Using the Hidden Data Remover dialog box

This option is available for Microsoft Word RTF and DOCX templates only.

To access this dialog box: Select a template or multiple templates in the template library. > Choose Hidden Data Remover (Tools menu).

By default, when working with Word templates, Word stores extra information about changes you make to the template. Sometimes tracking these changes causes the size of the file with which you are working to increase. In some instances, you can keep Word from saving this information. Specifically, you can keep Word from saving random merge ID numbers as well as redundant metafile graphics.

Invisible Merge ID Marks

According to the Microsoft Word 2003 help file, Word uses "randomly generated numbers to help keep track of related documents for comparing and merging. Although these numbers are hidden, they could potentially be used to demonstrate that two documents are related." Each time you edit template text, these merge ID numbers are generated and saved to the template. If you frequently change the contents of a template, the size of the template will increase. If you rarely or never merge or compare templates, you can keep Word from generating these ID numbers.

To keep Word from generating merge ID numbers

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Choose Options from the Word Tools menu. The Options dialog box appears.
  3. Click the Security tab. The view changes to show the different security options you can choose for a template.
  4. In the Privacy options group, clear Store random number to improve merge accuracy.

Clearing this option is only applicable in Word 2002 and later.

  • Word 2007 users can access this setting by going to the Microsoft Office Button > Word Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Store random number to improve Combine accuracy.
  • Word 2010/13 users can access this setting by going to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Store random number to improve Combine accuracy

Redundant Metafile Graphics

According to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article, "if an EMF, a PNG, a GIF, or a JPEG graphic is inserted into a Word document, when the document is saved, two copies of the graphic are saved in the document. Graphics are saved in the applicable EMF, PNG, GIF, or JPEG format and are also converted to WMF (Windows Metafile) format."

To resolve the problem, you can specify a Windows registry setting that keeps Word from saving two copies of the image.

You must be extremely careful when working in the Windows registry. Failure to follow the instructions below exactly could result in your making changes that negatively affect all of the programs on your computer. You may want to ask your system administrator for help if you are unsure of what you are doing.

To keep Word from saving two copies of graphics in your templates

  1. Close Word (if it's running.)
  2. Click Start > Run. The Run dialog box appears.
  3. In the Open field, type regedit and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
  4. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Office > Version > Word > Options. (Replace Version with the version of Word you are using.)
  5. In the right pane of the window, right-click and choose New > String Value from the shortcut menu. A new string is created called New Value #1.
  6. Rename the value to ExportPictureWithMetafile. (To do this, you can choose Rename from the shortcut menu.)
  7. Once the name is changed, right-click on the string and choose Modify. The Edit String dialog box appears.
  8. In the Value data field, enter 0.
  9. Click OK.

To remove merge ID numbers or extra metafile graphics from existing templates, see Remove Hidden Data from Word Templates for details. To allow this data in templates but remove it from assembled documents, see Remove Hidden Data from Assembled Documents.