I received this picture by e-mail today, and thought it was worth a moment. I'll let it speak for itself.

Posted by Stephanie at 08:19 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This is a cool tip...it's not mine (and I'm a bit annoyed with myself that I didn't think of it! :) It was given to me by a Program Manager on Word... a long-time favorite trick of hers.

The question that arose was this: What do you do to quickly see which styles are applied in your document and where? All styles, that is, at once -- at a glance. You could select all instances of a style through the Styles & Formatting task pane (if you're working in Word 2002 or later) -- but that's still one style at a time. You could use code in a variety of ways to do this -- but that's not an answer for every user. The suggestions could go on and on, but this one is the nicest I've heard:

If the styles in your document are part of a template... you can make a duplicate template to attach specifically for the purpose of quicky seeing the attached styles. It only takes a second to check! Here's what you do:

1. Create a duplicate of your custom template, adding a unique color of paragraph shading to each style you'll need to check. (If you use the same custom template for many documents, of course you'll only need to create this duplicate template once --then save it for anytime you need to check a document's styles).

2. Attach the duplicate template to the document you want to check.

To do this:
- Go to Tools, Templates and AddIns (in Word 2003, select the Templates tab -- in previous versions, there's no tab to select) and then click the Attach button to open a file dialog box.

- Select your duplicate template with the shading and click Open. You'll see the name and path of your duplicate template in the Templates And AddIns dialog box.

- Check the box labeled Automatically update document
styles, that's directly below where you see the template name and click OK.

The duplicate template will now be attached to your document and you can easily see what styles are applied throughout by their shading color!

When you're done checking, just go back to Tools, Templates And AddIns and re-attach the document's original template -- that's it! Nothing will have been altered. Any direct formatting on styled paragraphs remains in tact.

It's a fabulous way to look for pararaphs that might have incorrect styles applied. Of course, it's particularly handy for long documents. For example, it can be super-handy for troubleshooting a problematic long outline (as long as your outline numbered list is attached to styles, that is) ...

TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:

* Only use this trick if your document's style definitions are part of a template. (Such as the default set of styles used for all documents in your company -- as discussed in my preceding post about setting up a default template.)

If you reattach the original template after checking the styles, but your styles had been customized for the individual document ... you won't get those customizations back!

* When you do this, do work from an actual duplicate of your template. If the newly attached template contains more styles than your original template, those will get added to your document... and it's never a good idea to add unecessary stuff to your document(changing an attached template will not automatically delete existing styles, so the extra styles won't go away when you switch the template back).

If you want to try it out to see how it works, download these quick little sample files I made:

Sample Document
Original Template
Duplicate Template

Posted by Stephanie at 01:23 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This topic seems to want to be written about this week! It keeps coming up in a variety of ways and places... So, this article will address a couple of related issues:

- When is it a good idea to use Normal.dot vs. a custom template as your default document template? (...and what is Normal.dot, anyway?)

- How do you determine what to include in a default template? (I'm referring here to the default for all new documents as opposed to a document-specific template like a letter or a memo.)

- How many and what type of styles should a default document template contain? Are there any features that styles should always (or never) include? When is it a good idea to use sytem styles vs. custom styles?

To start off this topic, I'd like to put in the forefront of your minds (and I've blogged about this before) that one of the most important elements of making any decision when working in Word is to keep things as simple as possible. At no time is that more true than when you're setting up standards. So, I'll suggest that (as much as possible) you let that thought drive any decisions you make about your document defaults.

That said, my recommendations here are mostly lists of things to consider, rather than rights and wrongs (because most of the answers depend on who will be using the template\styles and why). Though, as is usual with any software, there are a few features to be aware or wary of, so I will address those as well. Okay, let's get into specifics:

First of all, for those not familiar with it -- a quick note about Normal.dot:

Normal.dot is the default Word template. Unless you specify another template for a given document, every document is attached to Normal.dot. Like any template in Word, Normal.dot can store styles, AutoText, custom toolbars, and macros, as well as document defaults such as default font or page setup preferences. And while, like with any document template, you technically could add pages and page layouts (such as a memo or letter document layout, cover pages, tables of contents, etc.) -- it's not a good idea for Normal.dot, since Normal will (by default) be the template you start with for all documents.

