Create SIT that will scan metadata (the /docProps/core.xml)

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Create SIT that will scan metadata (the /docProps/core.xml)

Bryan Schwering 20

I have data stored within a custom metadata field called Tags that I'd like Purview to scan. This data is accessible in the /docProps/core.xml file. However, I am unable to create a Purview SIT that will scan the data stored in the /docProps/core.xml file of the office document. Is there some way to do this?

Thanks,

Bryan

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Answer 1

Pratyush Vashistha 4,575 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Bryan Schwering

Thank you for your question on Microsoft Q&A!

What I have understood from your question is that you're trying to create a Microsoft Purview sensitivity information type (SIT) that can scan custom metadata tags stored in the /docProps/core.xml file inside Office documents, but you're unable to get Purview to recognize or scan that content. Let me know if my understanding is correct.

Currently, Microsoft Purview’s built-in classifiers and SITs are designed to scan the main document content (e.g., body text in Word, cells in Excel) and some standard document properties—but they do not parse or extract data from internal package files like /docProps/core.xml, which contains core metadata such as title, subject, or custom tags added via Office applications.

To help clarify your scenario further:

Are these custom tags added via the Office UI (e.g., under File > Info > Properties > Advanced Properties > Custom tab), or are they embedded programmatically into the document package?
Have you confirmed that the tags appear in the document’s visible metadata when viewed in Windows File Explorer or through PowerShell/Office APIs?
Are you using Microsoft Purview Information Protection (for labeling/classification) or Microsoft Purview Data Map (for scanning data sources like SharePoint/OneDrive)?

As of now, Purview does not support custom parsing of internal Office Open XML structure (like core.xml) during automated scans or classification. If your tags are stored as standard Office document properties (e.g., “Keywords” or “Category”), those may be detectable—but custom XML-level fields typically are not.

For official context on what metadata Purview can classify, refer to: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/sensitivity-labels-office-apps?view=o365-worldwide and https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/sensitivity-labels

Let me know the answers to the questions above so I can better assess whether a workaround or alternative approach might be possible.

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Please "Accept as Answer" if the answer provided is useful, so that you can help others in the community looking for remediation for similar issues.

Thanks

Pratyush

Bryan Schwering 20 Reputation points

2025-10-08T11:28:04.3333333+00:00
Are these custom tags added via the Office UI (e.g., under File > Info > Properties > Advanced Properties > Custom tab), or are they embedded programmatically into the document package?

They are added to a newly created meta data field called "TAG" which is viewable when you right click and look at the document properties.

Have you confirmed that the tags appear in the document’s visible metadata when viewed in Windows File Explorer or through PowerShell/Office APIs?

I don't think this field can be selected as visible in windows file explorer. I do have a seperate Powershell script that can retrieve the information.

Are you using Microsoft Purview Information Protection (for labeling/classification) or Microsoft Purview Data Map (for scanning data sources like SharePoint/OneDrive)?

Yes, we are starting to use Microsoft Purview Information Protection. We have created numerous custom SITs to parse the documents internal information, just need to be able to read the information in the custom TAG field so that we can understand what a user has previously classified legacy documents as via a manual classification tool. We are currenlty scanning data located in an a large on-premise server.
Pratyush Vashistha 4,575 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-08T13:30:35.5266667+00:00
Thank you for the additional details,this helps clarify your scenario significantly.

Based on your responses, the custom "TAG" metadata field is stored within the document’s internal package (specifically in /docProps/custom.xml, not core.xml, as custom properties are typically stored there), and while it’s visible in the document’s Properties UI (File > Info > Properties > Advanced Properties > Custom tab), it does not surface in Windows File Explorer and requires a PowerShell script or programmatic access to read.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Purview Information Protection (part of Microsoft Purview)—including custom sensitivity information types (SITs)—does not currently scan or extract values from custom document properties stored in /docProps/custom.xml during classification or labeling operations. Purview’s built-in and custom classifiers analyze the main document content (text, headers, footers, comments, etc.) and a limited set of standard metadata (like author, title, or keywords if mapped), but they do not parse the internal Open XML structure of Office documents to read custom property fields.

This limitation applies whether your files are on-premises (scanned via the Purview Unified Labeling client or scanner) or in cloud repositories.

Workaround options:

Since you already have a PowerShell script that can extract the "TAG" value, consider using it as part of a pre-migration or pre-classification pipeline. You could:

Read the TAG value from each document.

Inject that value into the document body (e.g., as a hidden comment or footer) or into a standard, Purview-readable field like “Keywords” or “Subject” (which are stored in /docProps/core.xml and may be more reliably detected).

Then run Purview scanning—your custom SIT can be designed to match patterns in that injected content.

If your goal is to apply sensitivity labels based on legacy classifications, you might build a separate automation (outside Purview) that:

Uses your PowerShell script (or Microsoft Graph API for cloud files) to read the TAG.

Applies the appropriate sensitivity label programmatically via PowerShell (using the Microsoft Information Protection SDK or Set-Label cmdlet).

While not an immediate solution, you can suggest native support for custom document properties in Purview classification via the Microsoft 365 Feedback Portal .

For official documentation on what content Purview can classify, see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/what-the-sensitive-information-types-look-for and https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/sensitivity-labels-office-apps

Please "Accept as Answer" if the information provided is useful, so that you can help others in the community looking for remediation for similar issues.

Thanks
Pratyush Vashistha 4,575 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-10T03:04:50.11+00:00

Hello Bryan Schwering,

Just checking in to see if the above answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thanks

Pratyush
Bryan Schwering 20 Reputation points

2025-10-10T18:10:48.4533333+00:00

Hey, thanks for the alternative suggestions.

Note: The detail I'm interested in is in the docProps\core.xml file, specifically the keywords field "<cp:keywords>|1:Non-Conf|5:NonExpCont|6:NonGov|2:redacted|</cp:keywords>" per the example below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>

<cp:coreProperties xmlns:cp=http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/metadata/core-properties xmlns:dc=http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ xmlns:dcterms=http://purl.org/dc/terms/ xmlns:dcmitype=http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/ xmlns:xsi=http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance><dc:title></dc:title><dc:subject></dc:subject><dc:creator>Schwering, Bryan</dc:creator><cp:keywords>|1:Non-Conf|5:NonExpCont|6:NonGov|2:redacted|</cp:keywords><dc:description></dc:description><cp:lastModifiedBy>Schwering, Bryan</cp:lastModifiedBy><cp:revision>2</cp:revision><dcterms:created xsi:type="dcterms:W3CDTF">2025-09-26T18:04:00Z</dcterms:created><dcterms:modified xsi:type="dcterms:W3CDTF">2025-09-26T18:04:00Z</dcterms:modified></cp:coreProperties>

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Create SIT that will scan metadata (the /docProps/core.xml)

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