What Edit PDF Metadata does
Every PDF carries a small block of document information — title, author, subject and keywords — that viewers show in the tab or window title, that search tools index, and that file managers display in properties. It is often wrong: “Microsoft Word — Document1” as the title, a former employee's name as the author, or nothing at all. This tool lets you set those four fields and saves a new copy of the file. The pages are untouched, and the file never leaves your browser.
The fields
| Field | Shown where | Good practice |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Browser tab, viewer window, search results, screen readers | The document's actual title, as a reader would expect — not the filename |
| Author | File properties, viewer info panel | A person or organisation; leave blank rather than wrong |
| Subject | File properties, some search indexes | One line describing the content |
| Keywords | Desktop search, document management systems | Comma-separated terms people would search for |
These live in the PDF's Info dictionary. Modern PDFs may also carry an XMP metadata stream with the same fields; this tool updates the Info dictionary, which is what most viewers read first.
Why the title matters more than it seems
- Browsers show the PDF title in the tab. A PDF opened from a link with no title shows the URL or the filename.
- Google uses the PDF title as the headline in search results for indexed PDFs, exactly like an HTML
<title>. - Accessibility — screen readers announce the title when the document opens; PDF/UA and WCAG require a meaningful one.
- Document management — SharePoint, Google Drive and Dropbox surface the title and author in listings and search.
Common uses
- Fixing exports that carry the source application's default title.
- Removing a personal name from the author field before publishing.
- Adding keywords so a report is findable in a shared drive.
- Setting a clean title on a merged document, since merging keeps only the first file's metadata.
- Restoring metadata to a file that was rebuilt by another tool (unlocking, splitting and reordering all drop it).
- Branding — setting the organisation as author on client-facing files.
What this tool does not change
- Creation and modification dates: the modification date is updated to now when the file is saved; the creation date is kept.
- Producer and Creator fields (the software that made the file) are set by the library that writes the PDF.
- Hidden data inside the pages — comments, tracked changes flattened into content, or text under images — is not metadata and is not touched. Sanitising a document for release needs a redaction tool.
- Embedded file attachments and XMP packets are left as they are.
Privacy note
Author fields regularly leak names, and sometimes usernames or email addresses picked up from the operating system account. Before sharing a document outside your organisation, check the properties and blank or replace the author. The EXIF reader on this site does the same job for photos; this tool does it for PDFs.