Instantly view, edit, and remove PDF document properties — title, author, subject, keywords, and more. Your file never leaves your device.
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Edit Metadata
The main title displayed in PDF viewers and search results.
Person or organisation who created the document.
A brief summary or subject of the document content.
Comma-separated keywords for searchability.
Software used to originally create the document.
Tool used to produce the PDF file.
Document Info (Read-only)
PDF Information
Completeness Score
Fill in all fields to reach 100%
Quick Actions
TL;DR — Edit PDF Metadata in 30 seconds
A complete metadata editor built for speed, privacy, and ease of use.
Edit title, author, subject, keywords, creator, and producer. Each field has validation, character limits, and live counters.
Everything runs in your browser. No uploads, no servers, no data collection. Your files and metadata stay completely private.
Metadata is read and written in milliseconds using pdf-lib. No waiting for server round-trips. Even 100 MB PDFs process in seconds.
A real-time completeness ring shows which fields are filled. Aim for 100% to maximise document discoverability.
Export metadata as JSON for records, or import metadata from another PDF to apply the same properties across multiple documents.
Strip all metadata from a PDF with one click. Ideal for privacy, sharing sensitive documents, or preparing files for publication.
PDFcrest's metadata editor processes everything locally inside your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. No file data, metadata, or personal information ever reaches our servers.
Whether you're publishing documents, managing records, or protecting your privacy, editing PDF properties is a practical skill for many roles.
Set accurate title, author, and subject fields before distributing eBooks, reports, or papers. Proper PDF document properties improve discoverability in online libraries and search results.
Strip sensitive creator or software metadata from legal documents before sharing with clients or courts. Ensure confidential authoring information isn't inadvertently disclosed in PDF properties.
Add keyword-rich PDF metadata to whitepapers, case studies, and brochures to improve search engine indexing. Google and Bing index PDF titles and subjects — well-tagged PDFs rank higher.
Standardise metadata across large document collections. Use consistent subject and keyword tagging so enterprise document management systems and digital archives can accurately categorise and retrieve files.
PDFs created in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Adobe Acrobat often embed your real name, company, and computer username in the metadata. Remove all metadata before sharing sensitive files publicly.
Use the JSON export feature to extract metadata from multiple PDFs programmatically, or bulk-apply consistent properties. The JSON import lets you reuse one metadata template across an entire document library.
Understanding the six standard PDF document properties helps you fill them correctly and maximise document discoverability.
The document's official name. Search engines index this field prominently — a descriptive title like "2024 Annual Marketing Report" improves PDF search ranking more than a generic "document1" filename. Limit: 200 characters.
The person or organisation responsible for the content. Used by citation managers (Zotero, Mendeley), academic databases, and document management systems. For privacy, clear this field before sharing externally.
A brief summary or category description of the document. Think of it as a subtitle or abstract — "Q3 Financial Results" or "Product Safety Guidelines". Enterprise DMS tools use this to auto-categorise incoming files.
A comma-separated list of search terms relevant to the document. Google and Bing use these when indexing PDFs. Use long-tail keyword phrases — for example "change pdf metadata online, edit pdf properties, pdf document properties editor". Limit: 500 characters.
The application that originally authored the document — e.g. "Microsoft Word 365", "Adobe InDesign", or "Google Docs". Editing this field is common when anonymising documents or correcting inaccurate software strings left by older authoring tools.
The PDF conversion software — e.g. "Adobe PDF Library 23.1", "Ghostscript 10.0", or "PDFKit". Often reveals which internal tools your organisation uses. Remove this for competitive or privacy reasons before publishing documents externally.
Practical guidance to get the most out of your PDF document properties.
Search engines like Google give weight to a PDF's Title field. Instead of "Report_v3_final", use "2024 Q3 Revenue Report — PDFcrest Finance". Include the primary keyword once in the title and once in the subject for best SEO results.
