Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Removing Personal Information.

Removing Personal Information

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


As you create a workbook in Excel, there is a lot of information that is stored with the workbook that can identify you as the author. Most of this information is stored in the workbook's file properties. If you are using Excel 2002 or Excel 2003, there is an option you can use that can help eliminate some of the identifying information saved with a workbook. Choose Tools | Options to display the Options dialog box, then make sure the Security tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Security tab of the Options dialog box.

Notice the Remove Personal Information from File Properties on Save check box. If this option is selected, Word will strip out personal information from the file properties.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3393) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Removing Personal Information.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Suppressing Zero Values in PivotTables

PivotTables are great for digesting and analyzing huge amounts of data. But what if you want part of that data excluded, ...

Discover More

Printing Multiple Worksheet Ranges

Need to print more than one portion of your worksheet? If you use named ranges for the different ranges you want to ...

Discover More

Conditional Printing

If you need to make what Excel prints be based upon conditions in a worksheet, you'll love the information in this tip. ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Inserting the User's Name in a Cell

Need to understand who is using a particular workbook? There are a number of ways you can find out, as discussed in this tip.

Discover More

Excel Won't Display Different Windows in the Taskbar

If you want individual Taskbar buttons for each open Excel workbook but cannot seem to get those buttons, the culprit ...

Discover More

Grabbing a User's Name from Excel

One of the settings you can make in Excel is to specify a user's name. This name is accessible through macros, and can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five less than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.