Today we will talk about what properties a document has, and how you can view and edit them in Excel 2010 and 2013. After reading this article, you will also learn how to protect a document from any changes and how to remove personal data from Excel sheet.
Remember how you felt when you first started using Excel 2010 or 2013? Personally, I sometimes got very angry when I couldn't find the right tool or a parameter where you are used to seeing them in previous versions Excel. The same applies to document properties in Excel 2010 / 2013. In these versions they are hidden quite deeply, but even so, we will quickly get to them.
This article is waiting for you detailed instructions how to view and change document properties, how to protect the document from any changes, and how to remove personal data from an Excel sheet. Go!
What properties does a document have?
Before we start learning how to view, change and delete document properties (metadata) in Excel 2010 and 2013, let's figure out what properties MS Office documents generally have.
Type 1. Standard Properties– common to all Office applications. This includes basic information about the document - title, topic, author, note, and so on. You can manually set your own text values for these properties to make it easier to find the document you want on your computer.
Type 2. Automatically updated properties is data about a document file that is managed and modified by the system. For example, the size of the file and the time it was created or modified. Some properties are unique to documents in a particular application, such as the number of pages, words, characters, or application version. Such properties are updated automatically as you edit.
Type 3. Custom Properties are user-specified properties. You can add it yourself additional properties to an Office document.
Type 4. Organization properties are properties defined by your organization.
Type 5. Document Library Properties refer to documents that are located in a document library on a site or in shared folder. The person who creates the library can set some properties for the library documents and set rules for their values. When adding a document to such a library, you will need to enter values for all required properties or correct existing properties in accordance with established rules.
Viewing the document properties
For those who do not know where to find information about a document in Excel 2010 or 2013, we offer three options:
Method 1: Display the “Document Information Area”
This method allows you to view document information directly on the worksheet.
After this, Excel automatically returns to the worksheet editing mode, and between the menu ribbon and the worksheet work area, we see the “Document Information Area” as shown in the image below.
As you can see, the Document Information Panel shows a limited set of properties. If you want to know more about your document, proceed to the second method.
Method 2: Open the Properties dialog box
If the "Document Information Area" did not give necessary information, try accessing the additional properties. The first way to view additional properties is to use the same “Document Information Area”.
Here is collected information about the document, which is located on the tabs: Are common(General), Statistics(Statistics) and Compound(Contents). You can edit basic information on the tab Document(Summary) or set additional properties for the document on the tab Others(Custom). Want to know how it's done? Patience! We'll talk about this in more detail later.
There is another way to bring up the dialog box Properties(Properties):
The same dialog box will appear on the screen.
Method 3. Use Windows Explorer
Another easy way to display metadata is to use Windows Explorer without opening the Excel worksheet at all.
Now you know 3 different ways viewing document properties on your computer, so you can easily find all the important information.
Changing document properties
Earlier I promised to talk about how to change document properties. So, by viewing properties using the and described above, you can quickly add the necessary information or edit existing data. This is also possible, but not in Windows 8.
The fastest way to add an author
Changing the default author name
Default as author name Excel document name used Windows user, but such a signature will not always be appropriate. In Excel, you can change the default author name so that only the name you need appears everywhere in the future.
Setting up custom properties
Comment: Data format in the field Meaning(Value) must match what is selected in the dropdown list Type(Type). For example, if the data type is selected Number(Number), then in the field Meaning(Value) A number must be entered. Values that do not match the selected data type will be saved as text.
If you click on the property you just added and then click Delete > OK(Delete > OK), this property will disappear.
Changing other document properties
To change other metadata (besides author name, title, tags, and categories), use either " " or (Properties).
- If the “Document Information Area” is open, then simply place the cursor in the field of the desired property and enter the required data.
- If the dialog box is open Properties(Properties), then go to the tab Document(Summary) and add or change existing data in the fields, then click OK.
Go back to editing the Excel sheet and all changes you made will be saved automatically.
Removing document properties
If you want to cover your tracks and make sure that no one can find your name or organization name in the document properties, use one of the following methods that allow you to hide any property or personal data from public access.
