Softonic

PDF Metadata Editor

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Every PDF carries metadata: the title shown in search results and the tab bar, the author name, the subject, keywords, and traces of the creating application (Word, InDesign, Chrome print). Before sharing a document externally, it’s good practice to clean these up: set a proper title, correct the author, add searchable keywords, and overwrite any accidental internal codename or leftover name in the creator field.

How to edit PDF metadata

  1. 1

    Upload the PDF

    Password-protected PDFs need to be unlocked first.

  2. 2

    Current metadata appears

    The current title, author, subject, keywords and creator are read from the file.

  3. 3

    Edit any field

    Overwrite or clear any of the five fields. Leaving a field empty removes that entry.

  4. 4

    Save

    The edited PDF is generated with the new metadata; the content pages are untouched.

Standard PDF metadata fields

Field Where it shows Editable here
Title Tab bar, search engines, readers’ library lists Yes
Author File properties, shared-drive author column Yes
Subject Description in some viewers and digital libraries Yes
Keywords Indexed by search, used for PDF-specific discovery Yes
Creator The app that originally produced the PDF Yes
Producer The app that wrote the current PDF file Set automatically
Creation date When the PDF was first created No
Modification date When the PDF was last saved No

This tool edits the five standard document-info fields (title, author, subject, keywords, creator). The Producer field is stamped automatically when the file is saved, and the creation and modification dates are left as they are.

Why clean metadata matters

  • Professional appearance. “Untitled.pdf” or “Document2.pdf” as the title in a recipient’s viewer looks unfinished.
  • SEO and discoverability. Search engines (Google, Bing) use the PDF title and keywords for ranking.
  • Privacy. PDF metadata can accidentally leak internal codenames (“Project Blueshift”) or staff names left in the author and creator fields.
  • Archiving. Good metadata makes future retrieval easier in document management systems.
  • Compliance. Some industries (pharma, finance) require specific metadata standards on shared documents.

Common metadata sins this tool fixes

  • Microsoft Word leftovers. Word’s default author is whoever installed the software; “John Smith” might come from a decades-old install still in use.
  • Wrong creator name. A stale name in the creator field can be overwritten in one edit.
  • Copy-paste titles. PDFs exported from web pages often inherit the webpage’s title, including a “ | Site Name“ suffix.
  • Internal version codes. “v14_final_FINAL_usethis.pdf” as a filename is one thing; having “v14_final_FINAL” as the title is another.

XMP and extended metadata

Modern PDFs also carry XMP (eXtensible Metadata Platform) alongside the basic document-info dictionary. XMP can hold:

  • Copyright and usage rights
  • Producer software and version history
  • Originating template and workflow
  • Custom fields set by publishing workflows

This editor writes the standard document-info fields (title, author, subject, keywords, creator); it does not strip the full XMP packet. If you need to scrub every trace of XMP, use a dedicated PDF sanitiser or Acrobat’s “Remove Hidden Information”.

What doesn’t count as metadata

  • Page content. Editing metadata doesn’t change any page text.
  • Form field data. Fields are part of page content, not metadata.
  • Bookmarks and outlines. Stored separately in the PDF structure.
  • Embedded files and attachments. Handled separately; metadata editing doesn’t touch them.

Tips

  • Always set a proper title. Nothing looks more amateur in a browser tab than “Microsoft Word - finalreport.docx”.
  • Keep keywords targeted. 3 to 7 terms, each relevant. Keyword stuffing doesn’t help PDF search any more than it helps web SEO.
  • Scrub before sharing. Any PDF destined for a customer, regulator or public upload deserves a metadata review.
  • Don’t rely on metadata for authorship proof. PDF metadata is trivially editable; cryptographic signatures are the real chain-of-custody tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft Office records the Windows user who installed the software as the default author. On shared computers, the original installer’s name persists for every document created on that machine until it is changed manually. Always check and update the author before sharing externally.

No. Metadata lives in a separate info dictionary. Editing it leaves every page of content untouched: text, images, fonts and layout all remain exactly as before.

Five standard document-info fields: title, author, subject, keywords and creator. The tool also stamps the Producer field automatically. The creation and modification dates are not editable here; for those you need a dedicated metadata utility or Acrobat.

Yes. Google indexes the PDF title and, to some extent, the subject and keywords. A clear, descriptive title significantly improves click-through on PDF search results. Subject and keywords help but matter less than the title and on-page text.

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