How it works
- 01Open the PDF.
- 02Read the panel — it shows what the file currently claims.
- 03Type the values you want. Leave a field empty to write nothing at all.
- 04Export.
The old properties go regardless
Exporting here rebuilds the document from its pages, so the original file’s properties never come across whether you set new ones or not. That is worth knowing before you spend time clearing fields one by one: the clearing already happened.
Setting versus stripping
This tool sets properties. The Sanitize tool removes them. If you have both in play, removal wins — a document you asked to have cleaned should not come out carrying a title you typed earlier, and the panel warns you when that is the situation you are in.
Why the author’s name matters
For a document leaving your organisation, the properties are often more revealing than the text. They routinely name the person who wrote it, the software and version in use, and the times it was created and last touched. For a document that has passed through several hands, that is a history nobody meant to attach.
Questions
- Does this change what is written on the pages?
- No. Properties are metadata about the document, not content in it. If a name appears in the text of a page, this will not touch it — that needs Redact.
- What about XMP metadata?
- It lives in the document catalog rather than the pages, so like attachments it is not carried across by the export at all.
- Can I see what a PDF currently claims before changing it?
- Yes — the panel shows it as you work, and the Inspect tool shows the full picture including things this tool does not edit.