OpenDocument is the format LibreOffice and OpenOffice use for text (.odt), spreadsheets (.ods) and presentations (.odp). Its meta.xml keeps a split that the modern Microsoft formats do not: the original author and the last editor as two separate fields, plus how many times the file was reopened and the total time it was worked on. Its tracked-change record also keeps the text that was deleted, so earlier wording is recoverable from a file that looks final.
Scan a OpenDocument (ODT, ODS, ODP) fileThe meta.xml goldmine gives a first-author-versus-last-editor split. The Initial Creator is recorded when the document is first made and persists even after other people edit it, while the last editor (dc:creator) is whoever saved it most recently. Alongside them sit the Generator string that names the application, version and sometimes the operating system, the number of Editing Cycles the file has been through, the total Editing Duration, and print information including who last printed it.
The most revealing content is in the document body, not the properties. A tracked change records who made it and when, and crucially the deletion legally contains the removed text, so earlier drafts and struck wording can still be read out of the file. Comment authors are named the same way. A scan lists the tracked-change authors, the comment authors, the count of each and the span of dates over which the work actually happened - which a single modification date hides.
OpenDocument files also point outward. A linked file referenced by its full path names a drive, user folder or network share on the machine that made the document, and it stays in the file even though the linked content does not. An external reference loaded from a web address on open acts as a tracker that tells whoever controls it when and where the document was viewed. Whole documents embedded inside travel along carrying their own author and history.
Even a locked file gives things up. A password-protected ODF still lists its own structure in a readable manifest and states the encryption algorithm, the key-derivation function and the iteration count - and a low iteration count makes the password easier to attack offline. Custom user-defined properties added by templates or enterprise workflows carry matter numbers, client codes and reviewer names in a file that otherwise looks clean, and a thumbnail preview can preserve content that was later deleted.
This is a selection. The full field manual documents the fields read from each format.
An OpenDocument file stores the initial creator and the last editor separately, the generator application and version, created/modified/printed dates and who printed it, the number of editing cycles and the total editing time, plus any custom properties, a template path, and comment and tracked-change history from the document body.
Yes. Change tracking records who made each edit and when, and a deletion keeps the removed text inside the file so it can be read back. A scan reports the tracked-change authors, the number and kinds of changes and the span of dates - and the earlier wording remains recoverable until the change history is cleared, not just visually accepted.
The Initial Creator is the name recorded when the document was first created and it does not change when other people edit the file. The Last Editor (dc:creator) is whoever saved it most recently. When they differ, the file passed through at least two hands and both names travel with it - a distinction the modern Microsoft formats do not keep this cleanly.
The content cannot be read without the password, but the file still lists its own internal structure and states the encryption settings it used - the algorithm, the key-derivation function and the iteration count. A low iteration count makes the password materially easier to crack offline, so what is knowable without the password is more than people expect.
In LibreOffice, turn on Tools > Options > Load/Save > General > 'Remove personal information on saving', reset the fields under File > Properties, and explicitly accept or reject tracked changes and delete comments (accepting alone does not always purge the history). File X-Ray shows what is currently in the file so you can confirm it is gone; it inspects these files rather than producing a stripped copy.
File X-Ray reads OpenDocument (ODT, ODS, ODP) files entirely in your browser - the file never leaves your device. For this format you can also download a clean copy with the metadata removed. Scan a file now.