XL97: How to Minimize Metadata in Microsoft Excel Workbooks

ID: Q223789

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

Whenever you create, open, or save a workbook in Microsoft Excel 97, the workbook may contain content that you may not want to share with others when you distribute the workbook electronically. This information is known as "metadata". Metadata is used for a variety of purposes to enhance the editing, viewing, filing, and retrieval of Office documents.

Some metadata is readily accessible through the Microsoft Excel user interface; other metadata is only accessible through extraordinary means, such as opening a workbook in a low-level binary file editor. Here are some examples of metadata that may be stored in your workbooks:

Your name

Your initials

Your company or organization name

The name of your computer

The name of the network server or hard disk where you saved the workbook

Other file properties and summary information

Non-visible portions of embedded OLE objects

Document revisions

Hidden text or cells

Personalized views

Comments

This article explains various methods that you can use to minimize the amount of metadata that is contained within your workbooks.

MORE INFORMATION

Metadata is created in a variety of ways within Excel workbooks. As a result, there is no single method that you can use to eliminate all such content from your workbooks. The following sections describe areas where metadata may be saved within Excel workbooks.

If You Don't Already Have Microsoft Office 97 SR-2...

If you are not already using it, you should obtain and install Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2). To download SR-2 or to order an SR-2 CD, use your Web browser to go to the following address:

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/articles/sr2fact.htm

How to Remove Your User Name from Your Programs

You can view or change your user name by performing the following steps:

Click Options on the Tools menu. Select the General tab.

You should see the User name edit box.

If you do not want any of this information to appear in your workbooks, enter a non-identifying string or spaces in the edit box, and then click OK to accept the changes.

Any new workbooks that you create will contain this information, rather than the default values entered at when you installed Office. However, existing workbooks may already contain this information.

How to Remove Personal Summary Information

When you create or save a workbook in Microsoft Excel, summary information may be saved within the workbook. There are several methods you can use to access this information:

Open the workbook. On the File menu, click Properties. The Summary, Statistics, Contents, and Custom tabs may all contain various properties, such as your name, your manager's name, and your company name.

In the Windows Explorer, right-click the workbook, and click Properties on the shortcut menu. As above, the tabs within the Properties dialog box may contain information.

It is possible to use a Visual Basic macro or other program code to read the properties shown in the Properties dialog box.

You can clear summary information from an existing workbook or template by performing the following steps:

Open the workbook or template.

On the File menu, click Properties.

On the Summary tab, clear the Author, Manager, Company, and any other edit boxes that you do not want to distribute.

On the Custom tab, delete any properties that contain information you do not want to distribute.

When you are done, click OK. Click Save on the File menu. Then, click Close on the File menu.

After you have completed these steps, the workbook should not contain summary properties.

Removing Personal Summary Information When Connected to a Network

If you are logged on to a network, your network user name may appear in the Author edit box on the Summary tab, and in the Last saved by field on the Statistics tab, when you save a workbook. This can occur even if you have removed all other personal information from your computer.

To remove summary information from a workbook when you are on a network:

If the workbook is stored on a network server, copy it to your local hard disk.

Start your computer, but do NOT log on to your network. When you see the network logon dialog box, click Cancel or press ESCAPE.

NOTE: If you are unable to start Windows by pressing ESCAPE (for example, your computer is running Windows NT), you cannot continue these steps.

Open the workbook.

On the File menu, click Properties.

On the Summary tab, clear the Author, Manager, Company, and any other edit boxes that contain information you do not want to distribute.

On the Custom tab, delete any properties that contain information that you do not want to distribute.

When you are done, click OK. Click Save on the File menu. Then, click Close on the File menu.

When you log on to the network, do not open the file. If you do, your network user name may be written into the file. However, you can use the Windows Explorer to copy the file to either a network server or a floppy disk.

How to Remove Comments Within Workbooks

Microsoft Excel offers the ability to add comments to workbooks. Typically, comments contain the name of the person who created them, so that you can tell who wrote them.

In Microsoft Excel, comments appear as a small red triangle in the upper-right corner of a cell. You can right-click within the cell and click Delete Comment.

Any new comments that you create should not contain your user name, because you have removed it from your Options dialog box, as shown above.

How to Remove Headers and Footers from Workbooks

Headers and footers in workbooks may contain identifying information. To remove information from headers and footers:

Open the workbook.

On the File menu, click Page Setup. Select the Header/Footer tab, and change the header and footer so that they contain no identifying information.

When you are done, click OK.

Note that each worksheet in a workbook contains its own header and footer, so you need to repeat this process on each worksheet.

How to Remove Hyperlinks from Workbooks

Workbooks may contain hyperlinks to other documents or Web pages on an intranet or the Internet. Hyperlinks usually appear as blue underlined text strings.

