[Originally appeared 2000.]
We continue the exploration of the storage of information other than the text of a document in a Word file. We explored in Word of Law No. 37 the potential for exposing deleted text and commentary. The potential for disclosure of undesirable or even damaging information from those elements of a Word file is fairly high. The methods for keeping documents clean of such elements as track changes, elements and comments are readily available for aware users of Word.
The document properties discussed in this issue, generally, pose a smaller risk of adverse disclosure. These properties can unintentionally disclose the identity of the persons who participated in editing a document, as well the timing and effort involved in editing a document. Such information may have more potential for embarrassment than harm. Some attorneys, for instance, have suggested that accidental disclosure to a client that a document was used for another client (or worse, copied from that other client’s file) may hurt their client relationships.
The properties, however, are harder to control or clean out.
Track Changes Identities and Timing.
If the Track Changes | Highlight changes function has been enabled, each change contains, in addition to the text inserted or deleted, the values of the user identity, date and time when the change was made. In prior columns, we have described the importance of either not using Track Changes, or accepting changes prior to distribution of documents when this information should not be shared.
Title Property.
This is a built-in document property. Unless set deliberately, the Title Property preserves the opening phrase of a document the first time the document is saved, whether or not that phrase has been retained in the document during drafting. If the template on which the document is based has a value for the Title Property, that may be transferred to documents based on the template. In either case, the contents of this property may not be appropriate. This behavior can be controlled by viewing and correcting document properties when saving a file. As described in issue 5.42, check the box for “Prompt for Document Properties” on the Save tab ofTools|Options. Don’t leave the value empty. At least insert a space in the field if you want it to be blank.
Routing Slip.
When the File|Send|Routing Recipient function is used, the name of the recipient is stored in Word’s electronic file. This can be cleared by removing the routing slip value. (On the File | Send To | Routing Recipient dialog, select “Clear.”).
Past Authors.
Word stores the value of the user identity (Tools|Options|User Information|Name) in the file each time a document is edited, up to the last 10 authors. This can not be disabled, and can not be controlled directly within Word. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article suggests saving to RTF or HTML, then restoring to Word format to clear this property. That may not be the last word on this subject.
Creation Time Property.
This built-in document property automatically records the date and time when a file was first saved.
Last Saved Property.
This built-in document property automatically records the date and time when a file was most recently saved.
Last Accessed Property
This built-in document property automatically records the date and time when a file was most recently opened.
Printed Property.
This built-in document property automatically records the date and time when a file was most recently printed.
Revision Number.
This built-in document property tracks the number of times a document has been edited and saved.It is not dependent on the use of Word’s Versions function.
Total Editing Time.
This built-in document property automatically tracks the elapsed time that a document has been open for editing.This function can be turned off, at least with the Office Policy template in Word 2000 (and other Office 2000 applications, which offers the choice to “Do not track document editing time.” This creates a registry key called “NoTrack” in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General. I have found no reference to a similar control for Word 97. I found a tool for controlling this value at www.xtech.com. Needless to say, making such changes should be done carefully, in a controlled environment, before trying them in production.
Document Statistics.
The additional information in the document statistics properties of word, such as word and character count, are generated from the file, and not stored as values.
Document Contents Property
This built-in document property can have values assigned to it, but does not acquire them automatically.
Author Name Property.
This built-in document property automatically takes the value of the user identity at the time the document is first saved.If the value is made blank, Word automatically assigns the user’s network identification to this property, if the user is logged on to a network.This value can be edited on the Properties dialog.
Author Initials Property.
This built-in document property has automatically assigned to it the value of the user initials (Tools | Options| User Information | Initials) at the time the document is initially created.
Company Property.
This built-in document property is automatically assigned the value of the Company in user’s Windows setup. It can be modified on the Properties dialog. To make it “blank,” insert a space.
Manager Property.
This built-in document property may have a value assigned to it, but does not have an automatic assignment. It can be modified on the Properties Dialog.
Last Author Property.
This built-in document property has automatically assigned to it the value of the user identity when the document was last saved.
We have indicated some techniques for controlling or cleaning these properties, where that may be critical. Further columns on metadata will discuss a few additional features of a Word document that may convey unwanted information, and then proceed to explore strategies for cleanup in greater detail.
This 2000 article originally appeared in Office Watch. Subscribe to Office Watch free at http://www.office-watch.com/.