January 06, 2004New MS Office 2003/XP Add-in to Remove Hidden DataMicrosoft just published a free tool to remove hidden data (metadata) from the following Office applications:
Microsoft's overview states: "With this add-in you can permanently remove hidden and collaboration data, such as change tracking and comments, from Word 2003/XP, Excel 2003/XP, and PowerPoint 2003/XP files." There is a "readme" file included in its installation which provides a complete list of all of the types of data that the tool will help to remove. Per MS, "you can run the Remove Hidden Data add-in on individual files from within your Office XP or Office 2003 application. Or, you can run Remove Hidden Data on multiple files at once from the command line." Here's the big catch (you knew there had to be one): Currently, the only supported operating system for this add-in is Windows XP. Microsoft states that "[t]he Remove Hidden Data add-in has not been tested on Microsoft Windows 2000. Also, the add-in cannot be installed on Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition." While I'll resist the temptation to mention this appears to be yet another MS ploy to drive Win XP upgrades, I have to admit the thought crossed my mind. It could also be that MS wanted to release it as soon as they had a Win XP-ready add-in. Here's hoping they will support other Windows versions (but I'm also not holding my breath on this one). Apparently this add-in is free to licensed users of these programs. Please note this is not a separate standalone program, so you must have the necessary Office program installed in Windows XP for the add-in to work. Microsoft's web page above also lists a number of helpful tips, such as saving to a new file so as to preserve any wanted items (e.g., Track Changes) in the original collaborated files. I mentioned the readme file so that savvy users could compare its functionality to other metadata removers on the market. Although it's free, I strongly suggest that you make sure this tool removes everything you need it to remove. If it doesn't, then I recommend obtaining a program that will do the necessary job rather than rely upon this free utility. Otherwise, it could create a false sense of security, which when relied upon can cause many of the same problems as not using a metadata remover at all. Still, if you do not currently have a metadata remover and use the Office XP or Office 2003 suites, then using this add-in is probably better than the alternative. On another note, while speaking at a recent legal technology conference, I was glad I attended a presentation from Donna Payne of Payne Consulting. She emphasized that metadata issues and improved metadata control is at least one compelling reason to upgrade to either Office XP or 2003 from prior versions. Of course, she then "scared us straight" by demonstrating metadata issues about which MS was unaware until she showed them. Yikes. Comments
Clarification: "Your code" in the comment immediately after this one refers to the VBA snippet posted farther down by Arfa. Posted by: Wells Anderson at January 11, 2004 08:45 PMYour code only removes the history of tracked changes. The MS utility claims to remove the following, according to a webpage included with the application: Comments. This data is removed automatically. What does the MS product obliterate that wouldn't be cleared by the following VBA: If ActiveDocument.Revisions.Count >= 1 Then |