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PDF Properties

View and edit PDF metadata, view settings, and document information

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PDF Properties edits the two places a PDF stores information about itself rather than its page content: the Document Information dictionary (Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, dates) and the Catalog's viewer-preference entries (page layout, initial zoom and page, whether the toolbar or menu bar is hidden, full-screen mode). Everything is read from and rewritten into the existing file structure locally in the browser; no page content is touched. The most common surprise: a PDF can carry a second, separate metadata store called XMP, and editing the Info dictionary fields here does not always update it, so some other viewer or search index may keep showing the old values.

Worked example

Input
Title: Quarterly Report Draft | Author: J. Rivera | Keywords: finance, q3, draft | Initial view: layout = Single Page, magnification = Fit Width, open to page = 1
Output
/Info dictionary set to /Title (Quarterly Report Draft) /Author (J. Rivera) /Keywords (finance, q3, draft), with /ModDate updated to the save time; Catalog set to /PageLayout /SinglePage and /OpenAction pointing to page 1 with a /FitH (fit width) destination.
Why
Each metadata field maps one-to-one onto an Info dictionary key of the same name, and each view option maps onto the standard Catalog entries the PDF spec defines for page layout and initial destinations.

How it works

Info dictionary fields
Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator and Producer map directly onto keys of the same name in the PDF's /Info dictionary, referenced from the file trailer. Creation and modification dates are stored as PDF date strings (D:YYYYMMDDHHmmSS+HH'mm'); the tool parses these into editable date fields and re-encodes them on save, updating /ModDate automatically to the time of the edit.
Initial view settings
Page layout (single page, continuous, two-up), which panel opens on launch (bookmarks, thumbnails, none) and window behavior (full screen, hide toolbar or menu bar) are written to the Catalog's /PageLayout, /PageMode and /ViewerPreferences entries. Initial page and zoom (fit page, fit width, or a percentage) are stored as a destination in /OpenAction, all as stored preferences rather than enforced behavior.

When to use it

  • Stripping identifying details (author name, company, authoring app) from the Info dictionary before sending a PDF outside the organization
  • Setting a distributed report to always open at Fit Width on page 1, or with the toolbar hidden, for a consistent kiosk-style handout
  • Adding a proper Title and Keywords so the file shows a readable name in browser tabs and file managers instead of the raw filename

Worth knowing

  • Editing the Info dictionary does not necessarily touch a separate XMP metadata stream if the file has one, so a viewer or search tool reading XMP can still show the old title, author or keywords after this edit
  • Viewer-preference settings (hide toolbar, hide menu bar, full-screen mode) are advisory. Adobe Acrobat and Reader honor most of them, but many browser built-in PDF viewers and third-party readers ignore them and show their own default chrome regardless
  • If the PDF carries a digital signature, changing metadata or view options after signing can invalidate that signature even though no page content changed, since the signature typically covers the whole byte range up to its own insertion point

Frequently asked

Does clearing the metadata fields remove all identifying information from the file?
No. Clearing the Info dictionary fields here does not guarantee removal of a separate XMP metadata packet, embedded font internal names, attached files, or hidden layers, all of which can carry their own identifying data. Check for an XMP stream separately if full anonymization matters.
Will my chosen initial view (fit width, hide toolbar, open to page 3) look the same for everyone who opens the file?
No. It is a preference stored in the file's Catalog, not enforced behavior. Adobe Acrobat and Reader honor most of these settings, but many browser-embedded PDF viewers and other reader apps ignore hide-toolbar or full-screen preferences and fall back to their own default display.

References

All PDFb2 tools