PDF Metadata Viewer
Drop a PDF to see who made it and how: the author and title, the software it was written in, the library that produced the file, and the creation and modification dates. Everything is read in your browser. Your document is never uploaded, sent anywhere, or stored.
What PDF metadata reveals, and its limits
What a PDF carries
Most PDFs store a small information dictionary describing the document: a title, an author, the application it was authored in (the Creator, often Word, InDesign, or a browser's print engine), the library that generated the file (the Producer), and timestamps for when it was created and last modified. Many PDFs also embed an XMP metadata block, an XML record carrying the same fields and sometimes more.
Why it matters for investigations
- Authorship — the author field can name a person or organization the document does not mention in its visible text.
- Tooling — the creator and producer fingerprint the workflow, which can tie several documents to one source or contradict a claimed origin.
- Timeline — creation and modification dates can confirm or undercut a claimed timeline, and a modification long after creation is worth a closer look.
What this reads, and what it cannot
This tool reads the document information dictionary and any plain XMP block. It does not open or render the document, does not run any embedded JavaScript, and does not extract the page text or images. Newer PDFs sometimes pack their metadata into a compressed object stream; when that happens the fields are not readable here, and the tool says so rather than guessing. Metadata can also be edited or wiped, so treat what you find as a lead to corroborate, not proof on its own.