While most people wouldn't think of distributing a file with another business' name at the top of a spreadsheet, it's common to receive an Excel workbook with incorrect information in its document properties. If you create your document from scratch in your own copy of Excel, this isn't as much of a problem, as the properties will be blank or based on your default settings. But if you adapt a template or someone else's document, you may inadvertently send your new creation along with someone else's name inside. Removing the properties from the original Excel document is perhaps the first step you should take if you're going to adapt and share the document with co-workers or the public. In Excel 2007 and 2010 you use the Document Inspector to remove or change incorrect document properties.
1. Open the Excel document and click the Microsoft Office button, choose "Prepare" and choose "Inspect Document."
2. In the Document Inspector dialog box, select "Document Properties and Personal Information." If you'll be sharing your document publicly, you may select other options such as hidden rows, columns and worksheets that you wouldn't want viewers to find.
3. Click Inspect. When the Document Inspector is finished, Excel will display the hidden information. To remove all of the existing properties, click "Remove All" next to the "Document Properties and Personal Information" section of the results.
- To view or edit document properties, click the Microsoft Office Button, choose "Prepare," and choose "Document Properties." After making changes in the Document Properties pane, close the panel and save your Excel document.
- To change the properties of a shared Excel document, you first must unshare the document. After you change the properties you can share the document again.
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