We connect the “Document Inspector” to work
The Document Inspector is used to search for hidden properties and personal data. In addition, it can be used to remove properties from the book that should not be seen by other users.
Removing metadata from multiple documents
With help Windows Explorer You can remove properties from several documents at once.
Comment: In this way, you can remove any document property from one or more files, even if you have Windows 8 installed on your computer.
Protecting document properties
Protecting document properties and personal information is useful if you don't want other users to change metadata or anything else in your document.
If you need to grant the right to edit a document only to some users, you can set a password and share it with a trusted circle of people.
Now your document is protected from unauthorized editing. But be careful! Anyone who knows the password can easily remove it from the field Password to change(Password to modify) and give other readers of your document the ability to change the information on the worksheet.
Wow! The article turned out to be quite long! My goal was to cover all the noteworthy aspects of viewing, changing, and deleting document properties. I hope you find the right answers to your metadata related questions.
Hidden information may include:
hidden data and personal data that should not be shared in Word documents
Excel data added to the workbook when collaborating with other people
Hidden data and personal information in PowerPoint that may be stored in the presentation or in its metadata.
document information and file properties in Visio Drawings
Note: Unless you submit your document to Microsoft, we won't see any data from it.
This article describes the types of data that are typically stored in Office documents so that you can decide what to keep and what to remove from the document or metadata. Some data that the Document Inspector cannot delete is described in the tables that detail 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 stored in the document itself or in document properties or metadata.
Advice: file > Seal, click Print all pages and uncheck Printing corrections.
Word documents may contain the following types of hidden and personal information:
Notes, revision mode marks, versions, and handwritten notes. If you collaborate with others to create a document, the document may contain items such as revision records, notes, handwritten notes, and versions. This information can allow others to see the names of people who worked on the document, comments from reviewers, and changes made to the document, but not if you don't want to share it with anyone outside your team.
Document properties, or metadata, include information about the document, such as author, subject, and title. Document properties also include data that is automatically saved Office programs, such as the name of the person who last saved the document and the date the document was created. If certain functions were used, the document may also contain different kinds personal data, such as message headers Email, review submission information, document routes, and template names.
Headers and footers. Word documents may contain data in headers and footers. Additionally, you may have added a background to your Word document.
Hidden text Word documents may contain text formatted as hidden text. If you don't know if there is hidden text in a document, you can use the Document Inspector to search.
Document server properties. If the document was saved to a document management server (for example, a document workspace site or library on Windows based SharePoint Services document may contain additional document properties or information related to that server location.
Custom XML Data Documents can contain custom XML data that is not visible in the document. The Document Inspector can find and remove this XML data.
using the Document Inspector
You can use the Document Inspector to find and remove hidden and personal data in Word documents. We recommend that you use the Document Inspector before sharing an electronic copy of a Word document, such as as an email attachment.
Hidden data removed from a document cannot always be restored using the command Cancel.
If you want to remove hidden data and personal information from documents saved in the OpenDocument (ODT) format, you must launch the Document Inspector every time you save a document in this format.
Open Word document, which you want to check for hidden and personal data.
Open the tab File, press the button Save as and enter the name in the field File name to save a copy of the original document.
In a copy of the original document, open the tab File and press the button Intelligence.
Click Troubleshooting, then select Document inspector.
In the dialog box Document inspector Select the check boxes to select the types of hidden information you want to check.
Click the button Check.
Review the scan results in the dialog box Document inspector.
Click the button delete everything next to the results of a check for the types of hidden data that need to be removed from the document.
Important:
Find and remove the Document Inspector in Word documents
The Word Document Inspector displays several different inspectors that let you find and remove hidden data and personal information specific to Word documents. To get a list various types Hidden and personal data that Document Inspector can find and remove from Word documents, check out the table below.