PDFs generated by Word and Google Docs often include your real name, employer, and revision history in the metadata. Before emailing contracts, medical records, or legal documents to external parties, use Remove All Metadata and verify the properties panel shows empty fields.
If you need to apply the same metadata to multiple PDFs — for example, tagging 20 documents with the same company, year, and keyword set — export the metadata as JSON from one finished document, then use Import from PDF to copy those exact properties onto each subsequent file.
The real-time completeness ring tracks how many of the six editable fields are filled. Documents with complete metadata are more likely to be correctly indexed, cited, and retrieved in document search systems. Aim for 100% for any document intended for public distribution or long-term archiving.
Password-protected PDFs cannot have their metadata edited until decrypted. Use the Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then edit and update the metadata. Re-apply password protection with the Protect PDF tool after.
PDF properties affect how your documents appear in search results, document management systems, and PDF viewers. Here is what you need to know.
Google indexes PDF files the same way it indexes web pages. The Title you set in the metadata editor becomes the clickable headline in search results. The Subject and Keywords fields add topical signals. A PDF with a blank or auto-generated title like "Untitled" is a missed ranking opportunity — edit PDF metadata to take control of how your document appears in Google and Bing.
Enterprise DMS platforms — SharePoint, Documentum, OpenText, and others — use PDF properties to auto-classify, tag, and route documents. If Title or Author fields are empty or inaccurate, files end up miscategorised or lost. Using this PDF properties editor before uploading to a DMS ensures every document is correctly indexed and retrievable without manual tagging.
PDFs created in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Adobe Acrobat automatically embed your name, organisation, computer username, and the exact software version used. Sending a document externally without reviewing these fields can inadvertently expose confidential authorship details. Use Remove All Metadata to strip creator and producer fields before sharing sensitive legal, financial, or HR documents.
Open this page in Chrome or Edge, upload your PDF, edit the properties, and click Update PDF. Alternatively, right-click any PDF → Properties → Details tab to view (but not edit) metadata. Adobe Acrobat Pro can edit properties via File → Properties, but requires a paid subscription.
Use this browser-based PDF metadata editor in Safari or Chrome — no installation needed. Preview (built-in) can display metadata via Tools → Show Inspector but cannot edit PDF document properties. Use this tool to change PDF title, author, subject, and keywords on any Mac without Acrobat.
Open this page in Safari (iPhone) or Chrome (Android) and upload your PDF from Files or Google Drive. The browser-based editor runs fully on mobile — tap fields to edit, then tap Update PDF to save. No app download required to edit PDF properties on iPhone or Android.
Open this page in Chrome, upload your PDF, and use the metadata editor directly. The tool runs entirely in the browser — no Linux apps, Android apps, or file system access needed. Ideal for Chromebooks in education or enterprise environments with restricted software installs.
Three steps. Under 30 seconds. Files never leave your browser.
Click Browse or drag and drop your PDF. Works on desktop, iPhone, and Android — no file size limit for metadata editing.
Update any combination of Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, and other PDF document properties. Clear fields to remove metadata entirely.
Click Save & Download to get your updated PDF instantly — no watermarks, no signup required.
Why PDFcrest
Full field control, no daily limits, no signup — clean, private PDF property editing.
Edit PDF metadata including Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, and dates. Full control over all standard PDF document properties in one screen.
Metadata editing is nearly instantaneous — your updated PDF is ready to download in seconds regardless of file size or page count.
Edit PDF properties free with no daily limit, no account, and no subscription. PDFcrest gives you professional metadata control without any paywall.
Edit PDF properties on desktop, iPhone, or Android directly in your browser. No plugin or software install needed.
Clear specific fields or remove all PDF metadata for privacy. Publish PDFs without author names, tool fingerprints, or creation dates.
Metadata editing runs entirely in your browser using pdf-lib — your PDF is never uploaded to a server, so it never leaves your device.
