After you create a custom property and then rename it, SharePoint Portal Server continues to use the original name to match with properties inside Office documents or other document formats that support property names. When a document profile using the renamed property is applied, any matches are based upon the original property name instead of the new name.

For example, a property is created and named "example." That name is then changed to "newexample." Documents originally assigned the document profile containing the name "example" continue to use that name and ignore the new value of "newexample." Additionally, if you create a second property by using the original name "example," SharePoint Portal Server automatically calls this "exampleX" (where X is a numeric value). As a result, this new property also does not match with any custom property

To ensure that properties used in a document profile match with properties in the given document, avoid renaming any properties. The SharePoint Portal Server Software Development Kit (SDK) provides information about how to programmatically manipulate properties, in cases in which it is necessary to rename a property, without losing the association with document properties

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.