Online PDF tool

PDF Metadata Viewer: View PDF Metadata Online with Our PDF Metadata Reader

Upload a PDF and read the title, author, producer, dates, page count and XMP data stored inside it

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To view the metadata in a PDF, upload the file above: the tool reads the document Info dictionary and any XMP packet, then lists the title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, creation and modification dates, page count, page size, PDF version and whether the file is encrypted. Metadata is written mostly by software rather than by people, which is why the producer string usually names an exact program and version while the title and keywords sit empty. That is also why it is worth checking before you send a document to anyone outside your organization.

Last updated August 2026.

What each PDF metadata field actually means

PDF metadata comes from two places. The Info dictionary is the older key and value list that nearly every file carries, and the XMP packet is an XML block that newer software writes alongside it. When the two disagree, most readers show the Info dictionary, which is what this tool reports first.

Field	Who writes it	Typical value	Why it matters
Title	A person, or the source document heading	Often empty	Some readers show it in the window bar instead of the file name
Author	The word processor, from the account name	A real name or a network username	The field most likely to leak identity
Subject and Keywords	Typed by hand, rarely	Almost always empty	Used by document management systems for search
Creator	The program the document was written in	Microsoft Word, LaTeX, a browser	Shows the original authoring tool, not the exporter
Producer	The library that wrote the PDF itself	Distiller, Skia/PDF, a PDF library	The strongest clue to how a file was really made
Creation and modification dates	The exporting software, automatically	A timestamp with a timezone offset	Survives copying and emailing, unlike file system dates
PDF version	The exporter	1.4 through 2.0	Decides which readers and tools can open the file
Page size	The page setup at export time	A4 or US Letter	Catches a document laid out for the wrong paper before printing

How this compares to the other ways of reading PDF metadata

There are four realistic ways to read the metadata in a PDF, and each of them wins in a different situation. Here is an honest comparison, including the cases where you should not use this page.

Method	Shows XMP	Needs an install	Best for
This page	Yes	No	A quick full read on any machine, including a locked-down work laptop
Windows File Explorer	No	No	Checking a title or author without opening anything
Acrobat or Preview	Acrobat yes, Preview no	Yes	Reading and then editing the fields in the same place
Command line tools such as exiftool	Yes	Yes	Batches of hundreds of files, and scripted workflows

Two honest limitations of this page. It uploads the file to our server to read it, so if you are handling a document that must never leave your machine, use Acrobat or a local command line tool instead. And it reads metadata rather than editing it, so it will not strip an author name before you publish a document. For a single file that you are allowed to upload, it is the fastest option and it shows more fields than Explorer or Preview do.

How to view PDF metadata on Windows, Mac and Linux

Windows

Right click the PDF in File Explorer, choose Properties and open the Details tab. You get the title, author, subject, keywords and the two dates. Explorer does not show the producer string, the PDF version or anything from the XMP packet, so it is a partial view rather than a complete one.

Mac

Open the file in Preview, then choose Tools and Show Inspector, or press Command plus I. The General tab lists the title, author, and the creation and modification dates. Preview leaves out the producer field, so a document exported by an unusual tool looks the same as one exported by Word.

Linux and the command line

The poppler package ships pdfinfo, which prints every Info dictionary key plus the page count and page size. exiftool goes further and dumps the XMP packet as well. Both handle whole directories at once, which is the right approach when you are auditing hundreds of files.

Adobe Acrobat

Open File, then Properties, or press Control plus D. The Description tab carries the standard fields, and the Additional Metadata button opens the XMP view. Acrobat is the most complete option if you already have it, and it is the only one on this list that also lets you edit and save the fields.

A browser or phone

Chrome, Edge and the iOS and Android PDF viewers show almost no metadata at all. They are built to render pages, not to inspect file structure. This is the case an online viewer is actually for, because you can check a document from a phone or a machine where you cannot install software.