Comparison
| Feature | PDFcrest | Adobe Acrobat Online | SmallPDF / ilovePDF |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edit PDF Metadata — Free | ✓ Always free | ✗ Acrobat Pro required | ✗ 2 tasks/day |
| No Signup Required | ✓ Zero signup | ✗ Adobe account | ✗ Email required |
| No Watermarks | ✓ Never | ✓ | ✗ Free adds watermark |
| All Metadata Fields | ✓ Full control | ✓ Full control | ~ Limited fields |
| Works on iPhone | ✓ Mobile-first | ✓ App required | ✓ |
| File Deleted After Download | ✓ Immediately | ~ Varies | ~ 1 hour |
Use Cases
From publishers to privacy-conscious professionals — everyone needs to edit PDF document properties.
Set PDF title and author metadata for e-books, reports, and whitepapers before distributing. Proper metadata makes documents easier to find, organise, and display correctly in e-readers.
Clear the Author, Creator, and Producer fields before sharing PDFs publicly. Remove PDF metadata to prevent leaking personal information, software tool names, or internal paths.
Add structured PDF keywords to make documents searchable within enterprise document management systems (DMS) and digital archives.
Update document title and subject fields to match filing requirements. Court filing systems and compliance portals often require specific metadata to be present for correct cataloguing.
Set correct creator and producer metadata for print-ready PDFs before submitting to print shops or publishers. Professional print workflows depend on accurate document properties.
Add keyword-rich metadata to PDF files before publishing on a website. Search engines index PDF metadata — a well-titled PDF with relevant keywords ranks better in search results.
Workflow Recipes
Metadata editing is rarely the only step. Here are the tool combinations PDFcrest users chain together most often.
Encrypted PDFs can't be read or modified without the password. Remove protection first, then edit the Title, Author, and other fields here.
After making a scanned PDF searchable, add a descriptive Title and Keywords so it also surfaces correctly in document-management search.
Clean up or correct the Author and Title fields first, then re-add a password before sending the document externally.
Set a consistent Title and Author on several related PDFs before combining them, so the merged document carries clean, correct properties.
Remove personal information from the document properties, then shrink the file size before emailing or uploading it.
Technical Detail
PDF metadata is stored in the document's Info Dictionary — a structured set of key-value pairs embedded in the PDF header. Standard fields include Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator (the software that created the source document), and Producer (the software that generated the PDF). PDFcrest reads these fields, lets you edit them, and writes the updated values back into the PDF's Info Dictionary without touching any page content.
Some PDFs also contain XMP metadata — an XML-based metadata format embedded in a dedicated stream, separate from the Info Dictionary. PDFcrest currently edits the Info Dictionary only; if a source PDF has an XMP stream, it is left as-is, so it can end up out of sync with the Info Dictionary values you just changed. Most everyday PDF viewers display Info Dictionary fields by default, but if your workflow specifically depends on XMP, verify the result in a tool that reads XMP directly.
After editing, the resulting PDF is standards-compliant (PDF 1.4–2.0) and fully compatible with all major viewers, DMS systems, e-readers, and print workflows. You can further protect the PDF with a password or compress it using PDFcrest's free tool suite.
Under the Hood
No black box — this is the literal formula the editor runs, live, as you type in each field.
Completeness score:
fields = [Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer] # 6 fields, equally weighted
filled = fields.filter(f => trim(f.value).length > 0)
score = round(filled.length / fields.length * 100)
Ring fill (SVG circle, r=40):
circumference = 2 · π · 40 ≈ 251.33
strokeDashoffset = circumference · (1 − score / 100)
| Field | Character limit |
|---|---|
Title | 200 characters |
Author | 100 characters |
Subject | 300 characters |
Keywords | 500 characters (comma-separated) |
Creator | 100 characters |
Producer | 100 characters |
FAQ
Answers to the most common questions about editing PDF document properties
Page last updated: · Written and maintained by the PDFcrest team.