One of the nicest things about Normal.dot (and most potentially dangerous) is that, if you don't like customizations made to it (or, if something nasty has happened to your Normal.dot)... any user can simply delete it (when Word and Outlook are both closed) and Word will automatically generate a new Normal.dot, based on Word defaults, then next time that user starts Word. Word can not (and would not want to) exist without Normal.dot.

So, if you customize Normal.dot as your default template (whether for yourself or a group of users) please make a backup of it right away. In case you have to (or choose to) delete it, you want to be able to replace it with your customized version -- and not have to start from scratch.

Any other questions about Normal.dot... just post a comment or drop me an e-mail...

So, how about what's best to include in a default template -- and when to use Normal.dot vs. a custom template?

-- If you're creating a default template that's just for your own use ... you probably want something fairly generic, so that it can apply to all of your documents. You can simply customize your preferences for things like page margins, default font, appearance of system styles ... as well as customization of toolbars or menus to make your favorite features handier ... that sort of thing. I strongly recommend just doing that in Normal.dot, rather than creating a custom template as your default (Normal.dot's whole purpose is to be your default document template).

But, do add enough content to help keep your documents consistent. Efficiency and consistency are the two primary purposes of a template. You don't have to be a big company to want your documents to look consistent and professional. And, if there are settings you usually prefer to use (like a favorite font, preferred document margins, etc.) -- why do the work of setting that up for each new document? Set it in your default template. After all, Word is not a typewriter. It's powerful software. You paid for it -- let it do the job it was hired for!

-- If you're creating a default template for a group of users (such as all Word users in your company) ... you might still go the same route, depending on how your users need to utilize Word and what type of standards you want to put in place.

If you want users to be able to easily customize their documents ... keep AutoText to a minimum, keep style names as generic as possible, and set few document layout defaults.

However, if a key goal of your default template is document consistency across a company -- and you prefer that users don't customize their documents (of course, some users will anyway ... but it doesn't hurt to try!) -- provide them with as many defaults as you can without overwhelming or increasing their work: be as specific as possible with style names (such as noting formatting in the style name), provide document layout defaults like page margins, page numbering, and perhaps even put things like a logo (if appropriate for all documents) in the template's header or footer.

As far as using Normal.dot vs. a custom template as your default -- a lot of companies create custom templates for their default template. There's not really any reason not to ... like Chicken Soup, it might not help -- but it can't hurt :) -- But remember that Normal.dot is designed to be your default template and heavily integrated with Word's functionality. Before you add anything extra to Word (such as a custom template as your default), just be sure you've got solid reasons for doing so. Don't make Word do extra work unecessarily ... it doesn't like to, and it just might bite ;)

One good reason for using a custom template as your default is if you want to make it more difficult for users to work around your customizations (if they delete your custom template, a new, empty one won't be automatically generated by Word). Granted -- that's no lock-down, but depending on your user population, it might be helpful.

Okay, so what's important to keep in mind for styles that you include in the default template?

This post is getting quite long, so I'm going to summarize -- feel free to comment or e-mail if you want more detail or discussion on any topic here ...

First: Don't go style wild! Providing too many styles is likely to make for documents as convoluted as those with no styles (not to mention some pretty confused users, if your template is for others to use). Pick styles wisely. Provide enough for consistency -- but (unless you have good reason to do otherwise) only include in your default template those styles that will apply to most of your documents.

