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PDF Metadata Viewer

View a PDF file's metadata - title, author, creation date, producer, and more. Upload a PDF and instantly see everything embedded in its document info.

Category: documents
Use Case: Document Auditing, Provenance Checking, File Organization
Privacy: 100% browser-based

Click to upload a PDF file

Your file is processed entirely in your browser

Recommended Settings

Pro Tips

  • Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords are set by whoever created or exported the PDF, and are often blank
  • Producer usually names the software library that generated the PDF, while Creator names the original authoring application
  • Linearized (Fast Web View) means the PDF is optimized for progressive loading in web browsers
  • The whole file is read locally in your browser - nothing is uploaded anywhere

Most Popular

Most users check Producer and Creation Date to verify a document's origin and authenticity

When to Use This Tool

Document Auditing

Check a PDF's embedded metadata to verify when it was created, by what software, and by whom before relying on its contents.

Provenance Checking

Inspect the Producer and Creator fields to identify what tool generated a PDF, useful when investigating a document's authenticity.

File Organization

Read Title, Author, and Subject metadata to help catalog or rename a large collection of PDF files consistently.

Privacy Review

Check what metadata (author name, creation software, dates) is embedded in a PDF before sharing it publicly.

How It Works

1

Read the uploaded PDF file as binary data directly in your browser

2

Parse the file into a PDF document using the PDF.js library

3

Read the document's info dictionary, which contains standard fields like Title, Author, and Producer

4

Format any embedded PDF date strings into a readable local date and time

5

Display all extracted metadata in a table, ready to copy

100% Private

Files never leave your device. All processing happens locally in your browser.

Lightning Fast

Powered by PDF.js for optimal performance on modern browsers.

Open Source

Built with verified, open-source libraries. Fully transparent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are some fields showing 'Not set'?

Not every PDF has all metadata fields filled in. Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords are optional and depend on what the document's creator entered when the PDF was made or exported.

What's the difference between Creator and Producer?

Creator usually names the original application that authored the document (like a word processor), while Producer names the tool or library that converted it into a PDF file.

Can this tool edit or remove metadata?

No, this tool only reads and displays existing metadata. To remove or change metadata, you'd need a PDF editing tool.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The entire file is read and processed locally in your browser using the PDF.js library. Your document never leaves your device.

What does 'Linearized' mean?

A linearized PDF (also called 'Fast Web View') is structured so a viewer can start displaying the first page before the entire file has downloaded, which is useful for large documents viewed over the web.