Understanding Metadata
Metadata itself isn't a "skill" or a feature you need to sit down and learn. It is a responsibility and an important side-effect of technology that you need to understand and be able to discuss intelligently with your fellow attorneys, staff and clients. An entire book could be used to discuss metadata – we won't do that here but we will point you to some resources that will quickly and simply explain the ins and outs. Information considered "meta data" can include but is not limited to:
- User name and computer name
- Comments and tracked changes that may not be displayed
- Hidden text, worksheets, data columns, and data rows
Just what is it and where does it live?
- What types of hidden data and personal information are stored in Office documents?
- Dangers of Document Metadata
How does metadata affect the practice of law?
- Metadata - What Is It and What Are My Ethical Duties?
- Metadata -- Is It Really Just Good, Clean Fun?
What harm can it do?
What you can do about it?
- How to quickly and easily remove metadata
- How do I find and remove hidden data and personal information in my Office documents?
- Control metadata in your legal documents (Office 2003)
- How to minimize metadata in PowerPoint presentations (2003 and 2007)
Legal Specific Tools
More Resources:
Metadata Ethics Opinions Around the U.S. from the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
Office 2003/XP Add-in: Remove Hidden Data
PDF Documents
Redacting PDF Files: A Survey of Tools
How to Properly Redact PDF files
PDF Files: Removing Sensitive Content
WordPerfect Resources
WordPerfect Office X3 Metadata Removal Patch
Saving WordPerfect Files Without Metadata
WordPerfect Office 12: Minimizing Metadata in WordPerfect 12 Documents