Extra, unused styles in a document can't really cause much harm other than a slightly confused user ... but if there are too many styles that don't belong in a document, it can make it less friendly to edit (mostly because finding the right styles will take longer). And remember, a style is information stored in your document -- so less unused styles is just cleaner. There's a bit more to it than that certainly, but how much longer do you want to be reading this post? :)

However, the other side of this coin is that (while the rumour that direct formatting will cause document instability is absolutely false) you don't want to encourage users (yourself included) to use a ton of direct formatting in documents. So include enough default styles to serve the majority of general document formatting (such as body text styles for different purposes, bullet and number styles, heading styles, etc.) So much of Word is designed around the use of styles that not using them makes for overcomplicated documents that are less consistent, more cumbersome, and more difficult to edit. ...Not to mention that direct formatting is a lot more work and a lot more time-consuming than using styles!) Remember ... if you let Word do the job you hired it to do, you'll like it better!

All that said, keep a few points in mind when setting up your default styles:

- Regardless of how you want styles used, keep style names as simple, easily recognizable and intuitive as possible. (Everybody might not get your acronyms!)

- Consider table styles when you set up your default style set. Word templates since Office XP contain table styles by default -- and they're very handy (I'll blog on that separately, soon). Take a look at Table Normal and Table Grid -- and consider including them as part of the default set of styles that your users are aware of. They're available to users whether you do or not, but a lot of users just don't know how useful or important they are. Using table styles can save users a lot of time and stress if tables are something they frequently use.

- In contrast to the above, don't put too much weight in List Styles ... you probably don't need to customize any for a default template. They're a great idea, but not quite there yet. Outline numbered lists are more effective and efficient because they can be attached to paragraph styles (I'll also blog on this separately, soon...including demystifying outline-numbered lists and showing you how not buggy they really are!)

- As for system vs. custom styles ... just keep in mind that most system styles are integrated with other features -- which, depending on your needs can make using them a great benefit or a bit of a headache. Heading 1 through 9 styles, for example, are integrated with outline numbering, tables of contents, cross-references, and then some ... They're very powerful and can be great time-savers (they're customized as part of my personal default template, and I use them as often as possible!) but be aware of what your users commonly need to do with their documents and how that might be affected by the use of Heading (or other) system styles in your template. (Also keep in mind that some system styles can't be deleted from your template, regardless of whether they're part of your custom style set or not).

Though there are a number of things you might want to consider when creating a set of styles, there's one big thing I'll recommend you don't do and two that I'll recommend you do:

Don't include Frames in your paragraph styles. If there is an Axis of Software Evil -- Word's frames feature (not Web frames, graphic frames) are it's spiritual leader! Frames are old functionality from way-back-in-the-day of Word and they are a common cause of document instability. Though they're available on the Format menu in the New Style (or Modify Style) dialog box (and used or available in a few other ways in Word that I've blogged on before)... please don't do that to your documents (or your users)! There is a better way to do anything you would do in Word with a frame. (If you doubt me because this has never happened to you ... you're both very lucky, and probably next on their list ... ;)

Do base styles on Normal style as much as possible. Normal style is designed so that you can change formatting (such as the font) just once, and have it update throughout all styles in your document. Also, when you base styles on other custom styles, you risk creating a very convoluted style structure that is time-consuming to update and cumbersome to use.

Do consider how to use (or not use) 'style for the following paragraph' in the style set you create. That feature can be very handy ... just be careful not to overuse it, so that you don't create more work for users than you save.

A closing note about default templates:

Please keep in mind that your default template (or any template) can contain macros, custom toolbars, custom menus, and AutoText. These features can be incredible time-savers (especially wisely chosen and efficiently written macros) ... but, just as with styles, you'll defeat their purpose if you use too many. Nobody will remember fifty AutoText entries or four dozen macros. And you'll just annoy your users if you create a dozen custom toolbars (screen real estate is precious ... and nobody wants to work in a one-inch document window ;)

With that as the last word for now ... I'm going to the gym. Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Posted by Stephanie at 03:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Why should I upgrade to Office 2003 when I only use 2% of Office’s capabilities as it is? Does that question sound familiar to you?

This topic came up recently in a conversation I had with a lady by the name of Donna Poskey, a marvelously talented Microsoft Account Executive. She hears this occasionally from clients who are using much earlier versions of Office. And I hear it as well, from individuals and companies alike. If you teach, develop with, or write about Office, or are known as the power user in your circle – you probably hear it, too.

