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By Donna Payne, Payne Consulting Group

In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, certain types of hidden information are automatically saved as you work on files, mainly to help you locate the files later by using built-in search tools. This hidden information is often referred to as metadata — or data about data.

The topic of metadata has become increasingly relevant as the rise of electronic discovery puts a growing number of vital business documents into the hands of opposing parties for litigation or other business matters.

What type of information is stored?

It is estimated that more than 75% of all newly created documents are shared or collaborated on electronically. In these documents, you can find a rich history of hidden information, for example:

• User name and computer name
• Comments and tracked changes that may not be displayed
• Hidden text, worksheets, data columns, and data rows
• Embedded objects such as Excel worksheets, drawing objects, and pictures
• PivotTable® cache
• Speaker notes

What are the options for removing hidden information?

You have a variety of options for dealing with metadata, including:

• The Office 2003/XP Remove Hidden Data add-in program
• Tools included with Microsoft Office 2003
• Tools offered by other companies

The Office 2003/XP Remove Hidden Data add-in program

Microsoft provides a free add-in program that helps to permanently remove hidden and collaborative data such as tracked changes and comments from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

Install the Remove Hidden Data add-in program

To install this download and obtain further information, click "Office 2003/XP Add-in: Remove Hidden Data" in the See Also section of this article.

After you install the program and restart your computer, the Remove Hidden Data command is available on the File menu in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

What if the Remove Hidden Data command doesn't appear on the File menu?

Run the add-in when you are ready to distribute your document

Metadata is used for a variety of legitimate purposes. For example, it adds functionality to the revision, viewing, filing, and retrieving capabilities of Office programs while you are working on a document. To take best advantage of these capabilities, run the add-in just before publishing or distributing your completed document.

To run the Remove Hidden Data add-in, follow these steps:

1. Open the document you want to review.
2. On the File menu, click Remove Hidden Data.
3. In the Remove Hidden Data dialog box, in the File name box, type a name for the new version of your document, and then click Next.

   

4. After the review is completed, click Finish. The reviewed file is saved with the name you specified and closes automatically.

   

5. A Notepad file opens, listing the results of the review process. You can save the Notepad file (on the File menu, click Save) or close it without saving it.

   

Tools included with Office 2003

Microsoft Office 2003 contains built-in tools that can help you remove some of the hidden information from files. Add-ins and other programs can also help you become more aware of what types of residual information exists in documents and help you rid yourself of unwanted data baggage.

Some of the built-in settings that exist in Office 2003 to help expose and remove hidden information include:

• An option to remove some of the file properties information, such as the last 10 authors or author names when the document contains tracked changes or comments.
• An option to display a message box to indicate that a document contains tracked changes or comments.
• An option that automatically displays tracked changes or comments in a document when it is opened, printed, or saved.

For more information and instructions for working within Office programs to minimize or remove hidden data, see the articles "How to minimize metadata in Word 2003," "How to minimize metadata in Excel worksheets," and "How to minimize metadata in PowerPoint 2003" in the See Also section of this article.

Metadata removal tools from other companies

In addition to the protections offered by Microsoft Office, a number of metadata removal solutions are available. A search on the Internet for the terms "metadata" or "hidden data" will return some options for you to consider.

Protect yourself and your firm

As you share more of your documents electronically, it's vital that you know what type of hidden information exists in your files. To avoid embarrassing disclosures, make sure that you and your firm implement the necessary protections to remove metadata from files going outside of the firm before you click "Send."

About the author   Donna Payne is President of Payne Consulting Group, a software training and development company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.