Find And Rename PDF Metadata
Applies to: Acrobat 6, Acrobat 7
NOTE: For tips on removing metadata from Word, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article "How to minimize metadata in Word 2003 
."
Also, read about our partnership with 3BView, a global leader in document metadata removal
We've all bought into creating PDF files for purposes of minimizing the metadata risks associated with delivering electronic work product to our clients. But did you know that metadata makes its way into PDF files, too? We'll show you how to see it, turn it off, and remove metadata when you find it.
To see metadata in a PDF file:
- Open the desired PDF file in Reader or Acrobat.
- Click on the arrow icon at the top right of the right-side scroll bar.
- Choose Document Properties, and view the content of the 'Author' and other fields.
To remove metadata in a PDF file:
- Open PDF file in Adobe Acrobat (you must use Acrobat; Adobe Reader cannot be used to edit PDF files).
- Display Document Properties using File | Document Properties. If it's not already the active tab, move into the 'Description' tab).
- Delete any undesirable text present in the 'Author', 'Subject,' or 'Keywords' fields.
- Move to the "Custom" tab and do the same.
- File|Save As to the same name to overwrite, or save to a different filename, if desired.
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NOTE: File | Save As performs a 'complete' save of a PDF file, thus optimizing the size of the PDF.
To ensure metadata is not populated into your PDF files when you create them using Acrobat integration inside of Microsoft Word:
- Drop-down the 'Adobe' or 'Adobe PDF' menu located on Word's menu bar, then choose 'Change Conversion Settings.'
- Uncheck the 'Convert Document Information' option, ensuring that Word's properties are not populated into your generated PDF.
To ensure metadata is not populated into your PDF files when using the Distiller print option from any application:
- Start | Settings | Control Panel | Printers.
- Select 'Adobe PDF' or 'Distiller' print driver.
- Choose Properties | Advanced | Printing Defaults or Printing Preferences.
- Uncheck 'Add Document Information.'
NOTE: When displaying the PDF file properties, you'll also learn what 'produced' and 'created' the PDF file, as well as the PDF version.
As a rule of thumb:
- Acrobat 7 creates PDF V1.6
- Acrobat 6 creates PDF V1.5
- Acrobat 5 creates PDF V1.4
- Acrobat 4 creates PDF V1.3
However, it is possible to set compatibility such that previous versions of Reader can view or manipulate your PDFs. These options can be selected by print job, or as a default once you've installed Distiller/Acrobat 6 on your system.