If you don’t use a cell phone (or even if yours weighs a few pounds), if you wouldn’t own a microwave because you can’t see a need to be in such a darn hurry to heat a cup of coffee or defrost a steak, if you don’t use email because the postal service is just fine for your business communication… this article won’t do much for you. When the electric light bulb was born, there were some folks who thought a candle handled all of their needs just fine. It’s all relative.

The point is that Office 2003 is not unlike the electric light bulb… or even the cell phone. You might be getting along alright without it, or with a much older version … but just imagine what you could be doing now!

So, what’s so impressive about the current version of Office? Stability, security, productivity tools, collaboration tools, developer tools ... for starters. (Feel free to post a comment or drop me an email if you have questions about any specific features or anything you want from Office that you don't think it can do (or do well).)

This is not at about having the newest and the coolest. The purpose of advances in business software is productivity, efficiency … getting more done, with better results, in less time. Do you start a research project by going to the public library and searching rolls of Microfiche—or do you Google?

I recently asked a large law firm how often they have to strip and reformat, or recreate documents from scratch when they exhibit problems. “Always” was the answer. “That’s the standard solution.” Well folks, that just makes me sad! In nearly ten years of troubleshooting complex document problems across several versions of Office, I can still count on one hand the number of documents that needed to be stripped or recreated. With Office 2003, the average ‘problem’ document takes a few minutes to fix. But, even on Office 2000 or 97, complex, burdened solutions like doing the work all over again is just unnecessary.

Perhaps you’re thinking that your documents are very simple—letters and memos—so this doesn’t apply to you. You might say the same type of things about Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc… But then, stop for a moment and think about this:

What business tasks do you do regularly? I mean everything. Taking notes in meetings; making lists of to do items or tracking the progress of projects; calculating income or expenses—even managing your personal finances. Do you give presentations? Do you manage a staff? Do you have regular reporting responsibilities? Do you sell, market, research, create, purchase, support, or advise? Do you communicate in writing with colleagues or clients?

If you answered yes to any question in the preceding paragraph and you only use a few percent of Office’s capabilities—there’s no question that you’re spending time every day on things you could be doing faster and better.

If I sound like a salesperson, it’s only because I get frustrated to see how much most people under-use the capabilities of Office. When was the last time you finished everything you both needed and wanted to do in the course of a day and were happy with all of the results? Speaking for myself—I can’t recall. Days go fast… anything that can help me be more productive, that can simplify the stuff I have to do and leave more time for the stuff I want to do… things that help me produce better results in less time… those things are invaluable. That’s why the progress of the software industry impresses me.

But, regardless of what version of Office you use—if you’re a two-percenter … there are ways you could improve your productivity and probably your results.

Consider this an open challenge. How do you use Office? And what do you do each day without it?

Talking with a couple of single friends recently, one of them asked how far each of us was willing to travel for a relationship. I said not at all. In my opinion, a good relationship is supposed to simplify your life, not complicate it. Maybe that’s why I like Office as much as I do.

Posted by Stephanie at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

My single favorite thing about producing documents in Microsoft Office is that the simplest solution almost always gives you the best results. Workarounds and even add-in applications often are much more time-consuming with less precise or less dynamic results than just using the right feature for the job.

If you've read much of what I write on Office, including pretty much any part of my new book, you've heard this from me before: Regardless of what Office application you're talking about -- the less work you do, the better your results will be. Period.

Of course, that's a mighty nice generalization ... but, if you don't know where to start, what then? The purpose of this post is to give you both a few general and a few specific tips for saving time when working in Office with a look at some quick-solution examples that might surprise you...

For starters, did you know ...

How tightly you zoom in on an Excel chart or PowerPoint drawing object can affect the look of the resulting object in the document itself, as well as when printed or even copied into Word:

I love this example because of how simple the solution is to something that often seems frustrating and impossible to fix!

