Release note · August 1, 2026

A Word file can remember a value you cannot see

A Word document can look clean, contain no comment or visible field result, and still retain arbitrary name/value state in its Settings part. That state is useful for templates and automation, but a handoff reviewer has a reasonable question: did the file keep a hidden value that should not cross this boundary?

Word’s Variable object documentation is unusually direct: document variables are stored with a document or template to preserve macro settings between sessions, and they are invisible unless an appropriate DOCVARIABLE field is inserted. The Open XML SDK’s w:docVar contract describes the package representation as persisted arbitrary customer data in name/value pairs.

DocFence 0.15 makes that stored state review-visible without copying a variable name or value into CI output.

The hidden store is in Settings

A direct w:docVars container in a Word Settings part can hold one or more w:docVar leaves. Each leaf has a stored w:name and w:val. The visible document body need not reveal either string. A matching DOCVARIABLE field can later display a value, and a macro can read or update it, but those are separate client behaviors—not proof that a stored value is harmless or unused.

This is distinct from custom document properties and custom XML. The ISO/IEC 29500 material surfaced by the SDK calls document variables a legacy-compatible mechanism, yet legacy-compatible state still matters in a governed template or document handoff. A clean review needs to see that the store exists without turning the report into a copy of it.

Counts in reports; names and values stay private

DocFence discovers Settings through the conventional word/settings.xml path and through Transitional or Strict relationships from main and glossary documents. It recognizes direct w:docVars containers and direct w:docVar leaves, validates their Word-namespace shape, required attributes, SDK length limits, and the one-container-per-Settings-part cardinality.

Profile JSON, Markdown, and SARIF expose only aggregate container, variable, and empty-value counts. They do not emit a variable name, value, Settings-part path, or fingerprint. The entire recognized container remains inside a private digest, so a same-count rewrite of a name or value still becomes a review-relevant inventory change without disclosing either string.

The OOXML schema permits an empty stored value, although ordinary Word automation does not set one. DocFence counts it rather than guessing at author intent or silently discarding it.

Choose a clean handoff or freeze an approved baseline

For a handoff that must carry no stored document-variable state:

rules:
  require_no_word_document_variables: true

This produces DFP043 whenever a recognized w:docVars container is present, including an empty container. For a template that intentionally retains known variables:

rules:
  no_word_document_variable_changes: true

DFP044 compares the private inventory against the approved baseline. It detects a changed name or value even when the safe public counts are unchanged.

What this deliberately does not do

DocFence does not evaluate DOCVARIABLE fields, run macros, resolve a variable name, determine whether a Word client will display a value, or decide what a value means. It does not claim that a stored variable will be used, that a template is attached, or that a document is safe. The inventory is bounded evidence about persisted package state for CI and handoff workflows.

Release evidence

The 0.15 suite has 39 tests. It covers aggregate categories, same-count name/value changes, JSON/Markdown/SARIF redaction, policy findings, conventional/Strict/glossary-linked Settings discovery, empty values, UTF-16 boundary handling, and malformed containers, leaves, attributes, lengths, text, and relationships. Hosted CI passed on Python 3.11 and 3.13.

The wheel and source archive were independently rebuilt from the release commit and matched byte-for-byte. A fresh virtual environment installed the wheel from site-packages, profiled a standard-shaped document-variable package without exposing sentinel values, and preserved the zero-state result on a public Open XML SDK Word fixture. Fresh release downloads then passed the published SHA-256 manifest and package checks.

python -m pip install https://github.com/SybilGambleyyu/docfence/releases/download/v0.15.0/docfence-0.15.0-py3-none-any.whl

docfence profile candidate.docx --format markdown
docfence check approved.docx candidate.docx --policy docfence.yml --format sarif --output docfence.sarif

The public release includes the wheel, source archive, and SHA-256 manifest. The exact scope and limits are in the policy reference and threat model. For the preceding editable-range boundary, read A Word editable range can carry an editor identity.