Rafiul Hasan
Microsoft Excel has the feature of different types of document properties, the ways of viewing and modifying these properties as per the users’ needs and choices, repeating the last action performed, etc. This software allows you to keep your data confidential. For this purpose, it provides some system properties. “Last modified By” is such a property. If you are looking for ways to remove the last modified by in Excel, then you have landed in the right place. In this article, I will show you how to remove the last modified by in Excel.
Why Should We Remove “Last Modified By”?
Every Excel file contains some information like Author name, Organization name, Initials, etc. It contains these data by default. Actually, these data are gathered from the device of the user. It’s not a matter of fact actually because Excel allows you to make modifications to this information. You can change this data as per your need.
The user making modifications for the last time is saved in the system interface. When we share the Excel file with someone and we want to hide the user information, then we need to remove the “Last Modified By” to make it confidential to the shared user.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Removing Last Modified By
The main advantage of removing the last modified by is that it makes it confidential by hiding the user ID that has changed the file for the last time. So, if the file is somehow shared with a person or organization that it was not supposed to be, then it may be helpful to hide the information about the actual creator of the file.
The disadvantage of performing this task is that some changes while making modifications to the information cannot be undone. You will see this note while performing the task.
How to Remove Last Modified By in Excel: 3 Effective Ways
In this section, you will find 3 simple and effective ways to remove the last modification in Excel. I will demonstrate them one by one here. Let’s check them now!
1. Use the Properties Option to Remove Last Modified By
Actually, the Microsoft team has observed that the “Last Modified By” is one of the default document options that remove the value only. So if you reject to see the value in the property option, follow the steps below.
Steps:
- First of all, right-click the mouse on the workbook> click the Properties option from the list.
- Then, the Properties modifier box will appear.
- Here, go to the Details icon> click Remove Properties & Personal Information.
- Now, select Remove the following properties from this file> select Author & Last Saved By options from the origin> click OK.
And here, the last modified by will be removed.
- You may also proceed with creating a copy with all possible properties removed.
Read More: What Is Metadata in Excel: All Things to Know
Similar Readings
- How to Export File Metadata to Excel
- How to View Properties Dialog Box in Excel
- How to Display Document Properties in Excel
- How to Edit Document Properties in Excel
2. Remove Last Modified By from File Tab
You can perform the same task from the File tab also. For this, follow the steps below.
Steps:
- Firstly, open the workbook and go to the File tab.
- Then, a menu list will appear. Select Info from the list.
- Now, right-click on the Author option like the screenshot below> click Remove Person.
Thus your task will be completed.
Read More: How to Create Metadata in Excel
3. Using Inspect Document Command
You can use the Inspect Document Command to clear any confidential data or information from the workbook. In order to demonstrate the process, just proceed with the steps below.
Steps:
- Firstly, go to the File tab.
- Then, select the Info option from the menu list> click Check for Issues> and select Inspect Document.
- Now, the Document Inspector command box will appear.
- Here, click Inspect.
- After Inspecting, a segment will appear with a “!” sign just under the comment segment named Document Properties and Personal Information. This will occur because it has found some document information. Now, click Remove All to clear the information.
- Now, close the command box.
- If you check the properties now (from the Info window), you will see all information has been removed.
Read More: How to Show Excel Metadata Viewer
Things to Remember
- Some changes can’t be undone when you remove the property.
- You don’t have to perform the action when your file doesn’t contain any confidential information.
Conclusion
In this article, I have tried to show you some methods to remove the last modified by in Excel. Hope you have got familiar with the ways of performing this task. If you have better methods, questions, or feedback regarding this article, please don’t forget to share them in the comment box. This will help me enrich my upcoming articles. You can also check our website for further information. Have a great day!
