Document Inspector - Managing Metadata in MS Office 2007

The management of metadata (hidden or unhidden data information within an electronic document or file) is quite important. In recent years, law firms and legal service companies are paying closer attention to how and when metadata is controlled. Microsoft provides a quick way to view and strip metadata in Office 2007 with "Document Inspector". The Document Inspector feature is easily accessed by clicking the Office ButtonPrepareInspect Document. The options of information available for inspection or removal are:

1. Comments, Revisions, Versions, and Annotations
2. Document Properties and Personal Information
3. Custom XML Data
4. Headers, Footers, and Watermarks
5. Hidden Text

Once inspected, the removal process is a simple "all or nothing" so select carefully. I commend Microsoft for making it easy to strip metadata in it's Office 2007. Third party add-ins that provides application integration are also available. Metadata Assistant by Payne Consulting integrates smoothly with various document management softwares, time and billing applications and other applications specific to the the legal community. Furthermore, Metadata Assistant is available in
Enterprise (http://www.payneconsulting.com/products/metadataent/) or
Retail editions(http://www.payneconsulting.com/products/metadataretail/). This specific add-in can be modified to meet firm needs.

Charles Kenyon also provides useful information on his website (http://addbalance.com/usersguide/metadata.htm)


Other metadata management tools are:

Metadata scrubber
http://www.beclegal.com/products.aspx?id=64

• Remove Metadata by Sobolsoft
  http://www.sobolsoft.com/removemetadata/
• Metaviewer & Metadiscovery by Pinpoint Labs
  http://www.pinpointlabs.com/free_tools/metaviewer/
• ImageProperties .NET by Element-IT Software (specifically for image files)
  http://www.element-it.com/ImageProperties.aspx
  
  --Comments and concerns welcome