You can manually delete a single hyperlink from a workbook by right-clicking the hyperlink, pointing to Hyperlink on the shortcut menu, and clicking Remove Hyperlink.

If you want to delete all hyperlinks in a workbook, you can use a Visual Basic for Applications macro to do this. Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information on how to write such a macro:

Q156353 XL97: No Menu Choice to Select All Hyperlinks

How to Remove Styles from Workbooks

Workbooks in Microsoft Excel may include styles that contain metadata. You can remove these styles, or rename them. To do this:

Open the workbook that contains the styles.

On the Format menu, click Style.

Select the style that you want to delete or rename. Click Delete to delete the style, or click in the Style name edit box and enter a new style name to rename the style.

How to Display Hidden Cells, Rows, and Columns in Microsoft Excel Workbooks

In Microsoft Excel, it is possible to hide entire rows and columns of cells within a worksheet.

You can unhide all of the cells in a worksheet by performing the following steps:

Click the Select All button, in the upper-left corner of the worksheet. Or, press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACE.

On the Format menu, point to Row, and click Unhide.

On the Format menu, point to Column, and click Unhide.

All cells are now visible.

Note that a cell may still have its height or width set to a very small value, making the cell hard to see. If this is the case:

Click the Select All button, in the upper-left corner of the worksheet. Or, press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACE.

On the Format menu, point to Row, and click AutoFit.

On the Format menu, point to Column, and click AutoFit Selection.

This forces all cells to resize so as to display their contents.

Note that it is still possible for cell contents to be difficult to see; for example, if cell contents are formatted to use a white font in a cell with a background color that is also white. To change the font properties of selected cells, click Cells on the Format menu and select the Font tab.

How to Unhide Hidden Worksheets in Microsoft Excel Workbooks

Workbooks in Microsoft Excel may contain hidden sheets that could contain information. To unhide sheets, click the Format menu, point to Sheet, and click Unhide. If a sheet is hidden, you can select the sheet and click OK.

NOTE: If the Unhide menu item is unavailable, there are either no hidden sheets, or your workbook is protected. On the Tools menu, point to Protection, and click Unprotect Workbook. If you are prompted for a password, enter it to unprotect the workbook.

How to Remove Links from Microsoft Excel Workbooks

Microsoft Excel workbooks may contain formulas that link to cells in other workbooks. If you send a workbook that contains links to another user, they will be able to determine the names of the other workbooks by using the Links dialog box.

To remove links from a workbook, you must remove all references to other workbooks from formulas in your workbook. One method of doing this is to perform the following steps:

On the Edit menu, click Links.

Select the name of the workbook to which you no longer want to link, and click Change Source.

Select the workbook that you are currently editing; for example, if you are editing C:\Data\Test.xls, select C:\Data\Test.xls. Then, click OK.

Repeat steps 2-3 for any other workbook to which this workbook is linked.

When you are done, click OK.

Note that by performing these steps, you may affect the results of formulas in your workbook; you may even cause some formulas to return incorrect results.

Another method for removing links to other workbooks is to convert formulas into their results. To do this:

Select a cell that contains a formula that links to another workbook.

On the Edit menu, click Copy.

On the Edit menu, click Paste Special. Click Values, and then click OK.

The formula is now gone, but the result of the formula remains.

How to Remove Tracked Changes from Shared Microsoft Excel Workbooks

Microsoft Excel includes a Track Changes feature that allows you to track changes made to a shared workbook by a user. To remove tracked changes from a workbook, perform the following steps:

Open the workbook.

On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and click Highlight Changes.

Click to clear (uncheck) the Track changes while editing check box. Click OK.

Click Yes to return the workbook to exclusive use mode (the workbook is no longer shared).

How to Remove Views from Microsoft Excel Workbooks

Custom views in Microsoft Excel workbooks may contain your name, particularly if you are using shared workbooks.

You can remove styles from a workbook by performing the following steps:

On the View menu, click Custom Views.

Select any view that contains your name or other identifying information, and click Delete.

Please note that deleting views may affect how your workbook prints when you use the Report Manager to print reports.

How to Remove Routing Slip Information

If you send a workbook through e-mail using a routing slip, routing information may be attached to the workbook. To remove this information from the workbook, you must save the workbook in a format that does not retain routing slip information.

In Microsoft Excel, save your workbook in an older file format, such as SYLK, Excel 4.0, or Lotus 1-2-3 format. Close the workbook, and then reopen the new file. Because the routing slip information is no longer present, you can now save your file as a Microsoft Excel workbook.

You can also use the following steps:

On the File menu, point to Send To, and click Other Routing Recipient.

