See a PDF's hidden properties — author, app, dates and more

How to use the PDF metadata viewer

1. Drop a PDF onto the box or press Choose a file.
2. Press Read metadata.
3. Read the Document properties table. Empty properties show a dash.
4. Download the table as pdf-metadata.csv if you want to keep it.

What it does and when to use it

Every PDF can carry a small set of document properties that most readers hide in a menu. Checking them is useful before you share a file: a report may still list a former colleague as author, or a title like “Draft v3 — do not send”. Editors and teachers sometimes look at the Creator and dates to see where a file came from. Archivists check the PDF version and encryption before storing files.

The table also answers practical questions that are not strictly metadata: how many pages there are, how big the first page is, whether the file is encrypted, and how many fillable form fields it has. A non-zero form-field count means you can type into it with the PDF form filler.

How it works

pdf-lib opens the file on your device and reads the document information dictionary (Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer and the two dates). The PDF version is taken from the %PDF-1.x header at the start of the file. Encryption is detected by looking for an encryption dictionary. Restriction-only files open normally, while files that need a password to open give a message instead. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is changed; the tool only reads.

Worked examples

A Word export. A 12-page report saved from Word through a print-to-PDF driver shows Title Quarterly report, Author Finance team, Creator (app) Microsoft Word, Producer Microsoft: Print To PDF, PDF version 1.7, Pages 12, First page size A4 portrait (595.28 × 841.89 pt), Encrypted No, Form fields 0 and XMP metadata stream None.

A phone scan. A scanned receipt often has no title, the scanning app as Creator, and a page size that is not a standard paper size, such as 80 × 210 mm.

Limits and tips

• Only document-level properties are read. Data inside embedded photos (camera EXIF) and comments are not listed.
• The version shown is the header version. A file can declare a newer version internally; this tool does not read that.
• The page size is for page 1 only. Use the PDF page counter to check several files at once.
• To view the pages themselves, open the file in the PDF viewer.