Notes:
Inspector | Finds and removes |
|---|---|
|
Notes, corrections, versions Note: In Word Starter 2010, the Document Inspector removes only versions and comments. |
Notes Patch mode flags Document version information Handwritten notes |
|
Document properties and personal data |
Are common, Statistics And Others dialog box Document Properties Email headers Document routes Document Server Properties Content type information Username Template name |
|
Headers and footers and watermarks |
Document header information Information in document headers and footers "Water marks" |
|
Hidden text |
Text formatted as hidden (font option available in the dialog box Font) Note: This inspector cannot detect text that is hidden by other methods (for example, white text on a white background). |
|
Custom XML Data |
Custom XML data that can be stored in a document |
|
Invisible content |
Note: This inspector does not find objects that are occluded by other objects. |
At sharing electronic copy of an Excel workbook, ensure that you review the workbook for hidden or personal data that may be stored in the workbook itself or in its document properties (metadata).
Document Inspector in Excel can help you find and remove hidden data and personal information from workbooks.
Note: Although you can remove hidden and personal information from workbooks that you have shared with others, if the Excel workbook was saved as shared, you cannot remove notes, notes, document properties, or personal information from it. To remove this data from a shared workbook, first copy it and unshare it.
Finding and removing hidden and personal data
Document Inspector helps you find and remove hidden data and personal data in Excel workbooks. We recommend using the Document Inspector before sharing an electronic copy of a book, such as as an email attachment.
Types of hidden and personal data in Excel
Listed below are some items that may be the source of hidden and personal data in Excel workbooks.
If a book was created with others, it may contain notes and handwritten notes. This information allows others to see the names of the people who contributed to the book, see reviewers' comments, and see changes made to the book.
Metadata and document properties in Excel, as in other Office applications, include information such as author, subject, and title. Office automatically saves the name of the person who last saved the workbook, the date the document was created, and the location of the document (Excel 2013 or later). You may have additional personally identifiable information (PII), such as email headers, send information, browsing and routes, printer properties (such as printer path and secure print password), and file path information to publish. Web pages.
Headers and footers. Excel workbooks can contain data in headers and footers.
Hidden rows, columns and sheets. Rows, columns, and entire sheets can be hidden in a book. When you distribute a copy of a workbook that contains hidden rows, columns, or sheets, other people can display them and view the data they contain.
Document server properties. A workbook saved to a document management server, such as a document workspace site or a Windows SharePoint Services library, may contain additional document properties or server location information.
Custom XML data. Excel workbooks can contain custom XML data that is not displayed in the document itself. The Document Inspector can find and remove this XML data.
Invisible content. Books may contain objects that are formatted as invisible.
Embedded files or objects. Workbooks may have embedded files (such as Office documents or text files) or embedded objects (such as charts or equations) containing invisible data.
Macros based on VBA code. Books may contain macros, VBA modules, COM elements and ActiveX, custom forms, or custom functions that may contain hidden data.
Items with cached data. Workbooks may have cached data from PivotTables, PivotCharts, Slicers, Timelines, and Cube Formulas that may not appear.
Excel Surveys. Books may contain hidden Excel Survey questions that were entered into Excel online and saved in the workbook but are not visible in the workbook.
Script Manager Scripts. Workbooks can have scripts defined using the Script Manager. They may contain cached or hidden data.
Filters. Workbooks may have active autofilters or table filters, which may cause cached or hidden data to be stored in workbooks.
Hidden names. There may be hidden names in the books, which could be a source of hidden data.
Find and remove the Document Inspector in Excel documents
The Document Inspector displays detected items to help you find and remove hidden data and personal information associated with Excel workbooks. The table below lists the types of hidden and personal information that Document Inspector can find and remove from workbooks.
Notes:
IN Microsoft Excel Not all Starter 2010 are supported Excel functions listed in the table.
If your organization has added custom modules to the Document Inspector, additional types of data may be discovered.