Scanned documents

A scan has metadata just like any other PDF, and the producer field usually names the scanner software or the copier model. What it will not have is a meaningful title or author, because no word processor was ever involved in making it.

Why people check PDF metadata

Most people never look at this data until something makes them look. These are the situations that usually bring someone to a metadata viewer.

Before sending a document outside the company. The author field carries whatever name the account was set up with, and the creator string can reveal an internal template or an unexpected piece of software. Plenty of organizations have published a PDF whose author field named someone who never wanted to be named on it. Checking takes ten seconds and it is worth doing on anything that goes to a client, a regulator or the public.

Working out where a file came from. When two versions of a contract are circulating, the creation and modification timestamps and the producer string usually settle which came first and how each was made. Unlike file system dates, these travel with the file through email and cloud storage, so they survive the copying that destroys everything else.

Checking that a submission will be accepted. Journals, courts and grant bodies frequently require a specific PDF version or a particular page size. Reading the version and the page size before you submit avoids a rejection that costs you a deadline.

Diagnosing a file that behaves strangely. If a PDF will not print correctly, refuses to open in an older reader, or has no selectable text, the producer string and the PDF version usually explain why. A file produced by an unusual library often needs re-exporting from the original source.

Sorting a large archive. If you inherit a folder of thousands of unnamed PDFs, the title and creation date fields are frequently the only usable way to sort them. That is the point at which a command line tool beats this page, because it can process the whole directory in one pass.

Common questions about PDF metadata

How do I view the metadata of a PDF?

Upload the file to the viewer at the top of this page and the fields appear in about a second. The tool reads the PDF Info dictionary and any XMP packet, then reports the title, author, subject, keywords, creator, producer, creation and modification dates, page count, page size and PDF version.

What metadata does a PDF file contain?

A PDF carries a title, author, subject and keywords that a person can type, plus creator and producer strings written automatically by the software that made and exported the file. It also stores creation and modification timestamps, the PDF version, page count and page dimensions. Newer files add an XMP packet holding the same information as XML.

How can I see PDF metadata in Windows?

Right click the file in File Explorer, choose Properties, then open the Details tab. Windows shows a shortened set of fields, mainly title, author and dates, and it leaves out the producer string and XMP data. An online viewer shows the full set without installing anything.

How do I check PDF metadata on a Mac?

Open the PDF in Preview and choose Tools, then Show Inspector, or press Command plus I. The General tab lists title, author, creation and modification dates. Preview hides the producer field and the XMP packet, so it gives you a partial picture of what the file stores.

Can PDF metadata reveal who created a document?

Often yes. The author field frequently carries a real name or a network username, and the creator and producer strings name the exact software and version used. Timestamps can also show when a document was drafted and last edited, which is why metadata comes up so often in legal disputes.

Does this tool change or remove the metadata?

No. The viewer only reads the file and reports what it finds, then deletes the uploaded copy once the fields have been extracted. If you need to strip or rewrite metadata before sharing a document, you need a metadata editor or a redaction tool instead.

Why is the author field empty on so many PDFs?

Because nothing forces it to be filled in. Word and Google Docs populate it from the account that created the document, but a PDF exported from a browser, a scanner or a design tool usually leaves it blank. An empty author field tells you something about how the file was made rather than being a fault.

What is the difference between the Creator and Producer fields?

Creator names the program the document was originally written in, such as a word processor. Producer names the component that wrote the actual PDF file, which is often a separate library. A document written in Word and exported through a print driver will show one name in Creator and a different one in Producer.

Other things you can measure in the same PDF

Metadata tells you where a document came from, not how much is in it. To measure the contents, the PDF word counter returns the word total, the PDF character counter reports characters with and without spaces, and the PDF page counter gives the page total on its own. If the producer string sent you looking for a typography problem, the PDF font finder lists every font the file declares and flags the ones that are not embedded.

And once you are done inspecting the file, the point of the document is usually the material inside it. You can turn the same PDF into a quiz in about a minute, or build a larger question bank from a long report or textbook chapter.