The time has arrived to discuss various types of document properties, along with methods for viewing and modifying them within Excel 2019, 2016, and 2013. Additionally, this article will explain how to safeguard your document against unauthorized changes and eliminate personal data from your Excel sheet.

Do you recall your initial experiences with Excel 2016 or 2013? Personally, I occasionally felt frustrated when I couldn’t locate tools or options where they had been in earlier versions. This is precisely what occurred with document properties in Excel 2010/2013—they’re tucked away deeper, but uncovering them doesn’t require much effort.

In this article, you’ll discover a comprehensive guide on viewing and altering document properties, securing your document from modifications, and erasing personal information from your Excel worksheet. Let’s dive in! ?

Before diving into learning how to view, modify, and delete document properties (metadata) in Excel, let’s clarify the types of properties an Office document may possess.

Type 1. Standard properties are shared across all Office 2010 applications. These include fundamental details about the document like its title, subject, author, category, etc. You can assign your own text values to these properties to facilitate finding the document on your PC.

Type 2. Automatically updated properties encompass data managed and altered by the system, such as file size and creation/modification times. Certain properties unique to the document at the application level, like page count, word count, character count, or application version, are automatically adjusted based on the document content.

Type 3. Custom properties are user-defined properties. They enable you to add extra properties to your Office document.

Type 4. Organization-specific properties are properties tailored to the organization.

Type 5. Document library properties pertain to documents in a document library on a website or public folder. A creator of a document library can set certain document library properties and rules for their values. Thus, when you wish to add a file to the document library, you must enter the required property values or correct any incorrect ones.

Viewing document properties

If you’re unsure where to find information about your document in Excel 2016-2010, here are three approaches to achieve this.

Method 1. Display the Document Panel

This method lets you view the document information directly within the worksheet.

1. Click on the File tab. You transition to the backstage view.

2. Select Info from the File menu. The Properties pane appears on the right-hand side. Here, you can already see some information about your document.

3. Click on Properties to access the drop-down menu.

4. Choose 'Show Document Panel' from the menu.

   It will instantly return you to your worksheet, and you’ll notice the Document Panel positioned between the Ribbon and the working area as shown below.

   

As observed, the Document Panel displays a limited number of properties. If you desire more information about the document, proceed to the second method.

Method 2. Open the Properties dialog box

If the necessary information isn’t found in the Document Panel, utilize the Advanced Properties.

The first approach to display the Advanced Properties is directly from the Document Panel.

1. Click on 'Document Properties' in the top-left corner of the Document Panel.
2. Choose the Advanced Properties option from the drop-down list.
3. The Properties dialog box will appear on the screen.

Here, you can view general information about your document, some statistics, and document contents. You can also alter the document summary or define additional custom properties. Would you like to know how to do it? Stay tuned—I’ll reveal it shortly in this article.

There is another way to open the Properties dialog box.

1. Follow the first three steps outlined in Method 1.
2. Choose 'Advanced Properties' from the Properties drop-down menu.

The identical Properties dialog box will appear on the screen as depicted above.

Method 3. Utilize Windows Explorer

Another straightforward method to display metadata is to use Windows Explorer without opening the worksheet itself.

1. Open the folder containing Excel files in Windows Explorer.
2. Select the file you need.
3. Right-click and select the Properties option in the context menu.
4. Move to the Details tab to view the title, subject, author of the document, and other comments.

Now you are aware of different methods for viewing document properties on your PC, and I’m confident you’ll effortlessly locate the required information.

Modifying document properties

Previously, I promised to instruct you on changing document properties. So when viewing properties using Methods 1 and 2 described earlier, you can immediately input the needed information or correct erroneous data. As for Method 3, it’s also feasible if you don’t have Windows 8 installed on your computer.

The fastest way to add an author

If you merely need to add an author, there’s a swift method to accomplish this directly in Excel 2010/2013 backstage view.

1. Go to File -> Info
2. Move to the Related People section on the right side of the window.
3. Hover the pointer over the words 'Add an author' and click on them.
4. Input the author's name in the field that appears.
5. Click anywhere in the Excel window, and the name will be automatically saved.

You can add as many authors as are working on the document. This quick method can also be employed for altering the title or adding a tag or category to the document.

Changing the default author name

By default, the document author name in Excel is your Windows username, but this might not adequately represent you. In this scenario, you should modify the default author name so that Excel will use your proper name afterward.

1. Click on the File tab in Excel.
2. Select Options from the File menu.
3. Choose General on the left pane of the Excel Options dialog window.
4. Scroll down to the Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office section.
5. Type the proper name in the field next to User name.
6. Click 'OK'.

Defining custom properties

I’ve already mentioned that you can define additional properties for your Excel document. Follow the steps below to achieve this.

1. Navigate to File -> Info
2. Click on Properties on the right side of the window.
3. Select 'Advanced Properties' from the drop-down list.
4. Click on the Custom tab in the Properties dialog box that appears on your screen.
5. Choose a name for the

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