|
Document inspector finds and deletes |
|
|---|---|
|
Notes |
Notes Handwritten notes Note: In Excel Starter 2010, the Document Inspector only deletes notes. |
|
Document properties and personal data |
Document properties, including tab information Are common, Statistics And Others dialog box Document Properties (Excel 2013 or later) Document location. when pressing a button delete everything the existing document location will be cleared from the file. The document location will not be returned to the file when you save until you close Excel 2013 or later and then reopen the file. Email Headers Document routes Data sent for verification Document Server Properties Document Management Policy Details Content type information Username Printer path information Script Notes Notes for specific names and table names Inactive external data connections |
|
Headers and footers |
Sheet header information Information in sheet notes |
|
Hidden rows and columns |
Hidden lines Hidden data columns Notes: |
|
Hidden sheets |
Hidden sheets Note: If hidden sheets in a workbook contain data, deleting it may change the calculation results of formulas contained in the workbook. If you don't know what data is contained in hidden sheets, close the Document Inspector, unhide the hidden sheets, and then view their contents. |
|
Custom XML Data |
Custom XML data that can be stored in a workbook |
|
Invisible content |
Objects formatted as invisible Note: The Document Inspector does not detect objects that are occluded by other objects. |
The Document Inspector finds the following items that may contain data that is not visible in the workbook. He is not able to delete them, as this may lead to the book not working properly. You can review each item found and decide whether to manually remove it or replace it with an item without hidden data, such as a static picture.
|
Document inspector finds |
|
|---|---|
sheet cells; |
|
|
Embedded files or objects |
bitmaps; Visio Graphics Word Document Objects text OpenDocument. |
|
Macros based on VBA code |
Macros or VBA modules that can contain hidden data in a workbook. These include: macros, including Excel 4.0 macro sheets (XLM); VBA modules; COM or ActiveX controls. Custom Forms, in Excel number new forms 5.0 custom functions. |
|
Business intelligence components with cached data |
Business intelligence components that may contain cached data stored in the workbook, including invisible data. The Document Inspector checks for the following items, which may contain a summary cache, slice cache, or cube formula cache: pivot tables and pivot charts; slices and timelines; cube formulas. |
|
Excel Surveys |
Excel Survey questions created in Excel for the web and saved with the workbook but not visible in the workbook. |
|
Script Manager Scripts |
Scripts that are defined using the Script Manager and can cause cached or hidden data to be stored in the workbook. |
|
Filters |
Filters that may cause cached or hidden data to be stored in the workbook. The Document Inspector checks for autofilters and table filters applied to the data. |
|
Hidden names |
Hidden names that may be the source of hidden data in the workbook. |
You can find and remove hidden information in PowerPoint presentations using the Document Inspector.
Advice: If you're just not typing notes, select file > Seal, click on slides of size whole page and uncheck Printing notes.
Finding and removing hidden and personal data
Types of hidden and personal data
You can save various types of hidden and personal data in a PowerPoint presentation. Although this information may not be immediately visible, it can still be gleaned from the presentation.
Hidden data may include data that PowerPoint adds to allow you to share your presentation with other people. This also includes information that has been intentionally marked as hidden.
PowerPoint presentations may contain the following types of hidden and personal information:
Notes and handwritten notes. If the presentation was created with others, it may contain notes or handwritten notes. This information allows other users to view changes made and the names of users who worked on the presentation, as well as comments from reviewers.
Patch tracking data. When working together on common document stored in the cloud, PowerPoint 2016 for Office 365 keeps track of who made changes to the document and when.
Document properties and personal data. Document properties (metadata) include presentation information such as author name, subject, and title. They also contain information that Office programs automatically save, such as the name of the person who last saved the document and the date the document was created. If you used certain features, the document may also contain additional personal information, such as email headers, review submission information, document routes, printer paths, and file path information for publishing web pages.
Invisible content on a slide. The presentation may contain objects that are formatted as non-displayable.
Content outside the slide. PowerPoint presentations may contain objects that do not appear because they have been moved off the slide. Such objects can be inscriptions, pictures, graphic elements and tables.
Notes for the presentation. The notes section of a PowerPoint presentation may contain text that you may not want to share with others, especially if the notes were created solely for the presenter.
Document server properties. If the presentation was saved to a document management server, such as a Document Workspace website or a Windows SharePoint Services library, it may contain additional properties or server location information.
Custom XML data. Presentations can contain custom XML data that is not displayed in the presentation itself. The Document Inspector can find and remove this XML data.
Information that Document Inspector finds and removes
PowerPoint Document Inspector displays several different inspectors to help you find and remove hidden data and personal information specific to your PowerPoint presentations. For a list of the different types of hidden and personal data that Document Inspector can find and remove from presentations, check out the table below.
