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Checklist: what to check before sending a Word document to a client

Updated 9 October 2026

Not sure what's hiding in your document? Check it free. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer.

Most document leaks aren't hacks. They're a Word file sent with something still inside it. Run through this list before anything important leaves your organisation.

The checklist

  1. Tracked changes accepted or rejected, and tracking switched off. Hiding them isn't enough. How to remove tracked changes
  2. All comments deleted. How to delete all comments
  3. Author, company and "last modified by" cleared, especially if the document came from a template or another firm. How to remove your name
  4. No hidden, white or tiny text. How to find hidden text
  5. Headers and footers checked for old client names, reference numbers or "DRAFT" markings.
  6. Find and Replace for the last client's name if the document started life as someone else's.
  7. Embedded files and linked content removed: a pasted spreadsheet can carry the whole workbook, not just the cells you can see.
  8. Document Inspector run (Windows: File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document). How to remove metadata
  9. The right file attached. Open the attachment from your sent email, not from your desktop.

When to send a PDF instead

If the recipient only needs to read the document, a PDF is usually safer, though PDFs carry their own metadata too. When they need to edit it, they need a Word file, and that's when a clean Word copy matters most.

Or skip the checklist

Clean Retype reads your document the way a person would and types the visible words into a brand-new Word file. Metadata, comments, tracked changes, hidden text and invisible characters can't come along, because the original file is never copied.

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Headings, bold, italic, lists, tables and pictures come through. Exact fonts don't.

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