Let's say you copy an Excel pie chart and paste it into Word-- if some of the data label leader lines don't appear on the chart, before you start drawing lines and fussing and fighting to position them correctly on the chart ... just zoom in as tightly as possible on the chart in Excel before you copy it. You're likely to be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Note that the same goes for that icky little screen bug that makes the text within a chart's axis title appear cut off (even when you copy and paste the chart, or print it). Try just zooming in before you try fussy workarounds.

On the chance that zoom doesn't do the trick for you in either case above ... a slight resizing of the plot area for the pie chart, or creating a linked text box in place of the axis title, are much faster fixes than the frustrations of trial-and-error workarounds.

However, while we're looking at screen bugs, here's one with an even easier solution: If you've ever had borders appear on your Word table that you didn't put there -- just page down a few times and up again, or go to File, Print Preview and then return to your view to clear the screen. Chances are it's just screen junk. (Note that, if the spurious borders print, they aren't screen junk. If this happens in Word 2002 or 2003, they're probably a result of your default table style. In these versions, quickly clear all unwanted borders and shading from a table by clicking anywhere in the table -- then apply Table Normal style.

Not everything that you might be inclined to spend time on has as simple a solution as changing the zoom, paging up and down to clear the screen, or applying a style. But, you might be surprised at how many Office tasks do! Let's take a look at a couple of other specific document production experiences that are common pitfalls with super-easy solutions:

Let's say you've got a financial table in a Word document. There's a merged heading over 5 columns, and you have to add an additional column under the same merged heading. Ever try this one? Just insert a column or try inserting the cells and the table might just appear to go haywire! So, if this sounds familiar and you've ever spent more time than you want to admit fussing and fighting to try to realign the columns of your table -- you'll be happy with this solution ...

Though Draw Table is far from the most efficient way to create a Word table in your document, it is a dream for editing like this! Using this feature, you can cut the work down to 2 simple steps, with no fudging whatsoever:

1. Go to Table, Draw Table to attach the draw table pencil to your mouse pointer -- and then draw a line down the middle of any of the existing sub-columns to split it. (Don't draw through the merged heading cell! just draw through the cells where you want the additional column to appear.) And, don't be concerned if the content of the column you just split gets all smooshed because it's too small -- it won't be in a second.

2. Select all columns that sit under the merged heading cell, including the newly split one (don't select the merged heading!) and then select Table, AutoFit, Distribute Columns Evenly.

That's it! It's perfect. No fussing, no fighting ...absolutely precise in about 3 seconds. And, if Draw Table added unwanted cell borders ... that takes no time to edit!

The point of this example is that using the available features is infinitely faster, easier, and gives you better results than workarounds ... even if you have to spend a little time finding the best feature for the job.

The long and short of this: If it feels like the solution you need for any Office document production task is really complicated, there is probably a much simpler and more precise way to get it done:

Need to move an indent or tab less than 1\16th of an inch on the Ruler in Word? Hold down the Alt key while you drag the tab or indent marker. (Ctrl key does the same in PowerPoint). Need a different type of chart for your already charted data in Excel? Don't start all over! Select the chart and go to Chart, Chart Type to change the existing chart's type (or select a single series before goint to Chart, Chart Type to change the chart type for just that series ... such as when you need to add a line series to an existing column chart). Need to align several shapes on a PowerPoint slide? Instead of nudging until you turn blue, use the Align or Distribute tools on the Drawing toolbar's Draw menu and get it done in a click or two!

If these examples seem too basic to help you, keep in mind that the same principle applies to virtually any document production feature in the Office applications. There is a logic to everything that happens, even if you don't like the result. And, sometimes the easiest features to work with are the ones that seem the most complex at first -- Word tables or Outline Numbered lists, Excel PivotTables or nested functions, complex presentation graphics in PowerPoint or flowcharts in Visio ... just to name a few favorites. If it doesn't seem to be doing what you need, don't assume the application can't do it. And, above all, please don't keep going when you don't like the results (that's the quickest and most common way to make a big, hair-tearing mess)! Taking the time to find a simple, stable, precise solution will almost always take much less time than fudging it!