If your organization has added additional modules to the Document Inspector, you can check for other types of information in your presentations.
Inspector | Finds and removes |
|---|---|
|
Notes |
Notes Handwritten notes |
|
Document properties and personal data |
Document properties, including tab information Are common, Statistics And Others dialog box Document Properties Email Headers Document routes Data sent for verification Document Server Properties Document Management Policy Details Content type information Path to the file for publishing web pages |
|
Change tracking data |
Data about who and when the file was modified. This feature is only available to Office 365 subscribers who are part of the Office Insider program. If you have an Office 365 subscription, make sure you have the latest version of Office. |
|
Invisible content on a slide |
Objects formatted as non-displayable This inspector does not detect objects that are occluded by other objects. |
|
Off-slide content |
Content or objects that do not appear in the presentation because they are located outside the slide area |
|
Presentation notes |
Text added to the presentation notes section The Document Inspector does not delete pictures added to the notes section. |
|
Custom XML Data |
Custom XML data that can be stored in a presentation |
Information that Document Inspector finds but cannot remove
The Document Inspector finds the following items that may contain data that is not visible in the presentation. He is not able to delete them, as this may lead to the presentation not working properly. You can review each item found and decide whether to manually remove it or replace it with an item without hidden data, such as a static picture.
|
Document inspector finds |
|
|---|---|
|
Embedded files or objects |
Embedded files (such as Office documents or text files) or embedded objects (such as charts or equations) that may contain invisible data. Here are some examples of object types: bitmaps; Microsoft Formula 3.0 objects Microsoft Chart Objects on a Chart PowerPoint Presentation Objects Visio Graphics Word Document Objects text OpenDocument. |
|
Macros or VBA code |
Macros or VBA modules that may contain hidden data. These include:
|
Document inspector and personal data
Change tracking data introduced in PowerPoint 2016 build 8403 for Office 365 Insiders illustrates a limitation of Document Inspector. For example, let's say Julia and Linda collaborate on Presentation A in Office 365. Revision tracking data (user names and when they were modified) is added to the presentation. If Mohammed then opens Presentation A in PowerPoint 2013 and runs File Document Inspector to remove personal data, Document Inspector in that version of PowerPoint will not be able to detect and remove change tracking data added to the presentation using the later version. Office versions 365PowerPoint used by Julia and Li. yeah. Mohammed is unable to delete patch tracking data without upgrading to the current version of PowerPoint and then running Document Inspector
You can remove hidden information in Visio, just like in other Office apps. Before you begin copying a Visio document, there may be information that you want to remove from the document and from the document's file properties.
You can easily delete the following personal information in Visio:
Notes inserted on document pages
Names and initials of reviewers and corrections they made
Paths to element sets
Paths to templates and names of their files
Note: If a document is published on a shared server, when you open it, information about who opened it and the name of the computer where the file is stored is displayed. To protect this data, limit access to documents only to people you trust.
You can find and remove hidden information in Visio presentations by following these steps:
Click file > intelligence > Delete personal data.
Open the tab Personal information.
Check the box Remove the following elements from a document.
Advice: Check the box Warn if this data is inserted again if you want to receive a warning when you try to reinsert personal data.
To remove sensitive data from external sources, select the checkbox Remove data from external sources stored in the current document.
Note: This checkbox Not Allows you to delete data associated with a shape. It removes the data source from the schema, but if data from it is already in the schema, it must be removed manually.
Feedback
This article has been updated January 8, 2019 as a result of your comments. If you found this article helpful, and especially if you don't, please use the feedback controls below to keep some constructive suggestions open so we can improve it.
Note: This page has been automatically translated and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors. It is important to us that this article is useful to you. Was the information useful? For convenience also (in English).
Very few users know that for every file stored on a computer, there is a set of metadata that contains information about its source, author and other important details, depending on the type of file. In this article I'm going to discuss metadata, tell you what it is and what it is used for. Then I'll cover how to add and remove metadata. Everything described applies to any version of Windows.
What is metadata?
