Modify names of authors and reviewers in Microsoft Word 365 (2019)

The Problem

How can I change names of authors, commentators, and correctors in order to preserve anonymity for peer review?

Version: MicroSoft Office 365 ProPlus, Word version 1912

30 September 2020

Solution

Instructions	Example
1. Save a copy of the original.	Original filename: unmodified.docx Name of copy: unmodified 01.docx
2. Rename the copy from *.docx to *.zip	unmodified 01.zip
3. Extract the contents of the zip file to a folder	This will create the folder unmodified 01/
4. Using a text editor, search and replace relevant names in comments.xml and document.xml.	These two files are in a folder within unmodified 01/ See the tree view in the Explanation section below.
5. Search and replace old initials with new initials.
6. Save the modified files.
7. Create new zip file from the contents of the folder with the modified files.	modified.zip
8. Rename the *.zip file to *.docx.	modified.docx

Search and Replace

It is important to specify the search-and-replace terms in such a way that only the identifications of comments and corrections are changed, not terms in the body of the document.

The next three subsections show what worked for my document in this version of Word.

You need to decide for yourself what will work for your document by looking at the .xml files carefully.

I use Dreamweaver and UltraEdit to edit .xml files.

For my purposes, changing the comments, document, and footnote components was sufficient to anonymize the document.

comments.xml

Search: w:author="Rick Rolled"

Replace: w:author="First Reader"

Search: w:initials="RR"

Replace: w:initials="FR"

document.xml

Search: w:author="Rick Rolled"

Replace: w:author="First Reader"

footnotes.xml

Search: w:author="Rick Rolled"

Replace: w:author="First Reader"

Explanation

How to Explore the Contents of a .docx File in Windows 7

"Here's a little known secret: .docx files created by Microsoft Office or Open Office aren't just one file. They are container files that contain XML files and other files that makeup the Word document that you've created and saved. You can explore and extract the contents of a .docx file just like you would with a .zip archive. This is handy for a variety of tasks, including recovering data from a corrupted .docx file to extracting images and other media from a .docx. In this tutorial, I'll show you an incredibly easy way to explore the contents of a .docx file."

Example

C:\tmp\demo>Tree /F /A

|   unmodified 01.zip
|   unmodified.docx
|
\ — -unmodified 01
    |   [Content_Types].xml
    |
    + — -docProps
    |       app.xml
    |       core.xml
    |
    + — -word
    |   |   comments.xml
    |   |   commentsExtended.xml
    |   |   commentsIds.xml
    |   |   document.xml
    |   |   endnotes.xml
    |   |   fontTable.xml
    |   |   footer1.xml
    |   |   footer2.xml
    |   |   footnotes.xml
    |   |   numbering.xml
    |   |   settings.xml
    |   |   styles.xml
    |   |   webSettings.xml
    |   |
    |   + — -media
    |   |       image1.png
    |   |       image2.png
    |   |       image3.png
    |   |
    |   + — -theme
    |   |       theme1.xml
    |   |
    |   \ — -_rels
    |           document.xml.rels
    |
    \ — -_rels
            .rels