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. ...

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