Part 2 of Handle legal documents safely. The mechanics, application by application.
A professional conduct solicitor specialising in electronic evidence.
Clean the Word sending copy
In desktop Word for Windows, open the sending copy and use:
Select the categories you want Word to inspect, then choose Inspect. Review each result before selecting Remove All. Pay particular attention to:
- comments, revisions and annotations;
- document properties and personal information;
- headers, footers and watermarks;
- hidden text;
- custom XML data and invisible content.
Run the inspection again after removal. Microsoft warns that some removed information cannot be restored, which is why this step belongs on a copy.
Removing metadata does not remove visible confidential material from the page. Covering text with a black shape is not reliable redaction either. Metadata cleaning and redaction are separate jobs.
Check the PDF you will actually send
Printing or exporting to PDF may leave behind less Word metadata, but it does not guarantee a clean file. A PDF can have its own author, title, subject, keywords, annotations, attachments and other embedded metadata.
In Adobe Acrobat on Windows, check:
Additional Metadata → Advanced
- Read the title, author, subject and keywords.
- Look for comments, attachments, layers and form data.
- Search for names or terms that should not appear.
- Confirm the filename, every page and every redaction.
- Close and reopen the PDF, then check it again.
Attach the checked PDF to a draft email, open the attachment from that draft, then retain the exact file that was sent. Do not regenerate it later and assume it is identical.
Comments, tracked changes or hidden text in a received document can be the other side's legal advice or internal notes. The moment you realise, stop reading, do not copy or rely on it, tell the sender, and get advice; the court can restrain use of accidentally disclosed privileged material, and reading on can rebound on you.
2. Check their metadata
Metadata in a received document may help you understand its source or sequence. Your first task is preservation, not investigation.
- Keep the received file under its exact original filename.
- Record when, how and from whom it arrived.
- Make an inspection copy in a separate working folder.
- Open the inspection copy read-only where possible.
- Do not click Remove All, accept changes, resave, print or export it.
- Record what you observe in a separate note, including the field name, displayed value, software used and date checked.
Quick check in Windows
Right-click the inspection copy, choose Properties, then review the Details tab. This is a quick view only; Windows may not display every property embedded in the document.
Check a received Word file
On the inspection copy, review File → Info and the document properties. Document Inspector can be used to identify hidden material, but stop at the results: do not remove anything. Note the author, last saved by, creation and modification fields, template information, comments and tracked changes that are actually present.
Check a received PDF
Use Acrobat’s Document properties, then Description → Additional Metadata → Advanced. Record what Acrobat displays without changing it. A PDF and its native Word source may contain different information, so do not assume one is a complete substitute for the other.
Metadata is a clue, not a conclusion
A displayed date may reflect copying, downloading, migration, export, a template, a cloud service, a scanner, a different clock or a different time zone. An author field may identify a template owner rather than the person who wrote the words.
Record “the Author field displayed Clara Wynn” before writing “Clara Wynn wrote the document.” The first statement is an observation. The second is a conclusion that may require other evidence.
If authenticity, authorship or timing could matter in a court case, preserve the native file and its surrounding email or download record. Consider obtaining legal advice or a forensic examination before taking steps that could change the evidence.
The final safety check
- I paused and settled my body before reading.
- I saved the attachments unopened under their original names.
- The covering email is saved beside them with an
[EMAIL]prefix. - Any deadline identified by AI has been checked against the letter.
- My working master and version history remain intact.
- I cleaned only a separate sending copy.
- Tracked changes and comments were resolved deliberately.
- I inspected the PDF—not just the Word file.
- The filename does not reveal something I meant to remove.
- I opened the attachment from the draft email.
- Every received original remains unchanged under its original name.
- My observations about their metadata are recorded separately.
- I have not treated a metadata field as proof by itself.