added a watermark to your Word document. Hidden text Word documents can contain text that is formatted as hidden text.

If you do not know whether your document contains hidden text, you can use the Document Inspector to search for it. Document server properties If your document was saved to a location on a document management server, such as a Document Workspace site or a library based on Windows SharePoint Services, the document might contain additional document properties or information related to this server location.

You can use the Document Inspector to find and remove hidden data and personal information in Word documents. It is a good idea to use the Document Inspector before you share an electronic copy of your Word document, such as in an e-mail attachment. Important: We highly recommend that you use the Document Inspector on a copy of your original document, because it is not always possible to restore the data that the Document Inspector removes.

Click the File tab, click Save As , and then type a name in the File name box to save a copy of your original document. In the copy of your original document, click the File tab, and then click Info. Click Check for Issues , and then click Inspect Document.

In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the check boxes to choose the types of hidden content that you want to be inspected. Click Remove All next to the inspection results for the types of hidden content that you want to remove from your document. If you remove hidden content from your document, you might not be able to restore it by clicking Undo. If you want to remove hidden data and personal information from documents that you save in the OpenDocument Text.

In Word, the Document Inspector displays several different Inspectors that allow you to find and remove hidden data and personal information that is specific to Word documents.

For a list of the different types of hidden data and personal information that the Document Inspector can find and remove from Word documents, review the following table.

If your organization customized the Document Inspector by adding Inspector modules, you might be able to check your documents for additional types of information. For more information about the features available in Word Starter, see Word Starter feature support. Comments, Revisions, Versions, and Annotations. Document Properties and Personal Information. Document properties, including information from the Summary , Statistics , and Custom tabs of the Document Properties dialog box.

Text that is formatted as hidden a font effect that is available in the Font dialog box. Note: This Inspector cannot detect text that was hidden by other methods for example, white text on a white background.

Note: This Inspector cannot detect objects that are covered by other objects. When you share an electronic copy of an Excel workbook, make sure that you review the workbook for hidden data or personal information that might be stored in the workbook itself or its document properties metadata. The Document Inspector in Excel can help you find and remove hidden data and personal information in your workbooks. Note: Although you can remove hidden data and personal information from workbooks you have sent to other people, if the Excel workbook has been saved as a Shared Workbook , you can't remove comments, annotations, document properties, and personal information.

To remove this information from a shared workbook, first copy and turn off the Shared Workbook feature. Document Inspector helps you find and remove hidden data and personal information in Excel workbooks.

It's a good idea to use the Document Inspector before you share an electronic copy of your workbook, such as in an email attachment. Important: We highly recommend that you use the Document Inspector on a copy of your original workbook, because it is not always possible to restore the data that the Document Inspector removes. In the Document Inspector box, check the boxes of the types of hidden content you want to be inspected.

For more information about the individual inspectors, see What the Document Inspector finds and removes in Excel documents. Click Remove All next to the inspection results for the types of hidden content you want to remove from your document.

If you remove hidden content from your workbook, you might not be able to restore it by clicking Undo. If you remove hidden rows, columns, or worksheets that contain data, you might change the results of the calculations or formulas in your workbook. If you don't know what information the hidden rows, columns or worksheets contain, close the Document Inspector, unhide the hidden rows, columns, or worksheets, and then review their contents.

This is because shared workbooks use personal information to enable different persons to collaborate on the same workbook. To remove this information from a shared workbook, you can copy the workbook and then unshare it. Note: Unsharing isn't available in Microsoft Excel Starter To unshare, you must use the full version of Excel. If you want to remove hidden data and personal information from spreadsheets you save in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet.

These are some of the items that can be the source of hidden data and personal information in your Excel workbooks:. Comments and ink annotations Your workbook might contain items such as comments or ink annotations if you collaborated with other people to create your workbook. This information can let other people see the names of people who worked on your workbook, comments from reviewers, and changes that were made to your workbook. Document properties and personal information Metadata or document properties in Excel, just as in other Office apps, include details such as author, subject, and title.

Office automatically maintains the name of the person who most recently saved a workbook, the date when a document was created, and document location Excel or later versions. There may be additional kinds of personally identifiable information PII , such as email headers, send-for-review information, routing slips, printer properties for example, printer path and secure print passcode , and file path information for publishing Web pages. Headers and footers Workbooks can have information in headers and footers.

Hidden rows, columns, and worksheets Workbooks can have rows, columns, and entire worksheets that are hidden. If you distribute a copy of a workbook that has hidden rows, columns, or worksheets, other people might unhide them to view the data that they contain. Document server properties Workbooks that are saved to a location on a document management server, such as a Document Workspace site or a library based on Windows SharePoint Services, might contain additional document properties or information related to the server location.

Invisible content Workbooks can have objects that aren't visible because they are formatted as invisible. External links Workbooks can have links to data in other workbooks external links. The names of the worksheets containing that data are then saved with the workbooks but may not be visible. Embedded files or objects Workbooks can have embedded files such as an Office or Text document or embedded objects such as a chart or and equation that may have data that isn't visible.

Items that may have cached data Workbooks can have cached data for PivotTables, PivotCharts, slicers, timelines, and Cube formulas that might not be visible. Excel Surveys Workbooks can have hidden Excel Survey questions that were entered in Excel for the web and saved with the workbook, but aren't visible there.

Scenario Manager scenarios Workbooks can have scenarios that were defined by using Scenario Manager. These scenarios may contain cached or hidden data. Filters Workbooks can have active Autofilters or table filters that might cause cached or hidden data to be saved with the workbook. Hidden names Workbooks can have hidden names that might be the source of hidden data. Document Inspector displays items that it detects to help you find and remove hidden data and personal information that's specific to Excel workbooks.

The table that follows lists the types of hidden data and personal information the Document Inspector can find and remove from your workbooks.

Not all of the Excel features that are listed in the table are supported in Microsoft Excel Starter