Click Clear to remove the routing slip. Then, click OK.

On the File menu, click Save.

The workbook is now saved without any routing slip information.

How to Remove Your Name from Visual Basic Code

When you record a Visual Basic macro in Excel, the recorded macro begins with a header similar to the following:


' Macro1 Macro
   ' Macro recorded 3/11/1999 by J. Doe

To remove your name from any macros that you have recorded:

Open the workbook that contains the macros.

On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Visual Basic Editor. Or, press ALT + F11.

In the project window, double-click the module that contains the macros.

Remove your name from the recorded macro code.

When you are finished removing your name, press ALT+Q to return to the program. Then, click Save on the File menu.

How to Remove Visual Basic References to Other Files

In the Visual Basic Editor, it is possible to create a reference to another file. If a user opens a workbook that contains references to other files, the user can see the names of the referenced files.

To remove these references, do the following:

Open the workbook that contains references.

On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and click Visual Basic Editor. Or, press ALT+F11.

On the Tools menu, click References.

Clear the check box next to the referenced file or files. When you are finished, click OK.

Press ALT+Q.

On the File menu, click Save.

NOTE: Removing references to other files may impair the ability of macros in your workbook from functioning correctly.

How to Remove Network or Hard Disk Information from a Workbook

When you save a workbook to either your local hard disk or to a network server, information that identifies the local hard disk or network server may be written into the workbook.

You can remove this information from the workbook by performing the following steps:

Open the workbook.

On the File menu, click Save As. Save the workbook to your floppy disk drive (usually, A:).

On the File menu, click Close.

Remove the floppy disk from your floppy disk drive.

You can now use the Windows Explorer to copy the workbook from the floppy disk to any hard disk or network server.

NOTE: Due to the space limitation of a floppy disk (usually 1.44 MB), this method cannot be used if the workbook file size exceeds the amount of free space on the floppy disk.

Embedded Objects Within Workbooks May Contain Metadata

If you embed an object within a workbook, the object still retains its own properties, regardless of what you do to the workbook. For example, if you embed a Microsoft Word document within a Microsoft Excel workbook, the document and the workbook each has its own properties.

You can remove metadata from an embedded object by activating the object, removing any metadata as described above, reactivating the container document (using the above example, this would be the Excel workbook), and then saving the container document.

NOTE: When you activate an embedded object in a workbook, only part of the embedded object is displayed within the workbook; the object may contain additional information that does not appear. If you want a workbook to contain only a rendering of the embedded object, and not the actual contents, cut the object and then use the Paste Special item on the Edit menu to paste the object into the workbook using a Metafile format. After you do this, you can no longer edit the embedded object; however, it will not contain any metadata.

How to Remove Unique Identifiers from Office Documents

Because of the design of the programs included in Microsoft Office 97, documents that are created or saved in Office 97 programs may contain a unique identifier. For more information about these identifiers and how to remove them, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q222180 OFF97: Unique Identifiers and Microsoft Office 97 Documents

General Suggestions Concerning Security

Here are some general suggestions that you can use to increase the level of security in your computing environment:

Whenever you are not at your computer, secure it with a password- protected screen saver, power-on password, or the Windows NT lock feature.

If your computer has any shared folders, make sure you apply passwords to them so that only authorized users can access your shares. For even better security, use user-level access control so that you can control exactly who can access your computer's shares.

When you delete a file, empty the Recycle Bin immediately. You may want to consider a utility that complete erases or overwrites files when they are deleted.

When you back up your data, store the backups in a secure location, such as a safe, security deposit box, or locked cabinet.

Important documents should be password-protected, to ensure that only authorized users can open them. Your passwords should be stored in a secure, separate location. Note that if you cannot recall a password, there is no way to recover the contents of a password-protected document.

Do not distribute documents in electronic form. Instead, print them out. Do not use identifying elements such as distinctive fonts, watermarks, logos, or special paper, unless necessary (for example, for a presentation).

E-mail is NOT anonymous. Do not e-mail a document if you are concerned about your identity being attached in any way to the document.

Do not send a document over the Internet using either HTTP or FTP protocols. Information sent across these protocols is sent in "clear text", which means that it's technically possible (however unlikely) for it to be intercepted.

For More Information

For more information related to the topics discussed above, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q223396 OFF97: How to Minimize Meta-Data in Office Documents

Q223790 WD97: How to Minimize Meta-Data in Word Documents

Q223793 PP97: How to Minimize Meta-Data in PowerPoint Presentations

Q222180 OFF97: Unique Identifiers and Microsoft Office 97 Documents

Additional query words: XL97 OFF97 privacy identity confidentiality anonymity


Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 31, 1999