If you're looking for a solution to a specific issue that isn't addressed here -- please post a comment or drop an email and I'll try to help ...

Posted by Stephanie at 03:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The subjects of editing chart titles and custom data labels has come up a few times in recent days... so I thought a post was warranted.

In case you're not familiar with this little Excel gem, you can link any chart title, chart axis title, chart data label, or even a text box drawn on the chart dynamically to a cell in your data, rather than either typing in text or being limited (in the case of data labels) to the provided Chart Options for what data is displayed. It takes a second to do and updates automatically whenever the relevant data changes.

For example, you might want to show just the sum of all data points in a column of a stacked bar chart as the data label value -- in which case, you can just create the sum function for the data on your data worksheet, and then follow the instructions below to link each desired data label to the cell containing the sum function for the correct column... Here goes:

Link a chart title, chart axis title, or data label to data on a worksheet:

1. Select the chart title, axis title, or first data label that you want to display a worksheet cell's content (for a data label, click to select the series of data labels, then single-click once more on the individual label you want to select).

2. With the title or label selected, type an equal sign in the formula bar.

3. Browse to and select the cell you want to link, then press Enter. The content of the cell will now appear in the title or label box ... and will change anytime the linked cell's content changes, just as your chart's data series do.

Create linked text boxes:

If you're already using your chart titles and labels for other purposes, or you need dynamically updating text on the chart that doesn't belong in a title or available label, you can create a text box and link it exactly as per the instructions for titles and labels, above.

1. Click the Text Box icon on the Drawing toolbar and then click on the chart where you want the text box to appear (you can move it later, of course).

2. With the text box either active or selected, follow steps 2 and 3 above.

3. If the entire content of your linked cell doesn't appear in the text box, click and drag on the text box's handles to stretch it. Note that you can double-click on the text box to open the Format Text Box dialog box -- where you can change its formatting, including even the orientation of the text.

TIPS: To Easily move a text box on a chart, select the text box and then press F2, Escape ... then you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the text box precisely.

Note, to easily select text boxes on your chart, click the white arrow (the Select Objects) icon on the Drawing toolbar ... then you can click and drag around all or part of the chart to select just graphic objects on top of the chart, rather than chart elements. Press Escape twice or deselect the same toolbar icon to once again select chart elements instead of text boxes and other drawing objects.

Posted by Stephanie at 02:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The metadata issue in Office -- particularly Word -- has become such a hot topic that the fear-building propoganda available on the topic is absolutely overflowing!

For anyone not familiar with it, document metadata just means content saved with the document that you don't see in the user interface or the printed document. Many types of metadata, even in Word, are not dangerous to your privacy at all … such as format settings, style names, etc. And here's the quick good news on those types of metadata that genuinely may pose a privacy risk: you can get rid of it all by yourself!

Some producers of add-in applications referred to as metadata scrubbers would have you believe that there is a grand conspiracy brewing within your very own documents that only they can solve for you. Even some articles from highly respected publications contain misinformation — the whole topic seems to have turned into an out-of-control, global game of telephone!

So, without further ado, here’s the straight scoop followed by some quick instructions for do-it-yourself document cleaning:

- Anyone who tells you that dangerous metadata exists in your documents that you can't remove on your own is selling something. Period. However, depending on how ‘clean’ your docs need to be -- when used carefully, some products out there can be valuable timesavers...

- Almost any software application in which you can save a file stores some type of metadata. Metadata isn’t at all exclusive to Office documents.

- There is no privacy-risk form of metadata that you can’t remove quite easily from a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint 2003 document.

- Virtually every scrubber available does more than you need, and may remove content from your document that you need in order to have full functionality. If you choose to use a scrubber, always make a copy of the document first, and review the settings carefully, so you know exactly what the tool is going to do to your documents!

Okay, so how do you get rid of the most common types of privacy-risk metadata on your own? Easier and faster than you’d think! (Instructions below apply to Office 2003 and Office XP.) Here goes:

1. In Tools, Options, Save (Word or PowerPoint) confirm that there is no check in the box labeled Allow fast saves, click OK to close Tools, Options, and then save your document. This assures that no previously deleted content will appear if your document is viewed in a text editor.

