Keeping one's name out of Properties/Track changes? How?

[Alarik]

Dear List Persons,

First, thank you for the help you've given me so far. I now have a new
question . . . not really a problem, at least to me.

I am doing an editing job for a friend who is overwhelmed with work, is
in trouble, and needs help. But the client must not know that he has
"subcontracted" to me (managing editors don't like that,
understandably). I am doing a segment of the book in Word OS vX. My
name, of course, appears in the Properties list and in the Track
Changes function. I will be sending him my files, and he could use
them, of course, but not without revealing my hand in the matter. As
things stand, he'll have to "copy" my edits into his file. Not good. To
make it a bit more complicated, he is using Word 6; inserted Comments
from me don't show up. Got around that with lettered footnotes and
Track Changes, but still, is there a way for him to eliminate my name
from the file's Properties list? Ideally so that my Track Changes
appear as his, under his name?

If he converts my Word v.X file to Word 6 will my Track Changes, etc.,
appear in his file?

I have sent him the Word X->97 File Converter (I probably have that
name wrong) that came with Word v.X. According to the Read Me, this
allows Word 6 to open Word X files and to keep a variety of features
intact, but not, it says, some of the info in Properties. He's too busy
to experiment at the moment, so . . . I wonder: Will the limitations of
Word 6, when opening a Word v.X file (using this converter), provide us
with the desired anonymity? (There are some ironies here.)

I suppose I could temporarily change the name of my computer? but,
still, not the name of the registrant of Word . . . so that doesn't
work.

Does anyone out there, habituated to stealth, have any thoughts?

Many thanks! All the best, everyone.

Alarik

 

[Alarik]

Dear John McGhie,

I should have searched before I posted. I just found a Jan. 18 answer
from you to Peter. Your second suggestion was to open the document on
another user's machine, which of course is what my friend must do, make
one tiny change then save and close. Do this five times.

Really!? Sounds like we're putting a spell on Word. Would that work
here, with the problem I've described above?

Five times, eh? Offerings to Hecate too?

Listen: Thank you!

Alarik

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Alarik:

You shouldn't be writing papers for fellow students

If you have Word 2004, turn on Word>Preferences>Security>"Remove personal
information from this file on save."

Then save and close the document.

Your name will be replaced with "Author" everywhere.

If you have an earlier version of Word, the function is not available on the
Mac. You can do it all manually using the procedures described here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q237361&ID=KB;EN-US;
Q237361&

For the PC, there is a utility available that does the job here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=144e54ed-d43e-42ca-
bc7b-5446d34e5360&displaylang=en

I am not sure whether that utility will install on a PC that has Word prior
to Word 2002 installed. But this one will:
http://www.kklsoftware.com/products/ezClean/details.asp

Hope this helps

Dear John McGhie,

I should have searched before I posted. I just found a Jan. 18 answer
from you to Peter. Your second suggestion was to open the document on
another user's machine, which of course is what my friend must do, make
one tiny change then save and close. Do this five times.

Really!? Sounds like we're putting a spell on Word. Would that work
here, with the problem I've described above?

Five times, eh? Offerings to Hecate too?

Listen: Thank you!

Alarik

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[mmmmark]

I have the name on my computer set to "space space space" (three spaces) so
this way my name isn't hanging around in documents I don't want it to.

-Mark

 

[Alarik]

Thank you both!

I mean it's not like I'm really writing somebody else's paper! He's
going to write some of it too! And besides, he's paying me. That makes
it "normal."

Again, thank you. Wish I'd gotten Word 2004!

All the best, Alarik