Known issues with the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 for Office 2003 and Office XP (842684)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

The Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 is a tool that you can use to remove personal or hidden data that you might not be able to see immediately when you view the document in your Microsoft Office program.

Article contents

INTRODUCTION

This article lists the known issues with the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 for Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office XP that are not covered by the Readme file.

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MORE INFORMATION

Operating systems that are not supported

The following operating systems do not support the installation or the use of the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1:
  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
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Known issues

Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1

  • When you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from a command line by using the /L option to specify a log file, you must open the resulting text log file (*.txt) in Notepad as a Unicode file, not as an ANSI file.
  • In the Readme file for the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 (Offrhdreadme.htm), the parameter that displays a list of all the available parameters incorrectly includes a colon (:).
In the parameter table that is contained in the notes of the Command Line section, the correct parameter that displays a list of all the available parameters appears as follows:

ParameterDescription
/?Displays a list of all available parameters.
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Microsoft Excel

  • In Microsoft Excel 2002, printer paths that are saved with a workbook are not removed when you use the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 like they are when you use the tool in Microsoft Office Excel 2003.
  • Digital signatures may be removed from Excel documents when you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 in Excel 2002.
  • If you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 on a file that contains a file path that exceeds the limit of 218 characters in Excel, the resulting file name is truncated or the tool may quit without cleaning the file.
  • The Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 does not clean Excel files that are saved with the Read-only recommended check box selected on the Security tab.
  • If you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 on a modified Excel file, you are not prompted to save the file first.
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Microsoft PowerPoint

  • If you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 on a PowerPoint presentation, PowerPoint fills the blank Title field with the contents of the slide title when you reopen the presentation.
  • In PowerPoint, if you help protect a Microsoft Visual Basic project by using the Lock project for viewing option, you must save, close, and then reopen the PowerPoint presentation before you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1. Otherwise, the Visual Basic modules are deleted.
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Microsoft Word

  • Existing hidden random numbers that are used to improve merge accuracy and are stored in Word files, are not removed when you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1.
  • If you remove the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from the add-in menu in Word, the tool does not appear on the File menu until you restart Word.
  • If you delete, rename, or move the ~$rhd.dot file, the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 does not function correctly in Word.
  • If Word quits unexpectedly, a copy of the ~$rhd.dot file may remain. If you remove the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1, the ~$rhd.dot file is not removed. You must remove the ~$rhd.dot file manually.
  • If you remove the earlier version of the Remove Hidden Data add-in, the entry for this tool may not be removed from the File menu in Word.

    To remove the entry for the earlier version of the add-in from the File menu, follow these steps:
    1. Start Word.
    2. Right-click any toolbar, and then click Customize.
    3. Click the Commands tab, click File, and then drag the Remove Hidden Data entry out of the Commands field.
    Note If you accidentally drag the entry for the updated version of this tool from the File menu in Word, it will be restored after you quit and then restart Word.
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Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

  • If the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 quits unexpectedly, a log file may be left in your temporary folder. To remove this log file, delete the contents of the temporary folder in your local settings folder.
  • If you close the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 before its review of the document is completed, one or more temporary files may be left in the destination folder. To remove these files, delete them from the destination folder.
  • Single-file Web pages that have been reviewed by the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 may contain the name of a randomly generated temporary file in the following form:

    file:///c:/ number /

    The number that is used in this name is based on the file name of the single-file Web page and cannot be traced back to your computer.
  • When you use the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from a command line to work with a collection of documents, if your Microsoft Office program starts a dialog box, the tool pauses until the dialog box is closed. If the dialog box remains open beyond 120 seconds, the program will quit and the tool will continue to the next file, or close if it has reached the last file. For example, if you try to run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 on a document that has the Read-only recommended check box selected on the Security tab, the tool pauses for 120 seconds while it waits for user input and then quits.
  • When you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from the command line, the tool does not work on XML documents that were created in Word or in Excel.
  • You cannot run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from the command line to clean read-only files.
  • If you click Cancel while the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 is running, the tool may not immediately quit.
  • You must save files that contain dynamic content before you run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1.
  • If an Office XP program is running when you upgrade from an earlier version of the Remove Hidden Data add-in, you must quit and then reopen these programs before you can run the upgraded tool.
  • If you remove Office 2003, install Office XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), and then upgrade Office XP SP1 to a later Office XP service pack release, the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 does not run correctly.

    Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

    To correct this issue, delete the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\InstallRoot

  • If you want to use the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 to clean a file that has already been cleaned by the tool, you must open the file, remove the read-only recommended attribute, and then save the file before you run the tool again.
  • If you specify a file path in the File Save As dialog box that is not valid, the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 quits without cleaning the file.
  • If you use the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from a command line and you specify a file path that is not valid, an empty log file appears.
  • If you are using the Arabic version of the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1, you must start the Office product before the tool will work correctly.
  • If you create a Visual Basic macro and type your own in-line comments, those comments are not removed when you use the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1.
  • If you run the command-line version of the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 by using the /a switch (audit-only), information appears to be removed. However, nothing is removed. The log file does correctly report what would be removed by the tool, but the source files are not modified.
  • When you run Office XP from a network location, the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 does not run. To resolve this issue, copy the Msohev.dll file to the following folder on your local computer:

    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11

  • When run the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 from a command line by using the /o option, the tool will not overwrite read-only files.
  • When the Remove Hidden Data add-in version 1.1 is run in the Korean version of Office XP, the tool will not remove Korean characters from the Title field of the document's properties.
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Additional information

For additional information about an earlier version of the Remove Hidden Data add-in, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

834427 The Remove Hidden Data add-in for Office 2003 and Office XP

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Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/27/2006
Keywords:kbinfo KB842684 kbAudEndUser
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