OFFXP: "Remove Personal Information" Option Does Not Apply to Inserted Objects

When you select the privacy option (on the Security tab of the Options dialog box) to Remove personal information from this file on save, you find that although the author's name is removed from the properties of the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, the author's name is not removed from the properties of the Office XP objects that have been inserted into the file.

For example, if you follow these steps, you find that the author's name is not removed from the object properties.

Example of Problem

1. Start Microsoft Word and create a blank document.
   
   NOTE: This problem can occur using a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file.
2. On the Insert menu, click Object.
3. Scroll down, and then select Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation, Microsoft Word Document, or Microsoft Excel Chart. Click OK.
4. Close the object, and then return to the Word document.
5. On the Tools menu, click Options.
6. Click the Security tab, and then click to select Remove personal information from this file on save.
7. Save the document, close the document, and then reopen the document.
8. Open any of the inserted objects, and then click Properties on the File menu.

To work around this problem, manually remove the author's name from each inserted object. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Word and open your document.
2. Open the inserted object. The way to do this varies, depending on the type of object. For example:
   • Right-click a PowerPoint object, point to Slide Object, and then click Open.
   • Right-click an Excel object, point to Worksheet Object or Chart Object, and then click Open.
   • Right-click a Word object, point to Document Object, and then click Open.
3. On the File menu, click Properties.
4. Click the Summary tab, and then remove any information that you do not want from the fields. Click OK.
5. On the Tools menu, click Options.
6. Click the Security tab, and then click to select Remove personal information from this file on save.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.