MICROSOFT WORD QUICK TIPS

Scrub Your Document With Microsoft Word Document Inspector

By Deborah Savadra

Watch the video to learn how to easily scrub your document with Microsoft Word document inspector.

You spent a lot of time getting that pleading or contract together, and now you’re ready to send it out. The last thing you want to do is inadvertently expose your prior edits or others’ comments to prying eyes. If you don’t already have a third-party metadata cleaner installed on your PC, Microsoft Word has a Document Inspector that can clean out any potentially compromising data and hidden information.

Understanding the Document Inspector

The Document Inspector is a powerful tool in Microsoft Office that helps users examine documents for personal or sensitive information, text phrases, and other document contents. It can be used to remove unwanted information from documents before distribution, ensuring that sensitive data is not inadvertently shared with others. The Document Inspector is available in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio, and can be accessed through the File tab.

Use Document Inspector to Detect and Scrub Invisible Content

Microsoft Word’s Document Inspector is a built-in feature that can check for and clean out document metadata such as comments, embedded revisions, document information (such as any editors’ names), and other invisible content and hidden text.

Before you use Document Inspector, though, you’ll want to do two things first:

  1. Review any tracked changes. If you’ve been using Word’s Track Changes feature to keep a record of your or your collaborators’ document edits, review them before scrubbing the document with Document Inspector. By default, Document Inspector will accept all tracked changes in the document, so if there are any changes that should not make the final version, go to the Review tab and use the Previous and Next buttons in the Changes command group to review any pending tracked changes. The Review tab is essential for managing tracked changes and ensuring no sensitive information is left in the document. Use the Reject button to prevent Document Inspector from accepting any edits you don’t want to keep. If all the changes are acceptable, however, you can either let Document Inspector accept them all during its review, or you can use Accept All Changes to accept them yourself.
  2. Finalize and save your document. Before you scrub your document, make sure it’s final and save the file using the shortcut key CTRL-S or the diskette icon on the Quick Access Toolbar.

Now that your document is saved, you can access Document Inspector in the current Microsoft Word 365 version by going to the File tab and clicking Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document.

In earlier versions (2010, 2013 and 2016) look under Check for Issues > Inspect Document.

You’ll get a dialog box that allows you to pick and choose which metadata elements you want to inspect.

For example, if you’re using Word on any type of touch screen and you use the Ink feature to annotate your documents, you want to ensure that box is checked.

Conversely, if you want to ensure that the Document Inspector leaves any information you have embedded in your document’s watermarks, headers or footers alone, uncheck that box.

Once you click the Inspect button, Document Inspector shows you what it’s found. If it finds any metadata within a particular category, it offers you the opportunity to remove it, category by category.

You can click the Reinspect button if you want to double-check that everything has been removed. Otherwise, click the Close button to finish, then click Save to save your newly cleaned document.

Inspecting a Document

To inspect a document using the Document Inspector, follow these steps:

  1. Open the document you want to inspect.
  2. Click on the File tab.
  3. Select Info.
  4. Click on Check for Issues.
  5. Select Inspect Document.
  6. In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the types of hidden content you want to be inspected.
  7. Click Inspect.
  8. Review the inspection results and select Remove All next to the inspection results for the types of hidden content you want to remove.

Document Properties and Metadata

Document properties and metadata refer to the information that is embedded in a document, such as author name, creation date, and file size. This information can be potentially sensitive and may need to be removed before sharing a document with others. The Document Inspector can help identify and remove document properties and metadata, including:

  • Document properties, such as author name, creation date, and file size
  • Metadata, such as comments, revisions, and tracked changes
  • Hidden text and invisible content
  • Custom XML data

Removing Hidden Data and Personal Information

The Document Inspector can remove hidden data and personal information from documents, including:

  • Comments and annotations
  • Document properties and personal information
  • Headers and footers
  • Hidden text and invisible content
  • Custom XML data
  • Embedded files or objects
  • Macros or VBA code

To remove hidden data and personal information, follow these steps:

  1. Open the document you want to inspect.
  2. Click on the File tab.
  3. Select Info.
  4. Click on Check for Issues.
  5. Select Inspect Document.
  6. In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the types of hidden content you want to be inspected.
  7. Click Inspect.
  8. Review the inspection results and select Remove All next to the inspection results for the types of hidden content you want to remove.

Best Practices for Document Security

To ensure document security, follow these best practices:

  • Use the Document Inspector to remove hidden data and personal information before sharing a document with others.
  • Set permissions and passwords to restrict access to sensitive documents.
  • Use encryption to protect sensitive data.
  • Regularly review and update document security settings.
  • Use the Save As feature to create a backup copy of your document before using the Document Inspector.
  • Be cautious when sharing documents with others, and consider using secure sharing methods, such as encrypted email or secure file-sharing platforms.

Click here to read more of Deborah’s Microsoft Office tips.

Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com

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Categories: Document Automation, Lawyer Productivity, Lawyer Tech Tips, Office 365, Videos
Originally published September 4, 2024
Last updated October 23, 2024
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Deborah Savadra Deborah Savadra

Deborah Savadra spends a lot of her time explaining technology to lawyers, mostly as editor and chief blogger at Legal Office Guru, which features Microsoft Office video tutorials and other content especially for legal professionals. Watch her quick tips videos here, and follow her on Twitter @legalofficeguru.

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