Edit a PDF's title, author, subject and keywords

How to use the PDF metadata editor

1. Drop a PDF onto the box or press Choose a file. If you want to see the current values first, open it in the PDF metadata viewer.
2. Fill in the fields you want to change: Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator (app) and Producer.
3. Leave Leave fields I leave empty unchanged ticked to keep the other properties as they are.
4. Press Save properties. The summary lists what was updated. Download the copy, which keeps your file’s name.

What it does and when to use it

Document properties travel with a PDF wherever it goes. Fixing them is a small step that makes a file look finished:

• A proper title. Exports from office apps often carry the original file name or a template’s title. Set the real report name before you publish or email it.
• The right author. Replace a personal account name with a team or company name on documents you publish.
• Keywords and subject. Help document management systems and desktop search find the file.
• Hiding the tool chain. Change Creator and Producer if you do not want to show which apps made the file.

If you want to remove personal details rather than change them, the PDF metadata remover clears every property and the XMP stream in one step.

How it works

pdf-lib (the @cantoo/pdf-lib package) opens the file in your browser and writes your values into the document information dictionary, the standard place where PDF properties live. The modification date is set to the moment you press Save; the creation date is kept. The pages are not touched, so text, images, links and form fields are exactly as before. The file is never uploaded.

With the empty-field option ticked, a blank field means “do not touch”. With it unticked, a blank field means “set to nothing”, so all six properties are written.

Worked examples

Retitling a report. A 12-page report.pdf whose Title is Quarterly report. Enter Title Annual report 2026 and Author Finance team, leave the rest empty, and press Save properties. The summary reads Updated: title, author. Subject, keywords, creator and producer stay as they were.

Nothing filled in. Pressing Save properties with every field empty and the option ticked gives Nothing changed — fill in a field first.

Wiping the author only. You cannot blank a single field while keeping the rest with the option ticked, because empty means “unchanged”. Untick it and retype the values you want to keep, leaving Author empty.

Limits and tips

• The XMP metadata stream, if the file has one, is not edited.
• Password-protected files must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF.
• Page content such as headers or footers with the old name is not changed. Use Add Text to PDF for visible changes.