2. In Word, confirm that Track Changes is off in the document, then on the Reviewing toolbar, click Accept All Changes in Document from the Accept Changes drop-down list. This removes any previously deleted content saved with tracked changes. In Excel, delete change history by turning off workbook Sharing (Tools menu). In PowerPoint, you can delete all markup from the Reviewing toolbar as well.

3. In Tools, Options, Security (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), check the option to Remove Personal Information .... on Save. This will remove author history and author-related file summary content; and remove author initials from comments and tracked changes.

4. If you use the File, Versions feature, delete any previous versions you’ve saved through that dialog box (you can delete all versions listed in that dialog box without affecting the currently open version of the document.)

5. Convert any embedded objects to pictures (especially Excel objects -- as an embedded Excel object embeds the entire workbook from which it originates). You can do this quickly by selecting the object and pressing Ctrl+Shift+F9 (Embedded objects are saved in your document as fields … that shortcut keystroke combination removes the automation from a field and leaves just its static, visible result (such as the text shown by a hyperlink or a page number field, or in this case, a picture of the embedded object).)

... Those are my top picks for the potentially private stuff you’ll probably want to get out of your documents. Depending on the level of diligence you need -- there might be others ... such as removing the Routing Slip from a document (if you've created one) when you don't want a recipient to know who's seen the document; deleting hyperlinks that contain locations you don’t want to share; etc. But, most of us really just care that stuff we've deleted from our documents is actually gone. And that's all there is to it.

- It's also good to keep in mind that there are several types of content that can pose a privacy risk, but aren't metadata at all... just stuff you might forget about, depending on your document layout and how you’re viewing the document:

Headers and footers may contain previously saved content that doesn’t appear in your document (for example, if a section of a Word document becomes shorter than a page and uses a continuous section break, existing headers or footers for that section would not be visible in the document because there’s no page for them).
Footnote content only appears on screen when you're working in Page Layout view.
Text formatted with the hidden attribute is only visible if your settings tell it to be (set that in Tools, Options, View).
One non-Word example of potentially hidden data is saved header\footer content for a PowerPoint slide that isn't being shown on the slide (View, Header and Footer in PowerPoint).

In all of these cases, just a little diligence in reviewing your document before you share it will do the trick and save you lots of stress.

So yes, there are several steps if you want to be sure that no information goes with a document except the content you expressly put in it. And, if you want shortcuts to getting that done, you’ve got several options:

- You can remove all privacy risk posed by document metadata in one step just by converting a document to an Acrobat PDF before sending it (lots of large companies do this!) Though you might have heard that the PDF technically retains some metadata … you've no need to worry unless, for example, you care that the recipient knows how much space after the paragraph you used for formatting! Converting to a PDF removes all types of previously deleted content. It's a great way to go if you own the full version of Acrobat, and the recipient won't need to edit the document.

- The free Microsoft Hidden Data Add-In download addresses a mix of metadata issues and some hidden data issues that aren’t actually metadata (as discussed above). (Here's a fun fact: the Office guys who developed this got some of their input on what to include in the tool via requests from the intelligence industry.) It can be a useful tool but take caution with it. Depending on the document, it can be rather time-consuming to run. Also, it doesn’t give you a ton of choices about what you want to leave or remove (I find it fairly over-eager in what it removes) – so be sure to make a copy of the original for backup.

- My favorite solution is just using a few macros - save time by quickly removing the metadata and hidden content you want to get rid of without going overboard. In fact, MODD contains a set of macros that help you do this for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Of course, regardless of the approach you take to removing metadata, be sure you know what's getting removed before you do it and what affect that will have on your document …and saving a copy of your original for backup is always a good idea!

Finally, if you prefer to have the dog-and-pony show, there are very capable scrubbers out there. Just please don’t buy into the dramatic hype ... there's no need to fear your documents!

Posted by Stephanie at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (2)