Document Management, Tutorial

Using Microsoft Word’s Document Inspector for Legal Redaction and Metadata Review

Posted on by Jeff Kirksey
05
Apr

Legal professionals routinely share Microsoft Word documents with courts, clients, opposing counsel, and third parties. Before finalizing or producing these files, it’s essential to inspect and remove hidden metadata, such as comments, revisions, author names, and hidden text. Microsoft Word’s Document Inspector is a critical tool for this purpose.

This tutorial guides attorneys, paralegals, and litigation support professionals through using the Document Inspector to prepare documents for confidentiality, privilege protection, and court compliance.

Step 1: Save a Working Copy

  1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
  2. Click File > Save As and save a copy titled:
    • CaseName_DocumentName_FINAL_FOR_PRODUCTION.docx
  3. Use this version to clean metadata while preserving the original draft.

💾 Best Practice: Maintain a clean production copy to avoid legal exposure from comments or tracked edits.

Step 2: Open Document Inspector

  1. Click File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document.
  2. In the Document Inspector window, select checkboxes for all content types:
    • Comments, Revisions, and Versions
    • Document Properties and Personal Information
    • Hidden Text
    • Headers, Footers, Watermarks
    • XML Data (optional)
  3. Click Inspect.

⚖️ Compliance Tip: Always inspect before sharing pleadings, contracts, and exhibits with external parties.

Step 3: Review and Remove Hidden Content

  1. The inspector will show results for each category.
  2. Click Remove All next to:
    • Comments and Revisions
    • Document Properties
    • Custom XML (if flagged)
  3. Click Close when done.

🔍 Legal Risk: Failure to remove tracked changes or embedded comments may waive privilege or harm your client’s position.

Step 4: Confirm Redactions and Watermarks (Optional)

  1. Scroll through the document to confirm:
    • All tracked changes are accepted
    • Comments are deleted
    • No hidden text remains
  2. If redacting, use manual redaction or trusted redaction tools (Word’s formatting is not secure for true redactions).

🚫 Warning: Simply changing text color or using white highlight does not constitute a secure redaction.

Step 5: Convert to PDF Before Distribution

  1. Click File > Save As > PDF.
  2. Choose a destination and save the cleaned file.
  3. If using Adobe Acrobat Pro, apply additional redaction tools if necessary.

🗂️ Production Tip: Always produce PDFs for legal filings and third-party sharing unless Word format is required by rule.

Conclusion

The Document Inspector in Microsoft Word is a must-use tool for any legal document leaving your firm. It protects confidentiality, ensures professional appearance, and supports compliance with court and client expectations.