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| iScrub Metadata Management Software | |
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Metadata commonly is defined as the underlying information contained in any document. It includes the names of people who have written and edited the document, the document’s location on a firm’s server, any comments made on it, the editing history of the document and much more. This information is stored ostensibly to make the document function better. However, when a document is sent outside a firm, the availability of this information can range from embarrassing to critical. For example, metadata might reveal a paralegal did all the work a partner billed the client for, or competitive advantage could be lost if editing “comments” are inadvertently passed along, as in, “Jim, do you think we can get away with this language?” As awareness of metadata has grown, an entire utilities industry has sprung up to provide ways of getting rid of it in documents attorneys send to clients or opposing counsel. Traditionally metadata utilities do a pretty thorough job of removing such potentially troublesome information from Microsoft Word. But they don’t always do such an effective job with other Microsoft products. Outlook, for example, remains of particular concern. Even when you remove metadata from a Word document, Outlook puts at least some of it back in when you attach the document to an e-mail. iScrub Metadata Management Software by Esquire Innovations offers many advantages compared to some of the first metadata removal utilities. First, it works not only with Word, but also with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, as well as Novell GroupWise and IBM Lotus Notes. It’s designed to be centrally configurable through an eXtensible Markup Language file and can be set up to enforce scanning and impose standards on any outgoing e-mail or e-mail attachment — a tremendous plus when e-mail rapidly is becoming the standard means of document exchange. iScrub also offers three levels of cleansing: Active, a level determined by whatever the firm feels is desirable, Cooperator and Adversary. This makes a lot of sense because the information you wish to keep or eliminate from a document will depend on whether that document is going to co-counsel, opposing counsel or the client. All of these options can be defined and administered centrally. At its most restrictive, iScrub also offers a “metasealant” option, which eliminates all metadata and also strips out any macros and field codes (such as those governing automatic dates or paragraph numbering). In essence, this reduces the document to pure text. This also “seals” the document so it can’t be edited, and offers the equivalent of converting the document to a Portable Document Format file. The resulting document maintains its format and can be viewed and printed. Finally, iScrub offers a “Spincycle” which allows a firm to remove metadata from a batch of documents. This can be useful if the firm is receiving a number of documents through discovery that might contain viruses. It also would be helpful if someone is leaving the firm and wishes to take documents along with them. However, iScrub is much more than a metadata tool. The “SetGlobal” option enables a firm to impose Word (as well as Excel or Outlook) settings on users. By creating standardized settings, a firm can avoid many issues created inadvertently when users adopt the settings Microsoft advertises as beneficial. Sometimes these options have negative side effects when released in the real world. The use of “smart tags,” for example, has received a lot of attention in this respect. IScrub serves as a kind of “policy editor” that works better than the options Microsoft offers natively. The global settings for iScrub are contained in a master XML file. When you get the product, it will be configured according to commonly used settings. Unfortunately, you have to edit these settings manually if you want to change them. On the other hand, changing a setting of “0,” which is off, to “1,” or on, hardly is rocket science. The network copy of the settings file copies itself to the local workstation every time Word is loaded, ensuring the settings are maintained. For more than just a few users, iScrub pricing isn’t unreasonable, starting at $69 per user for a minimum of 10 users. If you are looking for a program to do a thorough cleansing of your metadata, and one that offers a number of options as well, iScrub is well worth the investment in time and effort. |
Esquire Innovations Inc. Price: Starts at $69 plus support and management fees per user, for a minimum of 10 users. Windows 98/ME/NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003 Reviewed by John Heckman, principal of Heckman Consulting located in Old Saybrook, Conn. The firm specializes in software integration and technology issues for small- to medium-sized law firms. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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