PDF Metadata Before Publishing: What to Set and Clear

A PDF's properties are easy to ignore until the viewer tab reads an authoring tool's default title or the author field names someone who left the team. They are also the fields a search engine and a document manager index.

Why this comes up

Files are usually exported from an authoring tool that fills the properties automatically, and those defaults travel with the file. Publishing, archiving or sending a document outside the organisation is where the defaults stop being harmless.

Check before you run it

• Set the title as a reader should see it, not as the file is named. The title field appears in the viewer tab, in search results and in many document lists. A filename like report_final_v4.pdf is not a title.
• Decide whether creation and producer details should travel. The creator and producer fields record the software that made the file, and the dates record when. Empty a box to clear that property, or choose Remove all metadata to strip the whole set including custom fields.
• Use custom fields for the reference the organisation uses. One Name = value pair per line adds a field such as Department = Accounts or Document ID = 4711. The same names across a set make the files sortable in a document system.

When to reach for it

• A report is going onto a public website. A clear title, a subject and a short keyword list are what a search result or a preview card will show.
• A file leaves the organisation with internal details attached. Clear the author, creator and custom fields, or remove all metadata, when the properties reveal more than the document does.

One question we get

Which fields can I change?

Title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer and the created/modified dates — plus custom fields of your own. Viewers, search engines and document managers all show this information.

Where it fits

The tools people usually open next to Edit Metadata:

• Create Bookmarks — Add, modify and remove bookmarks from PDF document outline
• Extract Images — Save each image from the PDF as a separate file
• Grayscale — Make a PDF text and images grayscale

Every tool works on a copy, so the original file is never touched. Uploads are stored under an unguessable id and deleted automatically two hours after you last open them; nothing is listed, shared or indexed. More on the security page.