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Hello!
I am trying to get the file explorer to display author metadata for pdfs. Using exiftool.exe I can see that the author information is in the pdf metadata but when viewing file properties->details there is no author information. I can search for the author in file explorer without issues.
Does windows file explorer have the ability to show author metadata for pdfs?
A
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Microsoft, need to fix that and integrate with Adobe. For me, the whole purpose of using metadata tags, subjects, titles etc. on jpgs, Word Docs, etc. is to find data quickly across a hard-drive. PDFs are such a basic file type that leaving them out of the mix doesn't make sense.
Search uses iFilter indexer to show metadata but to view properties you need ProperyHandler.
Seems for some Windows it was delivered:
Why can't I see PDF file metadata in Windows 10 file explorer? - Microsoft Community
Just need to find out which property handler is used for PDF files:
Property System Viewer For Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista (nirsoft.net)
Hi Axel,
Welcome to Microsoft Community.
I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.
Windows File Explorer does not natively display author metadata for PDF files in the "Details" view. The "Details" view typically shows basic file attributes such as name, date modified, file size, and file type. More advanced metadata like author, title, and keywords are often part of the PDF's Document Information (metadata) and may not be displayed directly in Windows File Explorer.
If you're interested in viewing and managing PDF metadata more extensively, you might consider using specialized PDF management software or metadata editing tools that allow you to view, edit, and organize metadata information. Adobe Acrobat and other PDF software tools offer options to manage and edit PDF metadata.
Regarding the use of "exiftool.exe," it's worth noting that ExifTool is primarily designed for working with image and media file metadata (EXIF, IPTC, XMP, etc.), rather than PDFs. While ExifTool can handle PDF metadata to some extent, it might not provide the same level of integration or display capabilities as dedicated PDF management tools.
So in summary, File Explorer itself doesn't display full PDF metadata out of the box. But with addons or other utilities you can view author and other metadata fields for PDFs in Windows.
I hope this helps. If there is anything not clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Your Sincerely
Hahn - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist
Weirdly though I can see the author of the document when searching for it. In the Search Results window in the 3rd colum I can see size and authors, but I can't seem to be able to access that information via Windows in any other way - that just seems odd to me.
