Guide · 2 min read
How to Edit PDF Metadata
Update the title, author, subject, and keywords stored inside a PDF file.
Maintained by Leslie · Updated
Examples describe expected workflows unless a dated test is explicitly identified. Check the downloaded result against your own document before sharing it.
What PDF metadata is
PDF metadata can contain document information such as title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer. These fields may be absent or empty and are separate from visible page content.
Accurate metadata can help you identify files in document libraries. It should describe the document rather than make unsupported claims about its author or contents.
How to edit metadata
Upload your PDF and fill in the metadata fields you want to update. Leave fields blank to keep existing values, or enable Clear six information fields to clear title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer. This does not remove all possible metadata, such as dates or XMP.
Click PDF Metadata Editor and download the updated PDF. Check the saved document properties and visible pages before replacing your working copy.
When to edit metadata
Set a proper title and author before sharing client deliverables. Review author and producer fields before sending files outside your organization; clearing them alone is not complete removal of identifying information.
Add relevant keywords to help document management systems categorize your PDFs correctly.
Choose updating or clearing before entering values
For a public report, you might set Title to Annual Maintenance Summary and Author to your organization. Keywords are split at commas. Blank fields keep existing values; a blank author field does not erase an old author.
Clear six information fields overrides the entered field values and clears title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer. To clear those fields and then set a new title, download the cleared copy and run a second pass with clearing disabled and the new title entered.
Verify properties without mistaking them for sanitization
Open Document Properties in a reader and inspect the saved title and author, then confirm page count and visible content. A new title field does not rename the file or replace a heading printed on the first page.
The clear option is not a privacy scrubber: dates, XMP, attachments, annotations, and text visible on pages may remain. Inspect those separately if disclosure matters. Keywords are descriptive labels, not a promise that a search engine will index or rank the PDF.