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> "Don't ever"? Well, Steve, sometimes an RFP *requires* a Word file, and
> you should always send exactly what the RFP requires.
>
> When you get a chance, you might want to learn how to securely and
> verifiably remove sensitive information from Word files. It can be done
> -- and it's a relevant skill for some Federal RFPs.
Well, if the RFP requires a Word file, you're stuck sending a Word file. But the original post described a situation where the file format was not specified, and given a choice, I wouldn't send a Word file. Scrubbing a Word file is one more procedure to be done, often when you have just minutes to make a deadline--a situation where mistakes are likely.
(The last two RFPs I did were all-nighters. At 3 AM, I formatted a list of 150 items using section breaks to make a three-column list, which seemed a good idea at the time, until the four-year-old footers from some other company appeared in the remainder of the document! It was most enjoyable expunging them...)
Now, we sent a PDF. But Word files are routinely distributed unscrubbed, and there are many cases on record where their hidden metadata, including previous edits and revisions, were exposed; for example:
The best article I've seen on how to scrub documents (both Word and PDF) also demonstrates the complexity of the task, and recommends third-party automation tools:
-- Steve
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