Microsoft Office files, among others, contain a vast array of information embedded inside documents. Metadata viewer utilities allow you to examine this type of data. Often, the discovery of metadata is crucial to a case.
Metadata Assistant
PayneGroup created Metadata Assistant in the late 1990s when they discovered that Word documents contain hidden information that could potentially expose their law firm clients to confidentiality breaches. Hundreds of thousands of law firms, government agencies, banking, oil, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries around the world now use Metadata Assistant products to remove metadata from Word documents and other file types. Metadata Assistant products remove metadata from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and RTF files. For more information on Metadata Assistant, visit the PayneGroup Web site: http://www.payneconsulting.com.