Metadata is information that is stored in almost any type of file. This may include your name, the name of a company or organization, the name of your computer, the name of a server on your network, or the drive on which the file is saved; personal comments, names of previous authors, creation time and time last change, version or revision number.
Depending on the situation, this data can be useful and vice versa. For example, if you need to track the different authors of a file, metadata can help with this. Metadata can also be useful when searching for files in Windows. For example, if your photo collection contains metadata, this is very useful when you need to find a photo that you took on a specific day and time.
On the other hand, if you work in legal sphere or just want to maintain privacy, when you transfer files to someone else, remove as much information from them as possible, since metadata will follow these files everywhere.
How to add and edit metadata
Most files have their own set of metadata, but very often they cannot be changed without special software from third party developers. Although the metadata of office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is quite easy to edit. First of all, to access and view the metadata of one of these files, open context menu click right click mice and select "Properties".
This will open a window with the file properties. In this window, open the “Details” tab. This will present a list of fields with information about the file, including its author, when it was created or modified, or even how many words and characters it contains.
Some of these fields can be edited. To do this, you simply need to place your mouse cursor in the field that you want to change and enter what you need. If you want these fields to remain empty, simply erase everything that is written in them.
Whenever we create, open or save a document Microsoft Word, it records Additional Information, called metadata. The same can be said about Microsoft files Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. In certain situations, this metadata can reveal unwanted information about us and compromise us.
Although metadata is stored implicitly, there is nothing criminal in it. They make it easier to organize, store, and search for documents, and help understand their origin and purpose. But there are cases when we do not want to disclose the name of the author of the document, the date of creation or editing, by sending Word file to another person.
To prevent possible unpleasant consequences, you need to learn how to delete metadata. Who knows into what hands a Word document with my last name and initials, the name of the organization and even the name of the computer will fall.
Here I will share three ways to remove metadata from Word documents.
1. Use the built-in capabilities of Word / Excel / PowerPoint
If you are using Word 2010 or 2013 (Office 2013), you can remove hidden information about yourself in the Document Inspector. On the File tab, go to the Details section. In the group Preparing for public access Click on Search for problems -> Document Inspector. We start checking in the Document Inspector.
After the check is completed, a window with options for deleting information will appear. Next to “Document properties and personal data,” click the “Delete all” button.
2. Document Metadata Cleaner application
Document Metadata Cleaner is free utility to remove metadata from Microsoft documents Word, Excel or PowerPoint. This application knows how to overwrite their surname, initials, organization name, computer name, network server name, or hard drive(depending on where the file is stored), names of previous authors of the document, information about changes and versions of the document, hidden text or cells (Excel), comments.
3. Doc Scrubber program
Doc Scrubber is another free tool for analyzing and removing hidden information that could potentially compromise us. Doc Scrubber has two modes of operation - in the first, it extracts all hidden information from documents and shows it, and in the second, it removes metadata from a selected document or a group of documents collected in one folder.
There are also paid utilities that help you remove metadata from documents. But do we need them?
I team up with an external service that includes receipt data from that service and display in excel. I want to be able to store the information I log into Excel. Range object. Is there any Excel property. Range objects where can metadata be stored?
Clarify as in Perspective Perspective. TaskItem has ItemProperties, which is a Perspective. ItemProperty Object. So is there anything like this in Excel?
And otherwise then what The best way is to save the metadata for Excel. Range?
Edit: I have to persist with this metadata information. This way, if the user saves, completes, and then re-opens tutorial, I should be able to extract this metadata from Excel. Range object (or any other property)
12 answers
Since you need the information to be consistent, I took a simpler and clearer approach. Create a new WorkSheet, name it something like Metadata (in case you have multiple of this kind). Set it to VeryHidden (xlSheetVeryHidden"t be Unhidden from Excel, you must not hide it from the code):
Xl.XlSheetVisibility.xlSheetVeryHidden
Save all your metadata for Range R1 in the metadata sheet in Range R1. Your code will be very simple and clear this way.
It might look something like:
Sheet1.Range.Value = SomeValue; Sheet1Metadata.Range.Value = MetaDataOfSomeValue;
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