By default, Microsoft Word saves the author's name with all documents that that author creates. Word does allow you to disable this feature for a particular document to ensure the anonymity of exams. Here's what to do.

Word 2007    Word 2003    Other versions of Word

In Word 2007

We don't have screen shots for this one, but Microsoft says about Word 2007 that each document carries with it a number of "properties," which include the writer's name and some other things. Here's the crux of the removal process, quoting from Microsoft's web site:

You can remove your name from these properties (Click the Microsoft Office Button, point to Finish, and then click Inspect Document).

The Inspect Document feature can also be used to remove other types of data that may not be available in all views, such as comments and revisions. We recommend that you run Inspect Document on any document that you plan to make publicly available. For more information about this feature, search Help for information about the Inspect Document feature.

In Word 2003

1. When you save the file for the first time, the Save-As dialog box comes up.

2. Go to the Tools menu and choose Security Options. The following dialog box will appear:

3. Check the box labeled "Remove personal information from this file on save" then click "OK".

In other versions of Word

Most Word versions let you do this:

• Click "FILE / PROPERTIES"
• Click on the "SUMMARY" tab.
• Delete the "AUTHOR" field
• Click OKAY
• Save the file

At this time, law school IT does not know for sure if doing that will remove all possible identifying information from the document, but it will at least remove the author's name.